minimeike

In the US, when you order drinks such as sodas, you usually get free refills. That is not the case in Europe. There may, however, be exceptions. We have to be careful not to generalize...there will always be exceptions
In Europe...at least in Germany, if you go to a store and want to buy something, you pay exactly what it says on the price tag. You don't have to add taxes

5alive

Biggest plus about the US is probably what our friend from Japan observed:
"Nature is very big here."

My host family in England also urged me to be informed about environmental issues before it was "too late for America" because most of their forests were chopped down centuries ago.

In Italy, one thing I noticed was that when I explained my food allergy in broken Italian, the servers were so much more professional and concerned to serve me what I could eat. They were never in a hurry or acted like I was an annoyance as many American wait-staff have done. This was true even at gelato stands.

Patrick

I agree that the generalizations that seem to indicate everywhere in Europe has the same type of showers, or all US public transportation is the same are pretty meaningless. So while some of the generalizations made above seem to be accurate, they totally fall apart if you change which city or country you're referring to.

Water pressure and showers? Nonsense. I've seen some of the most wonderful high powered and totall enclosed showers in Europe to make up for those horrible open ones with no pressure and have had some in the US where I wanted to take the nozzle off to see where the water was.

Airport security better in Europe? You've got to be kidding me. In Paris they thought they spotted a knife in my carryon and asked if I had one, to which I replied no. But when I got home I was surprised that I had indeed packed my 7 inch blade sharp "cheese and bread" knife in my carry on. I said "no" so they ignored what they saw on the x-ray and let me through -- hard to imagine them doing that anywhere in the US.

Two things in Europe though that I think they are way ahead of the US -- and this doesn't much depend on where in each place you're talking about -- is that in Europe grocery clerks get to sit to do their job while in the US we make them stand, and Europe generally has those remote machines so they can charge at your table without disappearing from your site with your credit card.

minimeike

One more thing...I am from Germany and I spent a high school year in the US back in 1996/1997. One thing I still remember hearing from our exchange student organization: Never compare Germany to the US or the US to Germany!!! Never sit there and figure out which country is better. Just accept the two countries the way they are. It would be pretty boring if the whole world was the same in all regards, wouldn't it?

tomboy

I'm immensely impressed with European parking space/lot machines; so efficient with one machine per parking structure, ticket on dash, insert the paid ticket in gate to exit. Or, put time-stamped ticket on dash.

Viajero2

USA IS BETTER:
1. Handicap accesibility
2. Customer Service
3. Official travel transactions i.e. efficiency on approvals/documentation
4. Wildlife and Parks conservation
5. Food eateries variety
6. Sidewalks
7. Visual displays of information (museums, directions, etc...)
8. Average hotel rooms

EUROPE IS BETTER:

1. Pastries
2. Cakes
3. Cookies
4. Bread
5. tarts

clairobscur

Where can I buy a glass of milk in Europe?

In France, you can order it in a cafe. More commonly for kids, you can order it with a fruit cordial. Often strawberry ("lait-fraise&quot.

kenderina

I asked for a glass of milk at my hotel in London and they gave it to me for free.
Here in Spain you can ask for it at cafes or bars.

Patrick

Forget milk. Where in Europe can you get a glass of iced tea? No, I'm not talking about some bottled stuff with sweetners, but pure, simple brewed tea poured over ice?

Viajero2, I notice a conspicuous absence of "pies" on your list. They sometimes translate tarts to "pies" on English menus, but they never had any of my grandmother's or mother's pies -- cherry, or strawberry rhubarb, or peach pie for example.

And I'd put up my ex sister-in-law's award winning whipped cream cake (the whipped cream is in the cake, not used as icing) against some of the European over-rated losers like SacherTorte any day!

And if you want milk in Italy, just go to a cafe and order a latte (accidentally forgetting to say CAFE latte). You'll get milk only -- but it will be hot.

tuscanlifeedit

If I could bring these things to the hotels and apartments we rent and/or use in Europe, I would be thrilled:

US Washing Machines.
US Air Conditioning.
US showers and shower curtains.

And if I could bring the lovely, FULL toilet stalls of Europe to the US, I would be happy, too. In Europe, it seems that nearly every toilet stall, in no matter how awful a bathroom or place, is comepletely tiled, and has a door that connects from ceiling to floor. I hate hate hate US bathroom stales with their openings at the top and bottom. I like a little more privacy.

L84SKY

I love the fact that when you hike up a mountain in the US you'll find solitude.
I also love when you hike up a mountain in Europe you'll find coffee.

katya_NY

I was amazed on my recent trip to Ireland that there were symbols on the menu denoting which dishes were appropriate for vegetarians, and people with celiac. In the US, people are still learning what celiac is!

My other favorite thing about Europe is the assumption of intelligence, as opposed to the assumption of idiocy in the US. Even European street signs and food containers assume a higher degree of literacy than say... USA Today?

RufusTFirefly

Katya--Europe has its equivalents of USA Today and the National Enquirer, etc. You just need to get down in the day-to-day trenches of European life.

carolyn

Patrick, I ordered a glass of milk in Italy, and it came to me hot. I suppose I looked surprised because the waitress laughed and said, "Frio?" Going way back to college Spanish, I said, "Si, frio" and then received another glass of milk--which was lukewarm. I stuck to latte after that.

logos999

If you order milk, it will be hot milk with sugar or honey, unless you tell them otherwise first. I would never have thought anybody would want to order a glass of COLD milk in a restaurant/bar?

sheila

I thought of another one. TV is "generally" better here; especially news coverage.

JJ5

USA is just too large to encompass with these kind of generalizations. Country size/ distance between countries etc. in Europe makes some aspects of comparison meaningless as well, IMHO.

My home in Chicago had more in common with these European "bests" than USA "bests".

And all over Europe, I feel a need for what America does best. SPACE

And in the USA, sometimes I crave the European smallness.

avalon

YES , Sheila ! TV is much better...well, at least in the UK where I know what they are talking about..and the newspapers there are so far superior to our rags!

travel04

europe: chocolates, cakes(not that sweet or creamy), cafes are so wonderful much more atmospheric, parks are all big and lotsa people hang out unlike the small parks here, of course travelling around countries is easier and cheaper, more people walking around to people watch.

USA - more space, bathrooms are great, food is cheap, variety of ethnic food(esp in CA) although paris has lots of ethnic food too.

katya_NY

Rufus: Obviously, most people have heard of the tabloids that terrorize celebrities in GB and in Europe in general... I was referring to the "wording" of simple road side instructions, the sides of food containers, etc... In the US, everything has to be illustrated or "dumbed-down" to the lowest possible level... it is insulting.

Every country has their fair share of "junk" reading. But simple day-to-day expectations were higher in Ireland, in my experience. It was a refreshing change.