‘Americans who have visited Europe, what was the biggest shock for you?’ – 23 jaw-droppers

Americans who have paid a visit to Europe have been sharing the things that most shocked them when they crossed the Atlantic after Redditor rusj asked this.

‘Americans that visited Europe, what was the biggest shock for you?’

And these 23 were proper jaw-droppers. Well, they are if you’re American, obviously.

1.

‘When I ordered a small drink, it was actually small.’
HutSutRawlson

2.

‘I was surprised at how much walking I did. I did it because it was easy, not because I had to.’
maryjgilbert

3.

‘One week in Paris. I ate everything in sight and still lost 5lbs thanks to all the walking.’
marcvanh

4.

‘The age of all the buildings. Walked into a pub in the UK with a plaque that read something like “This building was constructed in the year 2 and was used by monks to fend off dinosaurs”. Maybe not the exact words, but you get it.’
OmniscientSushi

5.

‘The only thing that really surprised me was how much pedestrians trusted cars to not hit them.’
MrGoalden

6.

‘First time in Spain… 22:30… Sun still out… parents sitting, drinking, relaxing while kids run up n down… felt so completely safe and comfortable.’
mapplejax

7.

‘In France people get two hour lunches. Like some stores will have two separate open and close times cause they’ll just shut down for two hours a day to enjoy themselves. Most people seemed much happier and relaxed as a whole.’
supermariobruhh

8.

‘I went to Scotland. Ran across some German tourist who asked us to translate what the scot was saying. We were all three speaking English. They just couldn’t understand each other’s [accents].’
ARgirlinaFLworld

‘I was in a hostel with a Japanese woman in Scotland. She was looking really down, so I asked her if she was okay. “I thought my English was really good,” she said. “Yeah, me too.” I replied.’
Fit_Choice451

‘As someone with Scottish family I can say, Scots English is another breed. As an aspiring linguist I have found that there is debate as to whether Scots is a dialect of English or it’s own language (not to be confused with Scotts Gaelic).’
ChipTheOcelot

9.

‘I’m Dutch, but I’ll never forget my American girlfriend’s reaction to seeing rows and rows of parked bicycles in front of the train station when she came to visit the Netherlands. “Oh my God look at all those bikes!!”
Jockelson

10.

‘The amount of public transportation and in many places people not driving or not even knowing how to drive.’
MeesterChicken

11.

‘How small things were like appliances, paper towels, toilet paper. I really wanted to take that idea home with me. It makes so much sense.

‘Also, how conveniently close shops were so we only drove when visiting other cities. I love it and I want it!’
get-in-the-box.

12.

‘I was not ready for how many overwhelmingly beautiful ancient buildings and cities I saw in only two weeks. I actually couldn’t fathom what I was looking at. It was a surreal experience like I was really in touch with a completely different era of humanity.

‘There is absolutely nothing like this in America. It blew me away and made me really care much more about European history, urban planning, and architecture!’
Snowologist