• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

My biggest surprise in visiting Europe

Status
Not open for further replies.
I did. Spent almost a week in Copenhagen. The rye bread is incredible. Not a fan of the licorice though :( but I enjoyed a good open-faced sandwich.

Did you try Turkish Peper? Sour Spicy Candy is the pride of the region. I think (?) They eat it in Germany, The Netherlands and Iceland too!!


turkinpip_2.2kg_0807_2a5.jpg
 

MicH

Member
I did. Spent almost a week in Copenhagen. The rye bread is incredible. Not a fan of the licorice though :( but I enjoyed a good open-faced sandwich.
I secretly enjoy watching foreigners try salty licorice on YouTube. Always funny to see how even the sweetest licorice we have grosses them out. Guess it's a very northern European thing :p

And yes, open sandwiches are amazing! That's the best lunch you can get here
 

RE lover

Member
Europe is so diverse that it makes absolutely no sense to refer to it as just one big entity.

Here in Spain you can have tap water in every restaurant and you don't have to pay either to use the toilets. Ketchup is also free at McDonald's. It quite shocked me when they made me pay for these things in Amsterdam.

Also the tipping culture varies A LOT depending on the country!
 

Rad-

Member
Man, what do other countries eat at lunch if they're not having pasta? Rice everyday? Do they even have lunch outside of Italy?

In Finland we eat potatoes more often than rice or pasta. Potatoes + whatever protein (pork, beef, salmon, reindeer etc) + salad-y side stuff.
 

The Lamp

Member
Europe is so diverse that it makes absolutely no sense to refer to it as just one big entity.

I mean, same as USA, but there are common traits I've noticed everywhere I go, like some of your philosophies on leisure, work, money and time.

Here in Spain you can have tap water in every restaurant and you don't have to pay either to use the toilets. Ketchup is also free at McDonald's. It quite shocked me when they made me pay for these things in Amsterdam.

Yeah that was one of my favorite things about Spain! But you guys have siesta plus the weirdest store hours and I just about starved when I was wandering around Madrid at 4 am drunk.
 

Rad-

Member
I mean, same as USA, but there are common traits I've noticed everywhere I go, like some of your philosophies on leisure, work, money and time.

What do you mean? If you compare most of south European countries to most north European countries, I'd say those things are like night and day.
 

barik

Member
Back to my entire point: options. In USA I have like 20 different cuisines and styles of food to choose from on a whim after being drunk at night. 24 hour grocery stores, fast food, sit down restaurants, whatever.

Although yes I love a good doner when I'm drunk.

Again, this goes back to our culture being more focused on home-cooked meals, and less on people going out for dinner several times a week. I guess this also extends to late night fast food options. Often when I'm drinking with friends we just cook a big meal, it's cheaper and healthier, and often just as good.

Another thing might be that we're slightly more conservative, food-wise. For example, there's no Taco Bell over here (Holland), I think because they think people aren't ready for it yet? It does suck sometimes having fewer options, but if it also means we're less obese as a country, I'll take it.
 
I admire OP for teaching europeans how they act everyday towards "murica'. Condescending stereotypes just the other way round :D. Glorious.


I pity him for eating in tourist traps made especially for american tourists. (Sauerkraut & Bratwurst.. )
 

Switch Back 9

a lot of my threads involve me fucking up somehow. Perhaps I'm a moron?
I mean, same as USA, but there are common traits I've noticed everywhere I go, like some of your philosophies on leisure, work, money and time.



Yeah that was one of my favorite things about Spain! But you guys have siesta plus the weirdest store hours and I just about starved when I was wandering around Madrid at 4 am drunk.

Trying to score booze on an ingrained, North American schedule was basically impossible in Spain. Nobody got the gist of it. By the time we were ready to go out and stock up, or get the night started, everything would be closed. So annoying. Then you have to sit around after dinner doing fuck all for a couple hours before you can go buy liquor again.
 

elyetis

Member
I hate our bread. It's awful. But sometimes European bread is too rocky and unpragmatic to eat. I've had bread here that is quite difficult to slice with a knife. Some people like that though. It depends for me.
Reassure me, you don't want to cut your bread with any knife ? we have those for a reason :
1442747192-a3cb6b56-055f-92d5-7844-535dbcff32d5.jpg
 

The Lamp

Member
What do you mean? If you compare most of south European countries to most north European countries, I'd say those things are like night and day.

You all value your leisure. You all get 3x more vacation than Americans. You have less places available 24 hours or extended hours. Less emphasis on crazy hard working and capitalism. You all have less of a stigma on alcohol, too, and smoking. That is common throughout all of the parts of Europe I have visited.
 

Beefy

Member
You all value your leisure. You all get 3x more vacation than Americans. You have less places available 24 hours or extended hours. Less emphasis on crazy hard working and capitalism. You all have less of a stigma on alcohol, too, and smoking. That is common throughout all of the parts of Europe I have visited.

Wish this was true in all of Europe.
 
Hotels, restaurants, cafes etc might sell food like that, but we don't eat at those on regular basis. We eat at home, I take my home cooked food to work for my lunch break. Eating at a restaurant is a special event.
 

Fusebox

Banned
In a week I'm off to Spain, then France, Holland, England back to Spain and then home again so it'll be interesting to see how much of this thread is real life.
 

Khaz

Member
You all value your leisure. You all get 3x more vacation than Americans. You have less places available 24 hours or extended hours. Less emphasis on crazy hard working and capitalism. You all have less of a stigma on alcohol, too, and smoking. That is common throughout all of the parts of Europe I have visited.

Binge drinking (drinking alcohol to get drunk) is more prevalent in the UK and it seems in the northern countries. Alcoholic drinks as a delicacy (a glass with your meal) is a more southern behaviour (France, Italy, Spain). It's something I anecdotally noticed when comparing my drinking habits with my British friends.
 
Some Euros are super defensive here. Whats going on.

It's just banter.

Kids nowadays get their education on 9gag. Europe is good, murica is bad. Has to be bad. Guns,fat people, bad food. Something something oil. Complain about racism, make fun of america. And i am saying this as a german.
 

poodaddy

Member
I don't get it either. I fucking love bread, I really love rice, and I think I would literally die if I couldn't have pasta. I eat lots of veggies and proteins as well, but it's always accompanied by one of those three things.

edit: I'm so, so fiending for a pulled-pork poutine right now. Oh god this was the wrong thread to enter at this time of night.

double edit: I eat tons of cheese and drink a lot of milk as well. According to GAF I should basically be dead by now.

Ignore them they're regurgitating one-sided bullshit they read in a bodybuilding snake oil mag. Carbs are an essential macronutrient, skipping out on them is as asinine as not eating protein or fat. It should also be noted that the only thing that causes fat storage is excess calories and not enough activity; it's simply your basal metabolic rate plus what you burn through activity throughout the day versus how many calories you consume. Excess energy will be stored as fat, the human body's most readily available from of energy. With that being said, every gram of carbohydrates is 4 calories while every gram of fat is roughly 9. Therefore, you stand to gain more fat through high fat diets than carb, but fats are still necessary. Hell every gram of protein is 4 calories as well, and yes if you ate enough calories in protein to exceed your basal metabolic rate then those calories will be stored as fat. The truth is that there is no red herring for diets. It doesn't exist. All macronutrients are necessary for adequate muscle, joint, and bone health yet they will all make you fat if you eat too much of them. Moral? Moderation. Everything is healthy in moderation. Beer, cheese, jam, meat, oats, produce, coffee, and yes even bread. As long as you know what your basal metabolic rate is and how many calories you burn through activity in a day, then you can program your nutrition to include whatever you'd like as long as your macronutrients ratio is roughly 20% fats, 40% carbs%, and 40% protein. Give or take 10% on those ratios depending on your body type and training goals. In short? Don't listen to people when they tell you about nutrition if their knowledge is anecdotal. You sound healthy as fuck, and don't let anyone tell you you're not. Just stay active and you'll be fine.
 
Why are you comparing eating like a tourist when normal people that live there do not eat like you did?
Lol at spaniards only eating tapas.

Its like me saying that because I nearly only eat hamburgers and fast food when I went to america, americans only eat that. Thats also not true.

Edit
And spanish and french bread is the fucking best. Is something im going miss if I go to live in another country.
 

The Lamp

Member
It doesn't feel like banter. It feels like someone from one of the most obese countries in the world is telling a continent how they're doing food wrong.

I'm sorry you're defensive.
I probably weigh less than most people in this thread and my parents are actually from South America and Europe. But sure, go ahead and find reasons to invalidate my anecdotes. Whatever makes you comfortable :p

And like I said, I ate at restaurants, cafes, etc where locals ate. What I did not anticipate is that according to the defensive people in this thread, what they eat at restaurant is completely different to what they eat at home. This is not the same as Texas. In Texas, what we eat at the restaurant is basically the same kind of food we prepare at home, we just pay for the restaurant experience for the convenience to have it made for a large gathering, or for a better cook to make it for us. So seeing French people eat croissants and slices of pie and coffee for breakfast, I assumed they were eating there for the same reasons. Apparently French people eat totally differently at home, it I am to believe what people say here.

I woke up late because I had a long day. I have to go to the Indian restaurant for a quick meal before I go to the beach because they have what's advertised as "non-stop service" and French places are about to close after their regular lunch hour. Stuff like this is bewildering and annoying to me as an American. It ties into the work/leisure culture here in France, but is also one way I DONT like the way they approach food here, as a customer.
 
You all value your leisure. You all get 3x more vacation than Americans. You have less places available 24 hours or extended hours. Less emphasis on crazy hard working and capitalism. You all have less of a stigma on alcohol, too, and smoking. That is common throughout all of the parts of Europe I have visited.

In the last ~15 years smoking has become super stigmatised in the UK, starting with smoking ban in all pubs and restaurants. Now you can't even find the cigarettes in a supermarket - they're hidden away behind a panel behind the magazines / lottery counter.

It felt weird to visit Prague a few years ago and to be allowed to smoke in a basement bar. I bought myself a big cigar just because. I don't even smoke.
 

Greddleok

Member
You all value your leisure. You all get 3x more vacation than Americans. You have less places available 24 hours or extended hours. Less emphasis on crazy hard working and capitalism. You all have less of a stigma on alcohol, too, and smoking. That is common throughout all of the parts of Europe I have visited.

The holiday and work culture are why I could never live in the US. You all work so fucking much. It's disgusting.
 

YoungFa

Member
The holiday and work culture are why I could never live in the US. You all work so fucking much. It's disgusting.

The best part about this is, that this - what another post called - "work ethic" goes against everything what science has found out about workplace productivity and national health.
 

Greddleok

Member
The best part about this is, that this - what another post called - "work ethic" goes against everything what science has found out about workplace productivity and national health.

Oh yeah, that's very true. After I got my PhD I considered getting a post-doc position in the US since I love the country so much, but being chained to a lab bench for 50 weeks a year and a gross culture of competition that's instilled within research groups put me off.

I'm way more productive when I get time off. My current contract says I get as much vacation as my boss thinks is appropriate for me to finish my work. Normally is around 4 weeks per year.
 
In Spain. Guess what I had for breakfast? White bread with olive oil drizzled on top. I'm still healthy.

Fight me, GAF.

Also, to those who are wandering Madrid late at night and struggling to find food, 24 hour Maccas on Gran Via hits the spot.
 

poodaddy

Member
The holiday and work culture are why I could never live in the US. You all work so fucking much. It's disgusting.

I agree. It's actually a huge problem, and it's part of the reason for the extremely high depression rates in our country. I wish it would change, but Americans get so defensive when you even mention our work culture reflecting something akin to a European culture. Every time I I've ever brought it up I was just told to love it or leave it or I was called a socialist and accused of not being a patriot. It seems that Americans and Japanese are extremely proud of the fact that they work themselves into early graves and that they teach their children to do the same. I don't want that for my daughter, such is why I'm saving up for her education now while I can. Hopefully I can manage to teach her that there's more to life than 6 days and 50 hours of wage work a week.
 
You all value your leisure. You all get 3x more vacation than Americans. You have less places available 24 hours or extended hours. Less emphasis on crazy hard working and capitalism. You all have less of a stigma on alcohol, too, and smoking. That is common throughout all of the parts of Europe I have visited.
That's true, we get lots of holidays. Just used a week to go up to Scotland, climbing up hills and mountains (Conic Hill, Arthur's Seat, Ben Nevis not all of it), Edinburgh Castle, Luss, checking out lochs, staying in a cottage and waking up to sheep nearby. Good exercise and lots of peace to calm the brain.

America seems to have similarly beautiful places like Pacific Northwest so y'all should take some holidays there and get your climbing on.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom