Americans Break Down The Biggest Culture Shocks They Ever Faced When Visiting Europe

Americans Break Down The Biggest Culture Shocks They Ever Faced When Visiting Europe
Photo by Jamie Haughton on Unsplash

Leaving your homeland, even for a quick little getaway can be quite a surprise.

There is a whole world out there.

And no country is quite like any other.

That's why it's fun to experience a new place.

Though it might leave many people surprised, especially Americans.

America has a radically different way of life than say, Europe.

And it's a blast to revel in.

Redditor jrusjwanted to hear about what Americans need to prepare for when leaving the homeland. They asked:

"Americans that visited Europe, what was the biggest shock for you?"

It is so easy to travel through different countries in Europe. I was astonished. Some countries are connected by minutes in travel. Not days. So breezy...

ANYWHERE!!

Happy Hour Drinking GIFGiphy

"You can drink a beer anywhere, anytime. I mean I woke up in Berlin and bought a bottle of beer at a small breakfast stand in a park it was like 6am."

CregSantiago

Back in the Day

"History. I followed a tour of American tourists into the church in downtown. Question gets asked: Is this the oldest church in town? Heard reply:"

"(Chuckle) Oh no, the old church is on the North side of the river. This church was built in 1310."

"Just a different perspective on history."

diogenes_shadow

"100% true. And also, for me, was the SIZE of those cathedrals. The size of the huge stones they are built with, and the fact that they were built over a thousand years ago. Like… HOW!? How did they get those massive stones, get them here and then hoist them up 12 stories (or whatever) to place them there. It hurts my brain. Does not compute!"

Liznobbie

Wheels Up

"I’m Dutch, but I’ll never forget my American girlfriend’s reaction to seeing rows and rows of parked bicycles in front of the train station when she came to visit the Netherlands. 'Oh my God look at all those bikes!!'"

Jockelson

"I'm from Germany, so I used to a few hundreds bikes In front of big train stations. But at Amsterdam Central I thought: 'Oh my God, look at all those bikes!!!'"

Natural_Influence_21

Distance

"Finally, I can walk to a store."

MonsieurAppleSauce

"I lived in Rio de Janeiro and now in a small town in Pennsylvania. I like living in the city, I miss being able to walk 5 min to the small grocery store in my street if I wanted to make a recipe but didn’t have the ingredients, and buying fresh bread from the bakery shop."

"I also like living in the residential area of my small town now, the house is nice, I have a backyard with trees and 'wild' animals, I can walk with my dog on the path between the houses’ backyards without worrying about cars. Both ways of building a neighborhood has positives and negatives. Delivery services for groceries and fruits/vegetables help a lot nowadays but it can get expensive."

agiab19

Blind Faith

Party Pedestrian GIF by Wegen en VerkeerGiphy

"The only thing that really surprised me was how much pedestrians trusted cars to not hit them."

MrGoalden

In London I was shocked and thrilled by that drinking thing. Anywhere. Just walk around the streets with wine.

Pardon Me?

Sam Heughan Dancing GIF by Men in Kilts: A Roadtrip with Sam and GrahamGiphy

"I went to Scotland. Ran across some German tourist who asked us to translate what the scot was saying. We were all three speaking English. They just couldn’t understand each other."

ARgirlinaFLworld

Infancy

"How young the U.S. truly is."

Strong_Ground_4410

"I went to one of the many Roman structures in England (I cant remember which one) and the tour guide said something like ‘mind, the floors are a bit uneven. Cant be helped, they were lain 1950 years ago.’"

OwMyCandle

"Americans think 100 years is a long time, Europeans think 100 miles is a long way."

locks_are_paranoid

Urban Planning

"How old a lot of the cities are. People still living in buildings older than the U.S. Walking down some of the old streets feels like you’re time traveling into a medieval fairytale."

Adventurous-Canary78

"It's crazy to think I live in a house older than the US (over 350 years old), and it's not like I'm living in a historical monument. Loads of the houses around here are that old, and it's not big or expensive. It's a regular mid-terrace."

onchristieroad

"The building I rented a flat in last time I was in London was built in 1731 according to the plaque next to the entrance. I'm a huge history nerd so my jimmies were tingling."

lilcaesarsuave

Size Matters

"When I ordered a small drink, it was actually small."

HutSutRawlson

"Sizes are definitely different. I remember going to a Domino's in NYC. Was surprised at the size difference in pizzas. Your small was our medium, your medium was our large and your large would be a 'where the hell did you get that giant pizza from' here."

domin8r

Happy

Dance Smile GIF by Mediaset EspañaGiphy

"First time in Spain… 22:30… Sun still out… parents sitting, drinking, relaxing while kids run up n down… felt so completely safe and comfortable."

mapplejax

We could really learn a thing or two about de-stressing from Spain. We need siestas.

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