So I just got back from Europe and I have some questions...

DarthMatter

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Not sure about the water quality in other countrys but in germany you can drink every water from a faucet unless it is declared as "not drinkable" (Kein Trinkwasser)
upload_2017-9-14_13-39-39.png

All of theses are fine (source:
upload_2017-9-14_13-40-53.png
)
But some taste horrible. (Disclaimer: As a Swede I have been spoiled by the tap-water at home to the point of thinking most bottled water is barely drinkable. :P)
 

Blind Owl

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Haha. It was brutal. 2 flights. One from Seattle to Vancouver, then Vancouver to Dublin. The only saving grace was that the 2nd flight was also delayed, so the HUGE delay on the first flight had less of an impact on my connection. That said, the flight crew were VERY polite and overall the experience was good. I will fly Air Canada again IF a: I have a direct flight, and b: I'm not in any particular rush to get where I'm going.
I fly them with far more frequency than I care to admit. It's the militaries go-to for anything, so I just keep collecting my points, haha. They're not all bad, and it's really easy to blame the Airline for circumstances out of their control. Buuuuut people still like to bash on them. Usually in a friendly, eye-rolling with a laugh kinda way, because Canada.
You have provided valuable and thoughtful feedback with 0 cheeky memes. I applaud your restraint :P
Why thank you. It was . . .hard. Haha
 

MikeNificent

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MikeNificent

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Rome is a city, in Italy, and Portugal is a country, just to the left of Spain. But you knew that, of course. :slight_smile:
I travel in chunks based on proximity. Spain and Portugal are indeed next to each other, hence their being on the same trip. I say Rome specifically instead of Italy because I've already done northern Italy and I'm going to try to do a few days in Rome during the trip to Spain and Portugal. And yes, I know it's a city :p
 

mindfart

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7: Netherlands: Ok so you have weed and hookers, but let's be honest your big pancakes are really just crepes. I know you know how to make pancakes, because the mini pancakes are in every restaurant ever. Why can't you make bigger pancakes?
8: Netherlands: Bicycle helmets?
7: There are a lot of ways our pancakes are made, they are usually about the same diameter, but differ in thickness and filling. At home we usually have thin pancakes (not like crepes, cause those are wayyy thinner) and in pancake diners we get thick filled ones. But not like american pancakes.

8: We don't fall a lot? I dunno tbh hahaha. But yeah I would never wear a helmet unless I'm mountain biking off road or something.
 

mindfart

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After actually thinking a bit.. the no helmet thing might have to do with the bicycle facilities. We have excellent infrastructure for bicycles, they almost everywhere have their own lane and specialized stopping lights for bikes. So they don't interact with busy traffic as much as in other countries, which makes accidents less prone to happen.
 

Dakuisha

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I just finished up my honeymoon in Europe and I have some serious questions and a few statements. Please feel free to chime in if you have an answer to any or all of these questions. If you are from one of the countries I visited (Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Belgium, Netherlands), your opinion is especially valuable.
I live in Scotland but am from an English family so i have answered some English and Scottish questions.

1: All: What do you have against iced tea?
If you are talking about the sweet stuff they call iced tea, then the Scottish variant tastes horrible, from someone who has tried the American stuff its a lot better on your side of the ocean.
If you are talking about cold tea... Its cold enough over here to begin with thank you.

6: Scotland: What's the deal with haggis? Even your own people won't eat it, so why should I feel obligated to?
I quite like haggis, even eat it as a regular meal (its not just a holiday thing). Sometimes I do get a vegetarian version though.

15: England: If your money, Scotland's money, and Northern Ireland's money are all the same, why did the weirdo at the laundromat in London refuse to accept Scottish or Irish currency?
Technically us Scott's have one currency whilst the English have their currency. They are different currencies which just happen to be value locked together... Yes I know its stupid but because of this any shop in England that takes Scottish money actually has to go to a currency exchange to swap it into English money.

16: All: In a restaurant, why do you pay more for soft drinks and even water some places, than beer or wine? I would be a complete alcoholic if I lived there, simply because I refuse to pay 4 Euros for a glass of water and don't mind paying 3,50 Euros for a glass of beer.
Many people in Scotland don't drink bottled water. The tap water is plenty drinkable so the target market is people who cannot (at that point in time) access tap water. This creates an influx of people who will - grudgingly - pay above and beyond for water and companies that are required to use high prices to stay in business.

17: England: Why do people keep getting upset when buses hit bicyclists in London? Isn't this just natural selection?
Because the law states right of way belongs to the pedestrians > bicyclists > buses. That and when a bus hits a bicyclist they normally don't fair very well.
 

NaffNaffBobFace

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Many congratulations on your wedding! I can't speak for all countries, but here is the lowdown (my opinion) from the UK:

1: All: What do you have against iced tea?

A: The UK has something called "Lypton Iced Tea", it is a soft drink from the 1970s and can only be found in the refrigerators of Newsagents. It comes in two flavors, Lemon and Peach. Lypton is the brand, not a technique, it is unclear if the drinks on sale are vintage examples left over from the 1970s.

2: All: Why is your coffee so small?

A: The higher the concentration of caffine the smaller the beverage. An expresso is diddy at something like 150ml but has more caffine than a whole liter of Grande Skinny Machismo or whatever the hell Starbucks and Costa are churning out these days.

3: England: Why do you eat beans with your breakfast?
A: Like bread, Baked Beans in tomato sauce can be used with any meal. In fact, so many beans are eaten it was found the city of Nottingham eats more Beans On Toast than anywhere else in the UK, perhaps even the worlds. I cannot find any links to back this fact up, which makes me sad.

6: Scotland: What's the deal with haggis? Even your own people won't eat it, so why should I feel obligated to?
A: I am not Scottish but my Dad is. On Burnes Night he reads a poem and stabs a Haggis. If it were not for that Robert Burnes poem, I am sure Haggis would have gone the way of the Dodo long ago, but because of Tradition, Haggis endures.

11: All: Kudos for motor vehicle drivers in all 6 countries making pedestrians scatter like cockroaches when the light comes on. Roads are for cars. Thank you for

A: In the UK this comes from out long history of Public Service Announcement ads on TV. Literally anyone within ten feet of a car in those PSA's die gruesome painful bloody deaths. Cars move, pedestrians move.

12: France: I drank some crazy cider maker's apple moonshine at 74% alcohol. My throat still burns. Thanks!
A: Next time try the Absinthe ;)

13: All: I noticed a distinct increase in body mass index as I traveled through the 'french fry belt' (term I coined for all of the countries who claim to have invented french fries). Is this something you have noticed as well? Or could it be the waffles and chocolate also prevalent in these areas?
A: All the thin people were not visible as they were in the Fry factories making fries for the fatties you saw.

15: England: If your money, Scotland's money, and Northern Ireland's money are all the same, why did the wierdo at the laundromat in London refuse to accept Scottish or Irish currency?
A: Although the "United Kingdom" is indeed united, there are a few factors which cause this - Firstly, although the Irish, Welsh, Scottish and English identify as being British, none of them equate that with being Irish if they are Scottish or being Welsh if they are English etc etc. Secondly, the English are only trained in identifying fake English notes and coins. A fake Scottish note could have a picture of Jimmy Krankie on and an English shopkeeper would not know that was not a person who would or would not appear on a Scots note. EDIT - I was not aware the currency would need to be converted, you learn something new every day!

16: All: In a restaurant, why do you pay more for soft drinks and even water some places, than beer or wine? I would be a complete alcoholic if I lived there, simply because I refuse to pay 4 Euros for a glass of water and don't mind paying 3,50 Euros for a glass of beer.
A: As drinking and driving is illegal in the UK, restaurants here know they have a captive victim who is limited to a very small selection. All of that selection is inflated in price to earn as much £ off the sucka as possible, it is a punishment for not booking a taxi, and is known as the Tax on being Responsible.

17: England: Why do people keep getting upset when buses hit bicyclists in London? Isn't this just natural selection?
A: UK Mums make their children change their underpants by saying "If you get hit by a bus, the doctors will see your grubby undies. You don't want that!" Because of this, whenever we hear someone has been hit by a bus, we are assailed by years of our mums telling us if we are hit by a bus we need clean pants on, and no cyclist has clean pants on after they have been hit by a bus... Their mums would be ashamed, thats no way to go.
 
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ADKL

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I just finished up my honeymoon in Europe and I have some serious questions and a few statements. Please feel free to chime in if you have an answer to any or all of these questions. If you are from one of the countries I visited (Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Belgium, Netherlands), your opinion is especially valuable.

1: All: What do you have against iced tea?
2: All: Why is your coffee so small?
3: England: Why do you eat beans with your breakfast?
4: Ireland: What exactly is a 'pudding' and why does it taste so good?
5: Canada (I flew Air Canada to Europe): Why can't any of your flights take off on time (0 for 2)?
6: Scotland: What's the deal with haggis? Even your own people won't eat it, so why should I feel obligated to?
7: Netherlands: Ok so you have weed and hookers, but let's be honest your big pancakes are really just crepes. I know you know how to make pancakes, because the mini pancakes are in every restaurant ever. Why can't you make bigger pancakes?
8: Netherlands: Bicycle helmets?
9: France (Paris specifically): I know you have trash cans and toilets. Does anyone use them or is the ground and/or subway considered a suitable substitute?
10: Belgium: Paper train tickets? Seriously?
11: All: Kudos for motor vehicle drivers in all 6 countries making pedestrians scatter like cockroaches when the light comes on. Roads are for cars. Thank you for
12: France: I drank some crazy cider maker's apple moonshine at 74% alcohol. My throat still burns. Thanks!
13: All: I noticed a distinct increase in body mass index as I traveled through the 'french fry belt' (term I coined for all of the countries who claim to have invented french fries). Is this something you have noticed as well? Or could it be the waffles and chocolate also prevalent in these areas?
14: Ireland: I've never been much of a beer drinker until I rediscovered Guiness. Thank you!
15: England: If your money, Scotland's money, and Northern Ireland's money are all the same, why did the wierdo at the laundromat in London refuse to accept Scottish or Irish currency?
16: All: In a restaurant, why do you pay more for soft drinks and even water some places, than beer or wine? I would be a complete alcoholic if I lived there, simply because I refuse to pay 4 Euros for a glass of water and don't mind paying 3,50 Euros for a glass of beer.
17: England: Why do people keep getting upset when buses hit bicyclists in London? Isn't this just natural selection?
18: Belgium: I ate some of that Mary's chocolate and it's pretty much fat kid crack. Is there crack in it?
19: Your national symbol is a naked kid taking a piss. Am I the only one who thinks this is kind of wierd?

I'm sure there's more stuff that will come to my feeble American mind, but this is the stuff that I was thinking about now. I'll update the thread if I have more questions.

Thanks in advance!

Edit: Pronouns...
1 . nothing
2. it looks cool
3. this fits the stereo type that brits can't cook
4. see point 3
5. pilots going "after you""no after you"
6.see point 3
7.netherlands are weirdos ( source gamble's stream)
8. see point 7
9.yes
10. yes
11. yes
12. ...yes ?
13. muh genetics
14. ew
15. british currency is accepted in ireland and scotland nt the other way around (source : braveheart)
16. they ant you to srive drunk and get a ticket for it (source the voice in my head)
17. i agree
18. there is butter in it (belgium crack)
19. belgium is known for fries , chocolate and pedos
 

NaffNaffBobFace

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Oh I have a question too at UK people:
20. Why don't you clean up your Motorways ?

I havn't seen so many roadkills, scrap and other stuff laying on the side of the road.
Hi, UK answerer here:

Disclaimer: This is an interpretation of the events based on someone living here and may not be 100% factually correct:

It wasn't always like this, as recently as 10 years ago everything was running pretty much as you'd expect - Then the recession hit and the government has been pushing this thing called "Austerity" for the last 7 years... From someone living in the country, it appears to be an attempt to close down all public services that don't make any Money (note the capital M): Cleaning up the highways makes no money, so it has basically stopped.

Private companies have been invited to provide services like this, however as you can't make money out of providing basic public services, no one has stepped in to do it because companies can't function without making any Money.

You may have noticed on roads that aren't motorways that in the parts of the country where the people whos lives don't matter live (mostly anywhere outside of London Londoners don't visit regularly) they have stopped renewing road markings too. Thats right, they are no longer repairing the white lines in the middle of the road even on busy links between towns that get heavy traffic. Paining lines on the road does not make any Money.

I witnessed a car drive down the middle of an insanely busy road because of this, if you imagine the worn lines in each lane from the tires of vehicles looking like this from above: l l l l the driver had settled into the middlemost two lines with their wheels because a moments loss of concentration and no lane separator caught them out. They could have crashed, but on this occasion didn't.

Some towns have even started turning off street lighting after 12pm, some suggested as early as 10pm because street lighting costs Money, even putting in more efficiant cheaper to run street lighting costs Money they say they don't have to spend... It is very odd in the middle of a town of 12,000 souls to have to drive with full beams in order not to run anyone over.

This is the Austerity policy in action. Things you would expect from Public Services are just not there anymore, mainly because we have voted in a government that believes everything should turn a profit.
 

Thalstan

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Hi, UK answerer here:

Disclaimer: This is an interpretation of the events based on someone living here and may not be 100% factually correct:

It wasn't always like this, as recently as 10 years ago everything was running pretty much as you'd expect - Then the recession hit and the government has been pushing this thing called "Austerity" for the last 7 years... From someone living in the country, it appears to be an attempt to close down all public services that don't make any Money (note the capital M): Cleaning up the highways makes no money, so it has basically stopped.

Private companies have been invited to provide services like this, however as you can't make money out of providing basic public services, no one has stepped in to do it because companies can't function without making any Money.

You may have noticed on roads that aren't motorways that in the parts of the country where the people whos lives don't matter live (mostly anywhere outside of London Londoners don't visit regularly) they have stopped renewing road markings too. Thats right, they are no longer repairing the white lines in the middle of the road even on busy links between towns that get heavy traffic. Paining lines on the road does not make any Money.

I witnessed a car drive down the middle of an insanely busy road because of this, if you imagine the worn lines in each lane from the tires of vehicles looking like this from above: l l l l the driver had settled into the middlemost two lines with their wheels because a moments loss of concentration and no lane separator caught them out. They could have crashed, but on this occasion didn't.

Some towns have even started turning off street lighting after 12pm, some suggested as early as 10pm because street lighting costs Money, even putting in more efficiant cheaper to run street lighting costs Money they say they don't have to spend... It is very odd in the middle of a town of 12,000 souls to have to drive with full beams in order not to run anyone over.

This is the Austerity policy in action. Things you would expect from Public Services are just not there anymore, mainly because we have voted in a government that believes everything should turn a profit.
Wow...over here in the States, a lack of basic maintenance can actually result in a loss of money. For example. There is a pothole you see on the way to work. You report it as it's pretty big and might damage cars. City/town/state ignores it. 4 weeks later, you can't avoid it and you damage your wheel or get a flat. In many states, you can actually recover the costs associated with your flat, wheel damage, suspension damage, etc because they failed to take action on a known problem. Because a number of people might get a flat or damaged wheel due to these big pot holes, it's an incentive to the responsible agency to get out and fix the roads rather than have a bunch of people get really upset with their politicians who might not get re-elected as a result of it.
 

Michael

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Wow...over here in the States, a lack of basic maintenance can actually result in a loss of money. For example. There is a pothole you see on the way to work. You report it as it's pretty big and might damage cars. City/town/state ignores it. 4 weeks later, you can't avoid it and you damage your wheel or get a flat. In many states, you can actually recover the costs associated with your flat, wheel damage, suspension damage, etc because they failed to take action on a known problem. Because a number of people might get a flat or damaged wheel due to these big pot holes, it's an incentive to the responsible agency to get out and fix the roads rather than have a bunch of people get really upset with their politicians who might not get re-elected as a result of it.
To clarify that a little bit:
the roads have been cleared, they're just putting it on the hard shoulder. Or don't remove everything from the hard shoulder. So there is no straight danger to cars.

I can't remember to see that on my last b&b trip through UK ~15 years ago. So its probably really a money thing.
 
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