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Americans Reveal Their 40 Most WTF Moments While Visiting Europe In This Viral Thread
A few months ago, we did a piece on a viral thread that had Europeans revealing their biggest WTF moments while traveling in the US. But since planes fly both ways across the Atlantic, let’s turn the tables, shall we?
Turns out, Reddit user Cyber-Gon submitted a question to r/AskReddit, asking: «Americans who visited Europe, what was your biggest WTF moment?» and their answers are just as entertaining as the Europeans’.
From divine German tap water to the number of bicycles in the Netherlands, here are some of the most-upvoted replies!
#1
Y’all get how many days of paid vacation?! And sick leave? And public healthcare?! And you don’t live in a socialist hellhole like I’ve been told? America, you lied to me!
Image credits: BarcodeNinja
#2
Tripped on an escalator in England. Got stitches. Was laughed at when I offered to pay the bill. «What bill? This is the civilized world.»
Image credits: godzillabobber
#3
In Toulouse, France, I went to a nice restaurant and ordered dinner. When it arrived, I was like, ‘Where’s the rest of it?’ The waitress laughed, as she grew up there and in Canada. (I’m from Brooklyn, New York, where portions are huge.) She calmly told me to eat it and if I was still hungry to order another one. By the last bite, I was stuffed. That was my WTF moment: when I realized how rich and high quality the food was over there.
Image credits: Doc580
#4
It boggled my mind how old everything was and how it was still integrated into everyday life. Like in the UK, drinking in a pub that had been in the same spot since the 11th century or eating dinner at restaurant in an 18th-century cathedral. Or in Prague, staying in a hotel that had been operating since the 15th century
Image credits: ronluvstwizzlers
#5
My biggest WTF was coming back to the States. Seemed like such a downgrade.
Image credits: raditz495
#6
Not American, but Canadian.
First time I went to Ireland, I go through customs and the agent says to me…
«business or personal»
«personal»
«oh yeah, what’s up?»
«Visiting the Inlaws.»
«first time in Ireland?»
«Yes sir»
«feck*ng eh… Well, why ya standin around. go get pissed.
Image credits: golbezza
#7
We were driving through Spain, and to the side of one of the roads, we noticed these MASSIVE bird nests in the high power electrical towers. They were at least twice the size of eagles nests that I had seen. And there were so many of them!
Then we saw these giant birds in them! We stopped by the side of the road and tried to take some pictures (didn’t have a great zoom lens, sadly). But no one else was stopping. It was so odd. We are accustomed to at least a few people stopping to watch the osprey, eagles, or other birds where I’m from.
So a few days later, we are chatting with a German tourist, and we bring up the birds…
I think she thought we were joking until we pulled out the pictures. Then she started laughing.
Storks. Those are storks. Of course, don’t you know that? They are everywhere and such a nuisance. Don’t you have storks in America?
Well…no?
Then she looked confused. Well, if you don’t have storks, who brings the babies in kids stories?
Storks.
Um…how does that work?
And that was when we realized that the story of the storks makes a whole lot more sense when storks are nesting on every chimney, tree, or tall place…
Image credits: notwearingwords
#8
French butter made me stop and reflect on the beauty of being alive. I didn’t think butter could be improved upon, but holy sh*t. So creamy.»
Image credits: jjbutts
#9
In Europe, wait staff are paid a living wage so they do not need tips. The eating experience is much more laid-back and slower in Europe, relative to America. It also seems like [European] wait staff is never trying to force you out of the restaurant once you are done eating.
Image credits: canesfan8193
#10
If something costs five euros, it’s exactly that. Tax is included.
Image credits: Aaron1570
#11
Went to Dover England and saw a mother f*cking castle. The newest section was built like 300-400 years before my country was founded. Turned a corner and the next part was 200 years older than that. Ten minutes later walk up to a Roman light house built 2000 years ago. Daaaammmnnn
Edit: The best part was we arrived the night before we went to the castle. I didnt see it on the ride to the hotel. (We get inside and our room is the largest room we had seen at any of our hotels apparently the hotel was built by an American company so the rooms were built like they would be In the US.) I open the curtains to see what is out my window, usually a parking lot, another random building or something boring. Not today Yank, not today. CASTLE.
Image credits: nobodytrickedme
#12
Funny enough, my biggest WTF moment came from an American. We were at a restaurant in Cinque Terre, Italy called Trattoria Dal Billy. About halfway through our meal, I overheard a guy with a Tennessee/Arkansas accent say, verbatim, in a frustrated tone «you need to speak more American!» to his waiter. This isn’t Rome. This isn’t Venice. It’s a small town called Manarola. The odds of finding someone fluent in your language are drastically lowered; however, this guy was pompous enough to not only continue to berate his waiter, but then tell the manager who came around that he needs to hire someone who can speak American…in a foreign country…of which he obviously speaks ZERO of their language. Seriously, WTF!
Image credits: westicular
#13
Went to Denmark on a whim with some friends. The biggest surprise was when I realized that I had met a ton of strangers over the course of a week and I had no idea what they did for a living. Never once did we talk about work or school.
Image credits: Ninjasensay
#14
I lived in Spain for 9 months at one point and was trying to get to the supermarket in the middle of a weekday and the entire city center was blocked off. I had to park and walk a ways and discovered that they were having a giant block party. Kegs and all. Around noon. Celebrating the towns new garbage trucks.
I love Spain.
Image credits: Inspectorcatget
#15
Every night in Spain, around 3 a.m. this MASSIVE fleet of street scrubbers, vacuum-mobiles, and water hoses appeared and cleaned the entire city for about an hour. It was like ~100 people every night just cleaning the city. The following morning, all of Salamanca was spotless. That sh*t was magical.
Image credits: reddit
#16
I was doing a study abroad program in the UK but also had to take monthly blood tests for a medication I had been put on before I flew over. I was fully prepared for a laundry list of paperwork and fees to deal with the tests as well as getting these results to my doctor back in the states.
After the first blood test I went up to the receptionist and asked what I owed. She looked at me with a bit of confusion and said, «Oh, no, you’re fine you can just go.» My doctor doctor also got my blood results in less time than they did when I got them in the states. Screw our broken healthcare system.
Image credits: Glass_Jaw
#17
When I️ visited the hospital and had X-rays done, spoke with two doctors, and was triaged by a nurse, all with no health insurance, and my total bill was 24 euros. Then I️ had to pay 10 additional euros for some painkillers, again with no insurance or anything.
Image credits: literocola431
#18
My biggest WTF moment was when I visited England and people respected me a lot more when I told them I was canadian and not american (I’m actually canadian)
Image credits: General-Snorlax
#19
In my early twenties, on my first trip to Europe, I took an Italian ocean liner, New York to Genoa. My WTF moment was going out on the deck on morning six for the foggy passage through the Straits of Gibraltar. Europe emerging through the mist on my left and North Africa on my right, coupled with the awareness of how many voyagers throughout history had sailed through that passage (including my Italian grandparents traveling in the other direction), gave me chills.
Image credits: Roundaboutsix
#20
In Amsterdam, the number of bicycles outside the central station. How the F do people find their bikes once they park them?! Also, the Dutch are easily the most graceful cyclists. The way you guys can weave through dumb folks standing in the bike paths is outstanding.
Image credits: gezelligs
#21
Not paying for a gynecological exam. I developed an ovarian cyst while in England that was causing some pain. I made an appointment at a health clinic and was examined. Afterwards, I expected to pay because A) that’s always the first thing that happens in US healthcare and B) I was a foreigner who had never paid into the UK National Health Service. They just laughed and said, «We don’t take money for services and we’d have no idea what to charge you».
Mind blown. God save the NHS.
Image credits: SnapesGrayUnderpants
#22
In Spain, the siesta is real. I just thought that it was an archaic thing that some people did. Nope. Everything shuts down for an hour or two. Even in super-touristy places, 99% of shops and businesses shut down.
Image credits: the_planes_walker
#23
Blatant nudity everywhere. Porn mags just sitting at the front of newsstands in the middle of the city. A giant graffiti penis and nobody cared. Made me realize how prudish we are in the US
Image credits: reddit
#24
How to party like a German: pre-party on Friday at 11 p.m., get into club at 2 a.m., leave club on Sunday at 6 a.m. Germans are nuts, in a good way.
Image credits: Ooooweeee
#25
This was a few years ago before «chip» credit/bank cards were like «a thing» in the States. But when I stopped in Amsterdam, and hoped over to Latvia, I discovered that in both countries, my DEBIT card that needed to be swiped to buy anything, was like a weird old relic. Every cashier everywhere gave me a confused look when I handed them my card and they saw it didn’t have a chip. They would, after I politely mentioned it had to be swiped, question whether or not that was even possible with their register. They always looked shocked to discover that the little slat along the side of their credit card thing was to be used to slide a card through. And when it actually worked, they always looked even MORE shocked. That’s the first time I learned «Oh damn. Maybe America is behind in a lot of ways.» Because everyone looked at my card as if it were carved out of stone and would pay them in some Flinstones-style currency that they were convinced they couldn’t actually accept. By Day 2 of the trip, even I was like… «You f*cking American assh*le with your ancient technology.»
#26
How easy and unencumbered by useless bullsh*t most things are.
Getting on a 5:30 train from Burssels to Berlin? Show up at 5:20. And get laughed at by the Germans who will finish their beer at exactly 5:28 because they know the walk from the bar to the platform is 1 minute and 57 seconds.
In the states that would require showing up at 3:15 because of at least 4 security checkpoints and 8 lines of people who can’t figure out how an escalator works.
#27
The quality of the fast food surprised me. Everything from the street vendors to chains like McDonald’s was better quality then anything I’d gotten at home.
Image credits: Creepas5
#28
Orange Fanta ACTUALLY tasted like oranges.
Image credits: _Dodge
#29
That their standard of living was just as high as ours, but everything was smaller. Smaller apartments, smaller cars, smaller grocery stores, and fewer jars of peanut butter in the smaller grocery stores.
Image credits: LadyCeer
#30
In Spain, everyone appears to be very thin yet I swear eats a loaf of bread a day.
Image credits: WilominoFilobuster
#31
In Italy, when buying a soccer ticket, they needed to know which team I was rooting for to determine where I could sit. Then, during the game, people were setting things on fire.
Image credits: groovychick
#32
In Lisbon, feeling proud of myself for eating late like a local at 9 p.m….only to walk into an empty restaurant. By the time I’d finished eating at 10 p.m., the place was full.
Image credits: western_style_hj
#33
Had a positive what the f*ck moment in Greece in the eastern Peloponnese where I saw a guy walk down to the end of a pier and throw an actual f*cking trident into the Aegean and pull out a wriggling octopus. Dude walked up the beach and handed it over the deck railing to a chef.
#34
Late to the thread but here goes… Went to Sweden on a vacation package. Stayed at a wonderful historic hotel for part of the trip that had a restaurant inside of it. Part of our package called for a free dinner at the hotel and we had asked that it be the night we arrived.
We arrived and got settled in our room and then went to check out the restaurant. As soon as we walked in, there was no one there, only a hostess. She immediately said they were expecting us and we could sit anywhere. There was no one else in this gorgeous, ornate restaurant. A waiter came out and said they had prepared a special meal for us. We asked why it was so empty and he said the restaurant was closed one day a week and today was that day.
We were shocked, we apologized profusely and told them that we had booked through another company and would have just scheduled it for another day. He said it was no problem and we had some free extras such as wine and dessert. The main course ended up being a huge piece of meat, which we jokingly said must have been because we were big fat Americans. No one rushed us, we had a great time, and after we left they closed the restaurant for the night.
It was a total WTF moment because if you booked something like this in America, they’d either force you to reschedule or just have the restaurant closed with no explanation.
#35
Most stores are not open on Sundays. Not even grocery stores.
Image credits: copper_tulip
#36
I lived in Germany for 8 years from 1992-2000 (Ages 4-12). I didn’t realize it until I moved back to the states but there were recycling bins on EVERY street corner. It wasn’t just a green bin then a trash can, it was a giant blue bin. One section for green glass, one for brown glass, one for clear glass, one for plastic, and one for paper.
Oh and going to a German school, students took public transit. There wasn’t such a thing as a school bus.
#37
When I visited Prague, water cost two crowns and beer cost one.
Image credits: AmA_Mr_BS
#38
In Germany, they had the cleanest, safest, and best-tasting tap water, but nobody drank it and they called it toilet water.
Image credits: efshoemaker
#39
British food. I went there expecting chip shops and roast dinner, but instead was amazed by every variety of tikka sauce that could possibly exist.
Image credits: Tess_ORourke
#40
I was 16 years old, ordering a beer at McDonald’s.
Image credits: NeetStreet_2
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El niño está enfermo y cansado de que su hermano salte constantemente asustándolo, toma una pequeña venganza tan astuta que lo hace llorar
Los hermanos son conocidos por jugarse bromas entre ellos, particularmente los hermanos y hermanas mayores. Pero después de que un niño atormentó a su hermano mayor durante años con sustos aterradores, su hermano esperó la oportunidad perfecta para llevar a cabo su venganza.
A continuación, encontrará la historia completa de hace 11 años que el hermano mayor compartió recientemente en el subreddit Petty Revenge, así como algunas de las respuestas que le dejaron los lectores divertidos.
Este hombre recuerda a su hermano menor atormentándolo con innumerables sustos cuando eran niños.
Créditos de imagen: westend61 (no la foto real)
Entonces, una fatídica noche cuando era un adolescente, encontró la oportunidad perfecta para vengarse.
Créditos de la imagen: Victoria Rain (no es la foto real)
Créditos de imagen: BBC (no la foto real)
Créditos de imagen: RadioTimes (no la foto real)
Créditos de la imagen: norsewolf98
Es perfectamente normal que los hermanos se hagan bromas entre ellos.
Si creciste con hermanos y hermanas, estoy seguro de que sabes que es perfectamente normal que se molesten entre ellos de vez en cuando. Mirando hacia atrás en mi propia infancia, hubo innumerables formas en que mis hermanos y yo solíamos meternos en la piel del otro, pero al final del día, todo fue por amor. Somos grandes amigos ahora, y todavía encontramos formas de molestarnos el uno al otro solo para demostrar cuánto nos importa. Según Patrick Tadros en el sol heraldo, las bromas pueden incluso ser beneficiosas para muchos de nosotros, incluidos nuestros hijos. Pueden ayudar a aliviar el estrés cuando el resultado es la risa de todos, y pueden ser una excelente manera de vincularse con sus seres queridos.
Pero cuando se trata de bromear con sus hijos, es importante tener en cuenta ciertas cosas que se deben y no se deben hacer. BEl autor de libros infantiles más vendidos, Matt Stanton, recomienda permitir que sus hijos le hagan bromas (incluso si puede verlo venir), abrazar a su niño interior y reírse de cosas estúpidas, reírse de usted mismo y siempre revisar el asiento del inodoro en busca de papel film antes. usándolo! Y en cuanto a lo que no debe hacer, Stanton dice que no tome el control de las bromas, no trate de enseñarles lecciones a sus hijos durante las mismas, nunca intente burlar a sus pequeños y no se ofenda si ellos también lo hacen. lejos. ¡Están descubriendo sus límites!
Créditos de la imagen: Hisu lee (no es la foto real)
Y sentir cantidades saludables de miedo en realidad puede ser beneficioso para los niños.
Todos queremos proteger a nuestros hijos del peligro y no todos disfrutan la experiencia de tener miedo. Pero según los expertos, en realidad puede ser bueno para nuestros hijos experimentar dosis saludables de miedo de vez en cuando. La socióloga y especialista en miedo Margee Kerr dijo National Geographic que tener miedo, en situaciones seguras, puede ser una gran experiencia de aprendizaje para los niños. Puede ayudar a los pequeños a aprender a manejar sus emociones, desarrollar su confianza en sí mismos y, por supuesto, divertirse. ¡Es por eso que a tantos niños les encantan las casas embrujadas y las historias de miedo! Mientras los niños entiendan que en realidad no están en peligro, un poco de miedo ciertamente no les hará daño.
Experimentar un poco de miedo saludable podría incluso ayudar a los niños a manejar mejor los eventos aterradores en el futuro, como actuar frente a una gran audiencia o comenzar en una nueva escuela. El neuropsicólogo pediátrico Sam Goldstein le dijo a National Geographic que “la diversión aterradora te permite explorar actividades o experiencias que en el mundo real podrías evitar. La mayoría de nosotros podemos recordar nuestro miedo de saltar desde un trampolín alto cuando éramos niños. Algunos de nosotros nunca reunimos el coraje para dar el salto, pero aquellos de nosotros que lo hacemos, incluso si nunca lo intentamos de nuevo, ganamos un nivel de confianza que se generaliza al probar otras actividades desafiantes o aterradoras”.
Créditos de imagen: Ketut Subiyanto (no es la foto real)
Mientras se sientan seguros y entiendan que en realidad no están en peligro, los niños ciertamente pueden participar en algunos juegos de espanto.
Cuando se trata de cuánto miedo podemos manejar, investigación ha descubierto que todos tenemos un «punto óptimo» en el que no estamos aburridos ni demasiado abrumados, y dónde se encuentra ese punto óptimo depende de las diferencias neuroquímicas. Coltan Scrivner, científico investigador del Laboratorio de Miedo Recreativo de la Universidad de Aarhus en Dinamarca, explicó a Buen cuidado de casa que las personas con un punto fijo alto son «buscadores de sensaciones y adictos a la adrenalina», mientras que los «nudillos blancos» experimentan emociones negativas durante las experiencias aterradoras, pero las buscan de todos modos para experimentar un crecimiento personal y aprender sobre sí mismos. Luego están los «afrontadores oscuros», que utilizan el horror como una forma de hacer frente a los desafíos de la vida.
Pero independientemente de cómo te sientas con respecto al horror, Kerr dice que es importante que haya consentimiento para que sea agradable. “En el momento en que nos quitan la autonomía, incluso si sentimos que nos la quitan, simplemente cambia todo, incluida la forma en que nuestro cuerpo continúa respondiendo al estrés”, dijo a Good Housekeeping. Nos encantaría escuchar sus pensamientos sobre este acto de pequeña venganza en los comentarios a continuación, pandas. ¿Alguna vez asustaste a tus hermanos de una manera similar? Entonces, si estás interesado en ver otra hilarante historia de venganza mezquina, te recomendamos leer Éste ¡próximo!
Créditos de la imagen: proyecto de archivo de RDNE (no la foto real)
Los lectores aplaudieron al hombre por su brillante e insignificante venganza, y él completó algunos detalles adicionales sobre la historia.
Algunos lectores incluso compartieron historias similares e hilarantes de niños asustados.
La publicación El niño está enfermo y cansado de que su hermano salte constantemente y lo asuste, se venga de un mezquino, es tan tortuoso que lo hace llorar apareció por primera vez en Bored Panda.
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