What are the quirkiest things you like about Europe?
Apr 3rd, 2002, 02:44 PM
#1
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What are the quirkiest things you like about Europe?
I love the fact that I wont be harrassed by obnoxious strangers when I smoke my cigarette. If I am in a park, at a restaurant or a cafe, and I want to light up, nobody gives me a second look. I love it there!
Apr 3rd, 2002, 03:57 PM
#4
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I am constantly amazed at the number of ways the Europeans have found to flush a toilet. With high tech modes, it is fascinating.<BR><BR>Did you ever see the way the toilet seat cover (yes, cover!) rotates fully to get sanitized at the Monte Carlo Casino? Very cool!!!
Apr 3rd, 2002, 04:58 PM
#7
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spending a fortune for an overnight train from say paris to Salzbburg and getting a cracker , a slice of cheece and a slice of kiwi for dinner. The window does not work, the bunk is ...well not comfortable if not really clean. I don't sleep well, but some how it is fun, accepatable and memorable!<BR>If I had that experience here, I would be mad at everyone, but there its fun?!!!
Apr 3rd, 2002, 06:19 PM
#11
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A gite is a country dwelling; France has a program thru which you can rent them. Some are more primitive than others (they are ranked by ears of corn, rather than by stars); ours was 3 ears and was just wonderful. The kitchen was better equipped than most beach homes we've rented in US. It's a super way to stay at a home base and tour the area each day. We were near Gordes out in the countryside. They are very reasonable. Check them out at http://www.gites-de-france.fr/eng
Apr 3rd, 2002, 07:49 PM
#13
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1. The train from Florence to Rome, where the smoking compartments have no ashtrays and the non-smoking compartments do.<BR><BR>2. The toilet in Poland where the lock is not inside the stall, but outside.<BR><BR>3. The three lane highways in Switzerland where the middle lane changes mid-stream from one direction to the other (they are VERY democratic -- the vote was 50/50 re: 4 lane highway, so they compromised).<BR><BR>4. Getting bread on the table in Austria, but finding only after you've eaten it that they charge you for how much you've eaten.<BR><BR>5. Queueing for cafe tables in Vienna only to discover that the only way to get a seat is to sit down at an empty seat before someone gets up.<BR><BR>6. And my ultimate favorite, being able to talk politics and not offend people for having a different viewpoint, and not hearing people tell you they're an "independent".
Apr 3rd, 2002, 10:55 PM
#14
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I am sorry, but I had to come here, and write a few lines.<BR>I was born in a EU country, and live in europe, and I think most of the previous posts, were written by either Americans or Canadians, and you made me smile.<BR>All you say is true, and I didn't have the idea, that drinking a beer at mc'donalds would be a "different" thing.<BR>I rarely go to Mc'donalds, and yes I drink a beer with those "chicken" stuff they make, and I smoke a cigarette there after dinner.<BR>But this is normal. It's funny...one world and so many differences
Apr 4th, 2002, 08:01 AM
#15
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Euro -- good point! There's probably a thread in the U.S. message board about quirky things in the U.S. or Canada. For example, going to a deli and discovering the size of the sandwich is bigger than your entire face, or people asking for "doggie bags", or what Woody Allen called California's only cultural advantage -- driving a car and being able to make a right turn at a red light. (I'm allowed to say this, I live here).
Apr 4th, 2002, 08:22 AM
#16
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My favorite European quirks: I have to chime in with the hanging clothes on a clothesline thing, something I swore I would start doing when I got home but haven't. Also, absolutely love the autostrade in Italy, going as fast as you like and everyone following the rules, no dawdlers in the fast "passing" lane. <BR><BR>For my Scottish cousin, when he first visited us in Los Angeles he thought four-way stops were hilarious! "Everyone is so polite, taking turns!" Didn't understand our rule to park cars facing the same way on the side of the street, "all the cars are so tidy, facing the same way", and he was most amused at the store named Bullocks. Also, he went to the store for us one day to buy coffee and was completely baffled. How he managed to find the bottle of Nescafe hidden behind the row upon row of decent coffee was beyond me.
Apr 4th, 2002, 10:12 AM
#17
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Definitely the plumbing! From the 2 faucets per sink in England (one for hot, one for cold) to the lack of plumbing on Italian trains (if you look after flushing, you'll see the tracks whizzing by underneath - pardon the pun!) But funny how you get totally used to it by the end of your trip, and when you walk into your bathroom back home, you can't help but smile remembering what an adventure it was just walking into a European WC!
Apr 4th, 2002, 10:45 AM
#19
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I love wearing plastic, desposable gloves in the vegie/fruit section of the Coops in Italy, weighing your purchase by pushing the right button according to the picture. I love that Italian grocery store clerks sit down as they check your groceries, and scowl at you when they need to do a price check or get change. And I love coming upon an inordinate amount of road signs, arrows, etc. that seemingly conclue that driving in any direction, in any vehicle, at any speed is prohibited! I have photos of four way stops in the middle of a very small town that include probably 15 different road signs. My perhaps favorite, however, was having tap water come out of the faucet so hot that I could actually make a cup of tea (Hotel Russell Square - London)!
