Weird Things about Europe
 

I like visiting Europe for many reasons. The food can be fantastic, the cities and town pleasent to visit...but most of all, it's b/c people here are generally more civilized than Americans. Not in the "wearing a tuxedo 24/7" sense, but rather in the sense that people here (talking generally about Western Cont. Europe) take longer lunches than we (Americans) do, take longer vacations, works less every day, drink more wine, seem to have less stress...etc etc...people here are just civilized.

However, some things still confuse me, which flies in the face of what I said above. One example: people here are incapable of standing in a line without pushing, shoving, or trying to cut in front of other people. WTF is up with that? It's like NYC in rushhour in every lines you are in.

another thing: showers. below is a picture of the bathtub/shower in the hotel I stayed in.

http://img461.imageshack.us/img461/6558/bathroom2be.jpg

Notice anything missing?

HOW ABOUT A [censored] SHOWER CURTAIN??

and do you see where you put the showel nozzle?

YOU DON'T! YOU HAVE TO HOLD IT ABOVE YOUR HEAD!!

I've had this same bathroom experience at multiple hotels over here. Holding the shower nozzle while you shower/drench your bathroom in water: not civilived.

if we could somehow combine European civility with American superiority in shower nozzle and curtain technology, we would have an uber-continent on our hands.

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I am abroad in Madrid. First of all, I disagree with your more civillized comment, as none of your reasons have anything to do with the quality of being civillized.

My homestay (I stay with an old Spanish Segnora) has two showers, one tub with a curtain, and an enclosed shower.

Some people in my group dont have shower curtains.

When I went to Switzerland to Snowboard there was no curtain in the tub. It was annoying but doable, didnt spill ne water, its pretty simple how not to when you think about it.

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At least you got a tub. One nice hotel I stayed at in Europe had that same hand held shower thing (allthough there was a spot to hang it on the wall) in the corner of the bathroom with a drain on the floor. Weird, it was a realy large nice bathroom too.

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At least you got a tub. One nice hotel I stayed at in Europe had that same hand held shower thing (allthough there was a spot to hang it on the wall) in the corner of the bathroom with a drain on the floor. Weird, it was a realy large nice bathroom too.

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Uh, the bath tub arrangement pictured is not a shower per se. The point is to rinse yourself whilst you are soaking in the tub. Hence the location of the nozzle and the lack of a shower curtain. Friends of mine in the Netherlands have exactly that tub arrangement (called in Dutch a ligbad) plus a shower stall (called a douche cabine). The handheld shower on the wall with floor drain (no tub or stall) is what I had in my house in the Netherlands (it's called a badcel). I LOVED it, and if I were remodeling a house over here, that is what I would install. It is wonderful for two-person showers (which are a lot of fun), and when I became seriously ill it was very convenient to use a shower chair (I was too sick to stand for the time it took to shower). In my own house in New Orleans, I had hand-held European-style showerheads installed. I don't need to detail their many advantages, do I?

As for behavior in lines, it depends on which country. Italians do not relate to the concept of waiting in line, but the English are well-known for standing in queues.

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Europe has two other flaws. First, ketchup and other condiments are not free at fast food places. They cost like a quarter for a packet, which is ridiculous.

Second, even when you're a paying customer at a restaurant, you have to pay extra to use the restroom. And it's not like the restrooms are any cleaner there than here.

So, Europe, I think you're very close to being civilized. If you could just fix those couple things, we'll definitely come over some time.

Ooh, but they are ahead of us on one count. In the Netherlands, at least, public toilets aren't just the metal stalls we have here. No, you get a tiny little room with a real door and real walls that go all the way to the ceiling and the floor.

Maybe we could form some kind of cultural cross-pollination conference to spread the best ideas from both continents.


P.S. Tube pillows are retarded.

Re: Weird Things about Europe
 

Sounds like by 'civilised' you just mean the ability to enjoy life better.

What's wrong with that bath? The mobile nozzle makes it easier to wash your body properly. Most hotels etc here have them (australia). Shower curtain? The rest of the world aren't as uptight as americans. We are comfortable with our sexuality. This leads to uncurtained showers, topless women at the beach, legalized prostitution and fat guys wearing speedos (fortunately we aren't as fat as america).



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people here are incapable of standing in a line without pushing, shoving, or trying to cut in front of other people

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You have to dominate them. It's practice for driving.

Re: Weird Things about Europe
 

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ketchup and other condiments are not free at fast food places. They cost like a quarter for a packet, which is ridiculous.

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Umm, wtf. No they don't.

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Second, even when you're a paying customer at a restaurant, you have to pay extra to use the restroom.

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No you don't, at least not in any real restaurant.

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Lucky the whole of Europe is one huge homogenous locality or what you said would have no value at all.

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The hair. I mean, really, wtf.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._band_1986.jpg

Re: Weird Things about Europe
 

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Lucky the whole of Europe is one huge homogenous locality or what you said would have no value at all.

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of course...why do you think they are called EUROPEANS?????

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Sounds like by 'civilised' you just mean the ability to enjoy life better.

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yes. they are more civilised.

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Europe has two other flaws. First, ketchup and other condiments are not free at fast food places. They cost like a quarter for a packet, which is ridiculous.

Second, even when you're a paying customer at a restaurant, you have to pay extra to use the restroom. And it's not like the restrooms are any cleaner there than here.

So, Europe, I think you're very close to being civilized. If you could just fix those couple things, we'll definitely come over some time.

Ooh, but they are ahead of us on one count. In the Netherlands, at least, public toilets aren't just the metal stalls we have here. No, you get a tiny little room with a real door and real walls that go all the way to the ceiling and the floor.

Maybe we could form some kind of cultural cross-pollination conference to spread the best ideas from both continents.


P.S. Tube pillows are retarded.

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First of all, it's ridiculous to generalize anything across all of Europe (this goes to the OP as well), what you see in Spain is going to be a little different then how they do things in Hungary. Second of all, I've been to Europe many times in my life, and only occasionally have I had to pay for condiments, which is usually only at American fast food places (which suck for numerous other reasons) and the only time I've ever had to pay for the toilet is in the Rome train station.

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First of all, it's ridiculous to generalize anything across all of Europe (this goes to the OP as well), what you see in Spain is going to be a little different then how they do things in Hungary

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lets stay on topic here: weird things about Europe.

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you get a tiny little room with a real door and real walls that go all the way to the ceiling and the floor.


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Brilliant. I always wonder why the walls can't go all the way up an down. At least all the way down.

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Those tub arrangements are how I tell that the porn was produced in Europe.

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Sounds like by 'civilised' you just mean the ability to enjoy life better.

What's wrong with that bath? The mobile nozzle makes it easier to wash your body properly. Most hotels etc here have them (australia). Shower curtain? The rest of the world aren't as uptight as americans. We are comfortable with our sexuality. This leads to uncurtained showers, topless women at the beach, legalized prostitution and fat guys wearing speedos (fortunately we aren't as fat as america).



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people here are incapable of standing in a line without pushing, shoving, or trying to cut in front of other people

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You have to dominate them. It's practice for driving.

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you must enjoy getting water all over the bathroom while showering. that or you don't understand the function of shower curtains

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OK, I'll bite. Weird things about Europe:
Germany: they don't have any regular trash cans. They are all divided up into like 8 sections, one for paper, one for plastic, one for metal, etc...
Britain: They spell tire "tyre" WTF???
Italy: You can't get more than one kind of product at a store. One day I was looking for a watch, a belt and some bandages. I spent 4 hours walking around Rome and only found a belt, at the belt store. I could not find the watch or bandage store. Also they put fried eggs on pizza.

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you must enjoy getting water all over the bathroom while showering. that or you don't understand the function of shower curtains

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You don't need show curtains if you use a handheld nozzle.

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Italy: <snip> . Also they put fried eggs on pizza

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WTF??!????!!??????!!????? this is too weird..........even for ME!

I'm a very open minded person, but I just don't if I could handle that, even with the very tempting opportunity of meeting Italian men. [img]/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

Shauna

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I've had a slightly fried egg on pizza. You break it open and the yolk makes the pizza richer. It was pretty good.

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Egg on pizza is heavenly.

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I actually found it very delicious, but it is a little weird at first.

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add me to the "sounds yummy" list for fried egg on pizza

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Here's a thing you'd probably find weird, the drunk in public in texas thread reminded me of it: on the national railway (at least on the train I was on today), the food cart sells teas, coffee and alcoholic beverages.

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i dont know this from experience but in the movie pulp fiction and from other sources, ive heard euros put mayo on french fries.

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i dont know this from experience but in the movie pulp fiction and from other sources, ive heard euros put mayo on french fries.

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Depends on where you are. Also some use vinegar.

As others have said, Europe does not have one monolithic culture. Sweden is very different from Italy and so on.

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Royal with cheese.

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The toilet with the shelf that I had in Austria

http://members.home.nl/onno/marie/toilet3.jpg

I mean I know the goal is to save water, but cmon, when you take a crap it sits two inches from your butt and you can actually feel the warmth coming from it. Its pretty nasty stuff, except for the occassional prank when you have a mini drink umbrella and want to stink up your friends room.

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Europe is way behind on cheese technology - the slices aren't individually wrapped.

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I've been staying in Austria for close on two years now and the weirdest thing is the number of betting shops. Some streets have like five Sports Betting setups in them.
That and the fact that the guys competing in strongman competitions here will drink beer inbetween events. Hell the one time I saw them call the competitors out of the beer tent [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Weird Things about Europe
 

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Here's a thing you'd probably find weird, the drunk in public in texas thread reminded me of it: on the national railway (at least on the train I was on today), the food cart sells teas, coffee and alcoholic beverages.

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Actually in Italy you can buy booze everywhere. Every gas station has a bar. You can buy it in supermarkets, little corner shops, any coffee shop, on trains etc. The best one I've seen is the local high school where I live. It's in a 4 story building. The school is in the top 3 floors. On the ground floor? You guessed it. A bar.

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but most of all, it's b/c people here are generally more civilized than Americans.

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No...no we're not. Obviously depends where in Europe. I'm Belgian and for the past 5 years I've lived in Canada and it still freaks me out when total strangers say good day or nod hi to me on the street. When I'm at the grocery store or any store really the cashiers are always extremely friendly and have big smiles, something I'd never seen before. Now granted I'm from Antwerp, Belgium which has a NYC attitude but people were just as sour in Paris or any other major european city I've been to with the exception of maybe London.


And for crying out loud, us Belgians invented fries (it's only called french fries cause of the verb to french meaning the way they are cut) and Mayonaise is what goes on it.

Not having to pay to use the toilet in any truckstop/diner/fast food joint rocks.
Having to pay 10c for a pack of McChicken sauce (not even real Mayonaise) at McDonalds sucks. I don't care that the ketchup is free.

Of course I'm talking about Canada. Wouldn't know about the US.

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no free refills.

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On a somewhat opposite view:

Weird things about Canada (or at least Ontario):

- The toilet is in the same room as the shower and the sink. (granted I've seen this in some places in Europe too)

- Liquor can only be bought in government owned LCBO stores. And Beer only in government owned Beer Stores which are operated by goons that act like they are guarding Fort Knox. You only get to see empty beerbottles to choose from, then you tell the goon what you want who radio's the closed off section of the store with your order after which your beer comes sliding through a small hole to where you can finally pick it up. No beer/booze can be bought anywhere else.

- All bars/clubs/restaurants have last call at 2am and promptly close by 3am.

- Drive at 16 but no beer till 19? (drive at 18, beer at 16 in Belgium). And 21 in the US? Shudder, the horror.

- Very few people lock their front doors.

- No glass in front of the counters at banks

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but most of all, it's b/c people here are generally more civilized than Americans.

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No...no we're not. Obviously depends where in Europe. I'm Belgian and for the past 5 years I've lived in Canada and it still freaks me out when total strangers say good day or nod hi to me on the street. When I'm at the grocery store or any store really the cashiers are always extremely friendly and have big smiles, something I'd never seen before. Now granted I'm from Antwerp, Belgium which has a NYC attitude but people were just as sour in Paris or any other major european city I've been to with the exception of maybe London.


And for crying out loud, us Belgians invented fries (it's only called french fries cause of the verb to french meaning the way they are cut) and Mayonaise is what goes on it.

Not having to pay to use the toilet in any truckstop/diner/fast food joint rocks.
Having to pay 10c for a pack of McChicken sauce (not even real Mayonaise) at McDonalds sucks. I don't care that the ketchup is free.

Of course I'm talking about Canada. Wouldn't know about the US.

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Canadians are more civilized than Americans, except for the weird habit of traveling with visible Canadian flags all over their clothing/hats/backpacks. This is not civilized.

Re: Weird Things about Europe
 

they speak funny over there, too.

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Canadians are more civilized than Americans, except for the weird habit of traveling with visible Canadian flags all over their clothing/hats/backpacks. This is not civilized.

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Yeah, everyone always talks about Americans being insanely patriotic but I see Maple Leafs everywhere and definitely a lot more then I saw Stars 'n Stripes in the States.

However I'm pretty sure Canadians do this not out of a patriotic sense but more to make sure they don't get mistaken for Americans.

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KB4Z: Americans don't have time to be civilized, we're too busy creating 30% of the world's GDP while the Euros are having lunch and getting drunk.

France is part of Europe, right? The answer to the shower question is that it's not meant to be used.

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Let's just be clear. England isn't part of Europe. Anyone tells you otherwise is a liar and a cheat.

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European mayo =/= US mayo. The mayonaise that goes on fries is much fatter and flavorful than the mayonaise that goes on salads as they do in the US. We have seperate mayonaise to put on salads, we do not put that stuff on our fries. Also, this is a Dutch/Belgian thing I think.

Showers - I absolutely hate the handheld showers in France etc, I would like my showerhead to be up on the wall, removable when I would like it, and besides having a bathroom that can handle ALL the water, I prefer having a cell too, just because it handles heat better. I don't care much about waterspillage.

As for cheese... wth? American cheese is the single worst dairy product I've ever had. There is nothing good about it. How the hell can you call European cheese bad? I can imagine you not liking the moldy french cheeses, as they require peculiar taste, but Dutch Gouda cheese and the other brands completely own American Cheddar etc. It's not even close. It's not even close to being close enough to being comparable.