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[Bossun]

Uh I didn't really think about supermarkets in Paris, or look for them. But forgive me for my use of the word "tiny", everything Europeans shop at is nano-sized compared to what I shop at in Texas. My grocery store is like the size of Berlin train station.

Yeah I'd imagine they're not as huge as the one in the US.
But keep in mind that service is not as big in most european countries as it is in the US. But everything is done to have at least the minimum of what you need at any given time. You just need to know it exist. Restaurants closing late, small supermarkets open all night, pharmacy open all night too.

 

[The Lamp]

Fucking LOL.

Sorry man, but this is just so ignorant it's funny... no offence, I'm sure your experiences are genuine, but man, this all just sounds so ridiculous.

The tone of your posts seems like you forced yourself to go abroad to Europe just so you could 'prove' that your pre-conceived ideas on European diet/culture were right. Eh, sorry if this sounds too harsh...

College students don't spend $10,000 for ridiculous things like you're suggesting. I wanted to travel and see things and vacation. I just got back from the beach.

I actually unfairly idolized European culture more before I came than I do now.

Also, I was asking questions, which are by nature, objects of ignorance.

 

[Famassu]

Lol @ all the offended Europeans that can't stand an American calling THEM unhealthy. I live in Holland and one of the main reasons I always go to the U.S. on vacation is the awful service and ridiculously high prices for healthy food in Europe.

Every diner or breakfast cafe in the U.S. has affordable healthy options, doesn't serve coffee in a cup the size of a tea spoon and actually offers free icewater. I was flabbergasted when I ordered water during a concert and the woman behind the bar looked at me like I was insane for trying to hand her money. Don't get me started about public bathrooms. If you go shopping in Europe and need to go to the bathroom? Tough shit! Hold it in or pay the ridiculous price of 1 Euro.
I HAVE TO PAY TO GO TO THE BATHROOM IN A MCDONALDS AS A PAYING CUSTOMER.

Europe has a lot of advantages but service and dining ain't one of them. I know a lot of Americans hate the tipping system but getting a steady wage and not having to work for tips has made European restaurants and waiters lazy. It's a big fucking chore to get free water (at least in Holland) and the word refill is non-existent.

Prices in restaurants are a bit higher on average because people are actually paid a livable wage in Europe, unlike in the US where the wages can be a joke. Food itself is can also be more expensive here & taxes are higher. I think that's good enough a reason to pay a little higher prices.

The rest seems specific to your region, so I won't bother arguing with those. I.e. in Finland a McDonald's customer can go to the toilet free, there are plenty of places that offer ice water (though it might not be free, but it's usually only, like, 0,50€, so who gives a fuck), you often have options in how big a coffee you want etc..

And as far as refills go, a lot of places do offer free refills of coffee and I couldn't really give a fuck if we don't get refills of soft drinks. It's probably good for the health of the general populace that we don't offer refills of Coca Cola etc.

 

[Khaz]

Okay so Berlin probably takes the cake, haha, and most stores in Texas are only ground floor. But our markets are still quite big, especially the local favorite HEB. Our largest HEB store is in San Antonio, is two stories, has 1,180 parking spaces, 182,000 square feet, and built on 44 acres. But I don't know if HEB is the biggest. Maybe Sams or Walmart might beat it in size.

182.000 square feet is about 17.000m².
Quite a bunch of hypermarkets are of this size in France:
http://www.marketing-pgc.com/2012/05/10/les-100-plus-gros-hypermarches-de-france-2012/

 

[Nickle]

I agree with OP, the hamburgers at European McDonalds aren't even that good.

 

[Dr.Acula]

its a scene from scott pilgrim
http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n600/saltwatershakers/breadmakesyoufat.gif[/QUOTE]

Yeah, but that was referencing the idea itself.

 

[Fusebox]

I agree with OP, the hamburgers at European McDonalds aren't even that good.

Well the cheese and buns in an American Big Mac are already worse than in an Australian one - how much worse could the Euro version be?? What was it about EU Maccas you didn't like?

 

[Famassu]

No it's the calories. We eat too much.

You guys also eat too much, sure, but you add shittons of sugar/fructose into everything (except raw food, of course). That just adds calories. Like, not only do you eat too much, but too much of the stuff you eat has added sugar, which just worsens the problem. There's a bit too much sugar in the diet of a lot of people in Europe too, but not even near on the same level as in the US.

 

[PolarGamer]

Best thread this week.

Awesome to read your impressions on my part of the world. And to those people offended.. Come on. It's one guy's oppinion. I'm sure people from the US read much worse shit than this - often from people who never even visited the states.

 

[brokenbeans]

I agree with OP, the hamburgers at European McDonalds aren't even that good.

UK gaf here - yeah I've gone off them I'll have a Big Mac now and then but the limited time only burgers aren't that great.

 

[jim-jam bongs]

I agree with OP, the hamburgers at European McDonalds aren't even that good.

 

[faridmon]

So many untrue things listed by the OP. Yes, Eastern European folks drink a lot, but we all know that and they all know that, nothing Surprising about that. However the diet across the continent is very healthy relatively speaking. Most restaurants serve small sized meals which is far cry from what you are used to at the states.

 

[Hypron]

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.

I like it tougher than flimsy American bread though

I wouldn't just sort things in two categories ("American" bread and "European" bread). You've got a wide-variety of breads. I don't like all the breads made in Europe (hell, even in France) equally. The bread that's eaten the most in France is pretty different from that which is eaten most in Germany. The thing is though, it's a lot easier to find bread that suits your taste when you have a good variety of bread available.

I haven't lived in the US so I can't say what it's like there. Where I live at the moment (NZ) the most popular type of bread is this shit:

I guess it's decent for toasts but it's pretty shit for everything else. All the bread types you can easily find here are super soft.

I really wish I had easy access to the wide variety of bread that's available in France. I could buy exactly what I feel like when I feel like.

 

[Alebrije]

They mostly drink water or wine , walk a lot or use bycicle to move , their trash food actually tastes like food.

 

[MatrixMan.EXE]

Well I didn't see any that I would consider large in 5 weeks, so pardon my ignorance, you can't drive 5 fucking minutes in Texas without seeing a Walmart or giant ass market. They're not as common in Europe.

In the UK, you tend to get a lot of the large supermarkets and mega stores near retail parks and suburbs, away from all of the typical places tourists would usually frequent so that makes sense.

We even have Costco over here. I visit my local one quite often. Shit is mad.

 

[GIANKRATOS]

Well, next time come to Italy.

 

[UFO]

The European outrage here is delicious. After all the threads generalizing America, which is bigger and probably more diverse then Europe, and 1 thread going the other way and you get all up in arms.

 

[Famassu]

Best thread this week.

Awesome to read your impressions on my part of the world. And to those people offended.. Come on. It's one guy's oppinion. I'm sure people from the US read much worse shit than this - often from people who never even visited the states.

To try to imply that it's near impossible to find good restaurants in countries like France, Spain & Germany is ludicrous. It's not that the cafes that sell unhealty pastries for breakfast, people drinking a lot of beer or junk food places that the OP described don't exist, but you don't have to look too hard to find healthier alternatives that serve delicious food. If you're just visiting, it's not that hard to find a new non-junk-food-non-cafe restaurant for each day of the visit even in smaller cities. I mean, from my experience, you can just wander around for half an hour and find a dozen places that serve good food that has nothing to do with deep frying or pastries/cakes.

 

[daviyoung]

The European outrage here is delicious. After all the threads generalizing America, which is bigger and probably more diverse then Europe, and 1 thread going the other way and you get all up in arms.

eh?

 

[Ape Gone Insane]

The European outrage here is delicious. After all the threads generalizing America, which is bigger and probably more diverse then Europe, and 1 thread going the other way and you get all up in arms.

America is not bigger or more diverse than Europe.

Maybe some generalisations regarding basic knowledge of Americans are actually true though.

 

[Currygan]

The European outrage here is delicious. After all the threads generalizing America, which is bigger and probably more diverse then Europe, and 1 thread going the other way and you get all up in arms.

hilarious

 

[Auron_Kale]

I too just came back from a 3-week stint in Europe and since coming back, I noticed that my appetite is much smaller than it used to be prior to my stay. I too also walked everywhere when I was in Vienna and London, aside from enjoying their awesome public transit system (BART/MUNI pales so much in comparison).

I don't miss the fact that drinking orange Fanta or Orangina was like drinking fizzy orange juice versus being soda. The use of actual sugar instead of HFCS made it far too easy, due to it going down smoother do to less burn.

 

[shira]

Europe loves you back

I'd have thunk China would be up there with the noodles and dumplings. Mb that's not considered "pasta"

 

[Famassu]

The European outrage here is delicious. After all the threads generalizing America, which is bigger and probably more diverse then Europe, and 1 thread going the other way and you get all up in arms.

What outrage? The OP tries to ingorantly claim that there's no good food in Europe(an restaurants) to be found and it's all just pastries, beer and deep fried junk food, when you can prove just how much BS that is if you just bother walking & looking around for 15-20 minutes in any slightly larger cities' city centres or areas close to it.

 

[Game-Biz]

So? They also speak German in Austria and Switzerland. That doesn't make them German.
A Biergarten is not a "German" restaurant. Because there is not one big German Style. People eat different in every Bundesland. If anything a Biergarten is Bavarian. It is a place to get drunk, obviously you will only get fat foods there.

Where I live this is a traditional Breakfast:

Wow that's looks good.

 

[Walpurgis]

The European outrage here is delicious. After all the threads generalizing America, which is bigger and probably more diverse then Europe, and 1 thread going the other way and you get all up in arms.

LMAO!!! Holy crap. Why do I always see people posting this?

 

[Prez]

There's no such thing as a typical European breakfast. A lot of people just eat some slices of bread with Nutella or jam, or eggs. My breakfast consists of pre-made pancakes from the microwave with brown sugar and half a liter of chocolate milk. (my BMI is 20 btw)

The European outrage here is delicious. After all the threads generalizing America, which is bigger and probably more diverse then Europe, and 1 thread going the other way and you get all up in arms.

Europe is definitely more diverse than the US, but it's true that non-Americans hugely underestimate the US' diversity.

 

[soco]

Is this you OP?

american washing hands in urinal

 

[KillGore]

Oh wow, didn't expect this thread to end up like this. I guess Europeans are just as sensitive as Americans.

 

[CloudWolf]

I eat at local restaurants.

This is your mistake. Never base your opinion of a country's cuisine on what you eat in restaurants. If I did that for the United States I would think that all you eat are pancakes, burgers, steaks and Mexican food.

What would you say is your national dish? I think I'd like to travel there for a holiday in the future.

Stamppot, I guess. But don't eat it, it's awful.

 

[Daria Morgendorffer]

The European outrage here is delicious. After all the threads generalizing America, which is bigger and probably more diverse then Europe, and 1 thread going the other way and you get all up in arms.

Top kek, thanks for making my night

 

[poppabk]

The European outrage here is delicious. After all the threads generalizing America, which is bigger and probably more diverse then Europe, and 1 thread going the other way and you get all up in arms.

The premise of the thread is flawed though - it's even stated in the OP - if European diets were worse than the US then obesity rates would be similar even with extra exercise, but they aren't.

 

[CloudWolf]

The European outrage here is delicious. After all the threads generalizing America, which is bigger and probably more diverse then Europe, and 1 thread going the other way and you get all up in arms.

The USA is definitely more diverse than any single European country, but more diverse than the entire continent? Hell no.

 

[Haly]

Ethnically, we're more diverse, but culturally less so. Geographically speaking, going into the deep south and then heading up north to Canada's borders isn't comparable to going from Italy to Sweden. Even our coastal urban centers, which have much more ethnic diversity, would still feel samey going from east to west.

Part of this is due to the concept of suburbia and mass-produced towns, and part of this is because of a lack of history. 100-200 at most, compared to Europe's 10+ centuries.

 

[CassidyIzABeast]

Interesting findings. Their eating habits aren't any better they just don't drive everywhere. Somebody should do a study to confirm.

 

[Zoned]

Yo OP you stayed in France for 5 days and you judged their entire food based on that? As an American, stop already.

As for the bread making you fat, people in US spew same shit about rice making you fat. But look at Asians...the problem is size of the meals and the preservatives that food corp add in our food.

 

[sbkodama]

I actually unfairly idolized European culture more before I came than I do now.

The more surprising for you was the food it seem, but beside that I wanted to know how you idolized european culture before and what you think about it now ?
Also europe isn't a country and each country has his own culture, so I wonder what you call european culture ? and do you think that there is more difference between each european countries than each united states ?

 

[jerry1594]

Lol @ the edit

 

[Condom]

I'm from Alabama in the Netherlands. Europeans have a fresher, leaner, and lower calorie meals from my perspective. Except for the thousands of Turkish restaurants around every corner.

Dutch Turkish fast food is best fast food

 

[faridmon]

The European outrage here is delicious. After all the threads generalizing America, which is bigger and probably more diverse then Europe, and 1 thread going the other way and you get all up in arms.

So reacting to an exaggerated, and possible false account of things is an outrage now?

Dutch Turkish fast food is best fast food

I don't know about Dutch, but the Turkish fast food in Germany are some of the best food I have had. So much better than the shit we get served here in UK.

 

[cyba89]

The European outrage here is delicious. After all the threads generalizing America, which is bigger and probably more diverse then Europe, and 1 thread going the other way and you get all up in arms.

This post is delicious.

 

[UFO]

Ethnically, we're more diverse, but culturally less so. Geographically speaking, going into the deep south and then heading up north to Canada's borders isn't comparable to going from Italy to Sweden. Even our coastal urban centers, which have much more ethnic diversity, would still feel samey going from east to west.

Part of this is due to the concept of suburbia and mass-produced towns, and part of this is because of a lack of history. 100-200 at most, compared to Europe's 10+ centuries.

What are talking about? America might only be 240 years old, but the people and cultures are much older. Going from the south to the north might not seem that different if all you're looking for is the middle class white suburbian. But you're ignoring all the other races. We have far more Asian, African, and Central/South Americans then Europe has. You're going to tell me there's more cultural diversity going from Italy to Sweden vs going from China to Belize?

 

[Condom]

What are talking about? America might only be 240 years old, but the people and cultures are much older. Going from the south to the north might not seem that different if all you're looking for is the middle class white suburbian. But you're ignoring all the other races. We have far more Asian, African, and Central/South Americans then Europe has. You're going to tell me there's more cultural diversity going from Italy to Sweden vs going from China to Belize?

We have immigrants too you know.

(not doubting America's diversity, I think this discussion is a bit silly haha)

 

[bomma_man]

You really can't speak for all of Europe on this one. My most recent trip to Europe was to France, previous was England, Italy and before that Croatia. All in the past 12 months. Nothing you've described lines up with my experiences anywhere I visited on those trips; service was great, the food was great, water and toilets were abundant and free. Maybe you're going to shitty places, or maybe Holland is just unusual. Or, even more likely, maybe shitty places are shitty and not-shitty places are not-shitty.

And before you ask, I've lived in the US and am familiar with the obsequiousness and over-attentiveness which characterises their customer-service.

There was a this American life episode where a waitress thought it was weird that she got less tips when she was nice than when she was diffident. They played a clip of her when she was being 'nice'. She would not shut the fuck up or leave them alone. I would hate that.

 

[McLovin]

They have less fake shit in their food.

 

[User 406]

Interesting findings. Their eating habits aren't any better they just don't drive everywhere. Somebody should do a study to confirm.

No, their eating habits are better: they don't gorge themselves.

The US is the only country obsessed with macronutrient balance while the rest of the world just eats whatever in reasonable portions and walks around. Guess which method is working?

 

[Mass_Pincup]

The European outrage here is delicious. After all the threads generalizing America, which is bigger and probably more diverse then Europe, and 1 thread going the other way and you get all up in arms.

What are talking about? America might only be 240 years old, but the people and cultures are much older. Going from the south to the north might not seem that different if all you're looking for is the middle class white suburbian. But you're ignoring all the other races. We have far more Asian, African, and Central/South Americans then Europe has. You're going to tell me there's more cultural diversity going from Italy to Sweden vs going from China to Belize?

Yep only the USA has immigrant from other continent....

You couldn't be more wrong.

 

[way more]

Uh I didn't really think about supermarkets in Paris, or look for them. But forgive me for my use of the word "tiny", everything Europeans shop at is nano-sized compared to what I shop at in Texas. My grocery store is like the size of Berlin train station.

Yeah, that was strange. It was like, "I guess I only have these four choices when it comes to toothpaste." I longed for the freedom to choose.

The toothpaste aisle of a First World nation.

 

[bomma_man]

itt Americans still think Europe is a country...

 

[ThusZarathustra]

Has someone asked how old the OP is yet? Because he comes off as very earnest and naive, and doesn't seem to be vicious or anything, just clinging very tightly to some pretty closely held assumptions he took as gospel...

EDIT: Reading back through the thread, here... Texas. Oh. Well, there we go then.