While we were trekking around, I kept a running list in my journal of things that I learned in or about europe. Here it is:
1. It's acceptable for people to spank/hit/smack kids in europe. (I personally witnessed this four times; an eight year old boy got it bad after he spilt a cold bottle of water in the 100 degree porto heat, a bratty five year old girl got a face slap on the train to lyon, another kid got spanked in nice, and a 1.5 year old baby girl got smacked upside the head when she pulled her mother's hair on a train to delft. I guess they haven't caught on that hitting children creates more problems than it solves.)
2. McDonald's serves beer. Enough said.
3. Germans like to coordinate their socks with the teva-type sport sandals they wear with them.
4. There are a lot of dogs in france, and no one picks up after them. I guess we know what france is full of...
5. The sopranos isn't as good when it's dubbed in french. No one has the appropriate new york mafia accent, and tony and adriana are just flat wrong.
6. There are no mosquito's in europe, but there are an obscene number of flies.
7. Japanese tourists actually fit the stereotype. They carry their camera's with them, and take pictures of everything. I can't even imagine how many gigs of memory they need.
8. In italy, it is necessary to eat no less than two (2) gelatos per day.
9. Germany is the most bicycle friendly place I've ever seen. They have extra wide sidewalks which come equipped with specially paved bicycle paths. Good luck if you try to walk on it.
10. There has to be some sort of rule about muzzles and dogs in prague. Eighty % of the dogs I saw were wearing muzzles.
11. English is not to europe, what spanish is to the us. My egocentric expectations of english signs and speech were totally off!
12. Shoes that are comfortable for "walking around" at home, are not necessarily comfortable for "walking around" in europe.
13. The train schedule listed in your eurail book is probably outdated. Always check with the reservations desk before showing up for that train you think you're taking.
14. Silk sleep sacks are not just a luxury, but a necessity for hostel/cheap hotel travel.
15. Spending $850 on a eurail pass doesn't mean you're done paying for trains. Many still require a reservation fee (of 5 to 23 euros) or a couchette supplement (30 euros).
16. Our t-mobile is referred to as t-punkt in germany.
17. There is an astonishing amount of super tall (6 feet +) women here.
18. Beer can be purchased in vending machines- especially in hostels.
19. Weather prediction isn't possible in amsterdam. It's blue skied puffy clouds one minute, and torrential downpours the next. Bring an umbrella.
20. The folks in amsterdam and belgium are very good at cleaning up graffiti.
21. The baby swings in london are made of hard plastic, and therefore are very heavy. Consequently, they slow down as soon as you push them.
22. Harrods has a pet shop, christmas world, chemist, krispy kreme, and barbour.
23. Service (cable, washers, etc) is horrible in london. Plan on hanging around for several days and making many angry phone calls before getting anywhere.
24. Those backward driving folks in england painted "look right" and "look left" at crosswalks so us forward driving folks won't get hit as frequently while crossing streets.
25. In london, you have to buy a license to own a tv or to receive tv signals on your laptop. It's renewable every year for a mere 130 lbs ($244.56). We're not talking cable either, this is purely for those six "free" stations.
So there you have it. Next time you go through europe, you'll have a better idea of what to expect!
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