europe sucks

[CanOWorms]

Originally posted by: Davegod

The cc companies charge something like 30p for each transaction, which is normally absorbed by the seller. Little wonder small shops are unwilling to pay that when their margin is even less. Almost everywhere will let you pay by CC if you really want, but would add the 30p surcharge and be assuming that you would not want to.

Some smaller, independent shops/cafes/etc. in the US also have credit card minimums.

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: Cattlegod
I'm sorry but I'm a condiment queen. If that ketchup one is true, I can never go to Europe. I use about 10-15 packets of ketchup on a small fry. uppwards of 30 packets on a larg fry.

taco bell sauce i'm even more crazy on. I put 12-15 hot sauce packets on the top of my mexican pizza and pepper it with 3 fire sauce packets. All soft tacos get 3 fire sauces, along with gorditas and the like.

I could never last on 2 packets of ketchup. I'd rather not have any at all than be limited to 2 packets. Usually I just go to the pump station and create a pile on my tray the size of a large fist. I will even dip my burger in the ketchup pile.

I would throw a fit if I was limited on my ketchup.

theres something wrong with you. really, why do you even buy the food if you slather it with that much ....stuff?

 

[SilverThief]

EDIT: also there are many less fat WIMMENZ[/quote]

'Nuff said
:thumbsup:

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
1) they charge you again for a refill. wtf?
2) they charge you if you want more than two ketchup packets.
3) if you ask for water they charge you $5 for a bottle of evian. are we in the fscking 3rd world where the water will kill you? no.
4) the bars won't keep your credit card open as a tab. everyone on the planet drinks more when they only have to say their name in exchange for a drink. this is a really big problem because of 5, below.
5) credit card minimums. it's the 21st century, and backwards europe still carries cash around? worse yet, the smaller demoninations are all in inconvenient heavy coins that trick you into thinking the 4 pounds 50 p that you just paid for a sandwich in a plastic box at sainsbury's wasn't that much.

Could be worse, could be Texas.

 

[Pepsi90919]

the US really needs to shut up about coins.

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: xSauronx

Originally posted by: Cattlegod
I'm sorry but I'm a condiment queen. If that ketchup one is true, I can never go to Europe. I use about 10-15 packets of ketchup on a small fry. uppwards of 30 packets on a larg fry.

taco bell sauce i'm even more crazy on. I put 12-15 hot sauce packets on the top of my mexican pizza and pepper it with 3 fire sauce packets. All soft tacos get 3 fire sauces, along with gorditas and the like.

I could never last on 2 packets of ketchup. I'd rather not have any at all than be limited to 2 packets. Usually I just go to the pump station and create a pile on my tray the size of a large fist. I will even dip my burger in the ketchup pile.

I would throw a fit if I was limited on my ketchup.

theres something wrong with you. really, why do you even buy the food if you slather it with that much ....stuff?

I was wondering the same thing. "Would you like some fries with your ketchup?"...disgusting.

 

[foghorn67]

Originally posted by: loic2003
America blows because:

1) Your cars are sooo bland and ugly
2) Your cars guzzle fuel and can't go around corners (although I hate to say it but the Z06 looks good despite shite build quality)
3) You slate everyone's food when your national dish is a freaking lardburger. visit europe and check out what real food is like.
4) Your president is a prick, and noone questions him. He just arrives with loads of people waving flags, says some crappy pep talks then swaggers off without justifying his desisions (see prime minister's question time in the UK/breakfast with frost, etc)/
5) You;ve screwed yourselves properly with your gun-loving as now everyone has one and there's no way you could ever control them.
6) You have the US flag in every classroom and all the kids are effectively brainwashed into loving 'the flag' (see N.Korea for another example of this).
7) Way too many god-squads.
8) Your humour and sit-coms are so basic and low-brow. jokes are blatant and contrived.
9) Cheesy, US-Fellating hollywood movies (what? the US saved the world AGAIN?! wow...)
10) People are so cocky and big-headed thinking the US is the best place in the world (see (6)) and go around mouthing off and starting threads in forums essentially stating this.
11) TV is saturated with adverts. I remember watching a movie, and for every 6 minutes of film there was 3 minutes of adverts... WTF?!?!
12) Short attention spans (see 11) means I have to cut this short otherwise I'll be asked for cliffs.

1)Are you jealous, how many British car companies are owned by the British? Hell, half of your companies are pwned by Ford.
2)You are generalizing, and you watch top gear too much. Z06 quality, probably better then Porshce and Ferrari garage queens.
3)Nobody wants to pay alot of money for crap food. okay, maybe Rome is the exception.
4)By your logic, your PM is dumber for supporting him.
5)We less hot robberies then you.
6)We are proud of our country, are you ashamed of yours?
7)We have a true freedom of religion. You can be athiest if you want.
8)Your sitcoms blow. In fact, it's been too long since you had the great Monty Python, stop looking back to the glory days. I've seen your sitcoms, and they are rather cliche.
9)damn straight we saved the world, plus we have other movies, stop generalizing.
10)You are an elitist ahole. And you are equal to what you think of us.
11)But we don't have to pay a stupid tax to watch like 3 channels of government ran crap. Stick a rabbit ear on our sets, boom. Free TV.
12)Short attention spans. We have come to grips with our slavery, civil rights, Native Tribe issues. You guys bury your history of imperialism under the rug. When it comes to atrocities, we have nothing on the U/k.

 

[foghorn67]

oops.

 

[Kyanzes]

The hatred toward outlanders can be felt all across Europe, at least in all countries I have ever been to (haven't visited the south). People don't like them. The worst is probably Germany, I've even got threatened by "fellow" co-workers when I visited the company HQ there. They were quite straightforward in telling me that I shouldn't steal their jobs and should go home ASAP (even though I was instructed by the company to make the trips). I'm white and I'm not even a Jew and I don't consider myself bad mannered. I recognized that managers there wouldn't make friends with "lower beings" like me and, another surprise, a german colleague told me not to mingle with the workers doing lower level jobs. Clear and nice caste system they built up there. So much for black/yellow/dunno hatred. This is something I don't like about Europe. But I guess it's the same in the US, I mean I always find a "breaking news" on CNN reporting hatred crimes.

 

[0roo0roo]

2) Your cars guzzle fuel and can't go around corners (although I hate to say it but the Z06 looks good despite shite build quality)

course this attitude doesn't go down well when euros happily sell us suvs, luxury cars and sportscars that all guzzle the gas...

 

[Maximilian]

Dont include britain, its more like the US than europe. Europes full of weirdos IMO, and yes ive met plenty of mainland europeans. They were lame.

 

[rasczak]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: junkerman123

Actually, in some clubs in Italy, they GIVE you a charge card just for the bar as you come in, and then you pay off all your drinks as you leave. Pretty brilliant. England has those problems you just mentioned though.

EDIT: also there are many less fat WIMMENZ

italy is next on my list of countries in europe to visit.

Originally posted by: IcebergSlim
this thread is whack. europe rocks.

If you can only come up with those minor things to bitch about lets start a list why the us sucks worse.

oh, i could come up with 'major' reasons why europe sucks, but these are things that constantly annoy and remind me that i'm a stranger in a strange land.

Sounds to me like you really didn't take advantage of what europe truly had to offer you. What a waste of time and money. Instead of complaining about the minor issues (yes they are minor) you were letting yourself get overwhelmed by, you should have kept your eyes off your fricking wallet and opened them up to the wonders that were around you. So typical, someone goes to europe acting like an ignorant, boorish, arrogant american. Did you actually try to understand why they charge the way they do? Or the way they charge? Did you actually learn anything at all about the culture, the people or the history? Or did you just assumethat they would bow down your superior american heritage and give you everything for free? Haven't you been to a theme park? Do you think twice about the price of admission or food when you go there? Or do you just go and have fun?

you should have reveled in the fact that your were a stranger in a strange land as opposed to think of it as an annoyance.

do us americans, and the europeans a favor, and don't go back there. actually, don't go anywhere. just stay in your little hole and live out your life without truly experiencing anything. then 20 years down the road, think about your trip again.

Sorry about the rant but you could have looked past all of those annoying little things and really appreciated what many ppl never get to see in their lifetimes.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
the US really needs to shut up about coins.

don't even get me started on your goddamn currency that is trying to infiltrate and devalue our money supply

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: ElFenix
1) they charge you again for a refill. wtf?
2) they charge you if you want more than two ketchup packets.
3) if you ask for water they charge you $5 for a bottle of evian. are we in the fscking 3rd world where the water will kill you? no.
4) the bars won't keep your credit card open as a tab. everyone on the planet drinks more when they only have to say their name in exchange for a drink. this is a really big problem because of 5, below.
5) credit card minimums. it's the 21st century, and backwards europe still carries cash around? worse yet, the smaller demoninations are all in inconvenient heavy coins that trick you into thinking the 4 pounds 50 p that you just paid for a sandwich in a plastic box at sainsbury's wasn't that much.

Could be worse, could be Texas.

you can keep your manic depressive winters to yourself

 

[Eeezee]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
1) they charge you again for a refill. wtf?
2) they charge you if you want more than two ketchup packets.
3) if you ask for water they charge you $5 for a bottle of evian. are we in the fscking 3rd world where the water will kill you? no.
4) the bars won't keep your credit card open as a tab. everyone on the planet drinks more when they only have to say their name in exchange for a drink. this is a really big problem because of 5, below.
5) credit card minimums. it's the 21st century, and backwards europe still carries cash around? worse yet, the smaller demoninations are all in inconvenient heavy coins that trick you into thinking the 4 pounds 50 p that you just paid for a sandwich in a plastic box at sainsbury's wasn't that much.

1) If everyone else charges, then why wouldn't you? More money for your business. If this were practical in America, you better believe Americans would do it too
2) Yeah that's messed up, those things cost practically nothing
3) In my experience they just give you a carafe. No one forced me to have a bottle of water and I have been to dozens of european restaurants.
4) I don't know jack about tabs
5) Americans use credit card minimums all over the place.

 

[Sunner]

Funny, I've lived in Europe all my life and I've never had these kinds of problems...

1) they charge you again for a refill. wtf?

Depends on where and what you're drinking.
Water in your average restaurant? Never heard of it.
Coke in your average restaurant? Sometimes, sometimes not.
Anything but water in a fancy restaurant? Yes, in most cases.

2) they charge you if you want more than two ketchup packets.

Just about any place where I can remember eating, they just leave bottles on the table, and just swap bottles when they empty up, I've never had to pay for it.
How much ketchup do you use anyway?

3) if you ask for water they charge you $5 for a bottle of evian. are we in the fscking 3rd world where the water will kill you? no.

Wouldn't know since I prefer tap water, but then again, around here we kinda take care of our water reserves to make sure the tap water is both healthy and well tasting.

4) the bars won't keep your credit card open as a tab. everyone on the planet drinks more when they only have to say their name in exchange for a drink. this is a really big problem because of 5, below.

Granted, I generally frequent maybe 3-4 bars, and go to others once in a while, so my sample size is hardly enough for a scientific study, but often they're more than happy to let you have a tab, unless circumstances don't allow it for one reason or the other.

5) credit card minimums. it's the 21st century, and backwards europe still carries cash around? worse yet, the smaller demoninations are all in inconvenient heavy coins that trick you into thinking the 4 pounds 50 p that you just paid for a sandwich in a plastic box at sainsbury's wasn't that much.

Some places have this if you buy for like $5 or less, though it isn't actually allowed, so you could always start an argument about it if you felt like it.
Me, in the few cases I've ran into this, I haven't really cared, since the extra fee is generally on the order of a few skr(1 skr is around 10 cents, a bit more due to the currently weak usd).
Don't you guys still use cheques and stuff by the way?

Anyways, you may or may not be aware of this, but Europe isn't one country.
Many countries in Europe are different enough that they may as well be on opposite sides of the globe.

As for racism, the only place where I've felt badly treated was France, but I don't like them much either, so I guess that's fair enough.
I'm pretty much done traveling in Europe though, I don't care much for most of it for various reasons, I do have my eyes set on the US and Russia though, and I wouldn't mind going back to Prague again(awesome city, I strongly recommend anyone to visit it).

A more general observation after reading this thread is that there seems to be a whole bunch of narrow minded jerks/bigots posting here, both Europeans and Americans, no big surprise though.

Oh and one last thing, regarding currencies, we don't have the Euro here in Sweden(and for that I am thankful), but I've never had a problem with this.
When I need cash, I just hit the nearest ATM and withdraw with my card.
They used to charge a small fee for this, small enough that I never cared, but I think my bank does it for free these days.
Not much different from doing it in any Swedish ATM, the bills look different, but that's about it.

Hmm, one last addition after having read GT's very nice guide, regarding the part about starting a conversation in English rather than the native language.
Personally this happens to me all the time during the summer, mostly by Americans, and I've never felt the slightest bit offended by it, and I'm more than happy to give directions or whatever in English, as are everyone I know.
If anything, that's one thing that annoys me about large parts of Europe, some people's unwillingness to speak English(yes I'm talking to you Frenchies), let's face it, we can't all learn every damn language in the world, and English is fairly universal, so why not?

 

[ShotgunSteven]

Originally posted by: loic2003

Originally posted by: K1052

Originally posted by: loic2003

Originally posted by: K1052

Originally posted by: loic2003
9) Cheesy, US-Fellating hollywood movies (what? the US saved the world AGAIN?! wow...)

This seems to be a common complaint from the Brits for some reason. If it really bothers you guys so bad get off your asses and make your own movies, nothing is stopping you.

Um... they do. Use the world-intarweb-super-highway-wide-net-o-matic to find some.

Then why are you bitching about it?

That's not even an argument. why did the OP 'bitch' about europe when america is just fine and dandy?

I fear you might have mistaken your arse for your mouth: you appear to be talking from it and your breath is fetid.

Try holding your nose when you go to steal a kiss next time.

 

[blckgrffn]

Can you say cheap, very tasty, beer? Walking around town with said beer? Riding the subway with beer? Riding the train with beer? Germany, the place I have been in Europe (the last time was for three weeks) rocks!

 

[Mucho]

You should have done what most Americans do eat at the McDonalds.

 

[Ryan]

Originally posted by: Mucho
You should have done what most Americans do eat at the McDonalds.

Said like a true 'Merican, run-on sentence and all!

 

[dabuddha]

Originally posted by: Atheus
America sucks.

1) You pay to _recieve_ phone calls, wtf
2) You can't drink until you're 21 years old? 21? What are you afraid of a 20 year old doing?
3) You get no healthcare if you're poor

Uh 1 is completely wrong. 2 is right on and 3 is wrong.

 

[Netopia]

Originally posted by: Sunner
Funny, I've lived in Europe all my life and I've never had these kinds of problems...


...Anyways, you may or may not be aware of this, but Europe isn't one country.
Many countries in Europe are different enough that they may as well be on opposite sides of the globe.

As for racism, the only place where I've felt badly treated was France, but I don't like them much either, so I guess that's fair enough.
I'm pretty much done traveling in Europe though, I don't care much for most of it for various reasons, I do have my eyes set on the US and Russia though, and I wouldn't mind going back to Prague again(awesome city, I strongly recommend anyone to visit it).

A more general observation after reading this thread is that there seems to be a whole bunch of narrow minded jerks/bigots posting here, both Europeans and Americans, no big surprise though.

Oh and one last thing, regarding currencies, we don't have the Euro here in Sweden(and for that I am thankful), but I've never had a problem with this.
When I need cash, I just hit the nearest ATM and withdraw with my card.
They used to charge a small fee for this, small enough that I never cared, but I think my bank does it for free these days.
Not much different from doing it in any Swedish ATM, the bills look different, but that's about it.

Hmm, one last addition after having read GT's very nice guide, regarding the part about starting a conversation in English rather than the native language.
Personally this happens to me all the time during the summer, mostly by Americans, and I've never felt the slightest bit offended by it, and I'm more than happy to give directions or whatever in English, as are everyone I know.
If anything, that's one thing that annoys me about large parts of Europe, some people's unwillingness to speak English(yes I'm talking to you Frenchies), let's face it, we can't all learn every damn language in the world, and English is fairly universal, so why not?

Well said!

Joe

 

[Old Hippie]

you should have reveled in the fact that your were a stranger in a strange land as opposed to think of it as an annoyance.

:thumbsup:

 

[Miramonti]

Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad
:thumbsdown:

 

[dr150]

Originally posted by: IcebergSlim
this thread is whack. europe rocks.

If you can only come up with those minor things to bitch about lets start a list why the us sucks worse.

QFT.

As an American, I prefer European lifestyle BY FAR unless we throw in NYC, Miami Beach and the Hawaiian Islands.

 

[JS80]

Originally posted by: rikadik

Originally posted by: JS80
My jewish friends tell me people there are anti-semitic.
My asian friends tell me they treat asians like second class citizens.
My black friends tell me...well it's too fvcked up to say.
Everyone tells me most of the countries there are anti-American.
Everyone tells me the food sucks.
Everyone tells me everything there is overpriced.

Basically I put a European vacation at the bottom of my list.

Put down your crack pipe and listen to what you are saying! Are you seriously trying to say that Europe is just insitutionally racist? Treat asians like second class citizens? What are you on about! And the food sucks? What, European cuisine, including French and Italian food, sucks?

Yes, yes, yes, yes.