Did you know...

Did you know about the Europeans that...

Keyboards
- The "Y" and "Z" are switched on German keyboards
- Very hard to find the outlyers: exclamation point (!), question mark (?), quotes (") and even the 'at' symbol (@) were tough to find, especially on the French keyboards

Languages
- English spoken in: Great Britain (obviously!), but alot in Netherlands & Czech Rep; also most tourist areas use it as a lingua fraca/de facto common language for the tourist industry
- French spoken in: France, Belgium (Brussels & southern 1/2), Luxembourg, Switzerland (western 1/4), Monaco
- Dutch spoken in: Netherlands, Belgium (Brussels & northern 1/2)
- German spoken in: Germany, Austria, Switzerland (central & eastern 1/2), Luxembourg and Liechtenstein (though there is a distinct dialect between Austria and Germany and even within Germany itself), Italy (very small section that used to belong to Austria)
- Italian spoken in: Italy, Switzerland (southern 1/4), Vatican, San Marino
- Czech spoken in: Czech Republic
- That many Europeans are at least bilingual, if not multilingual

Important phases to learn: we were able to say "hello", "excuse me", "thank you", "goodbye", and "where's the toilet" in the local languages; with French, German, and Italian, we could order food and count out change as well

Phases & Translations
- "Mind the Gap" – in London, a phrase to look down when you step off the subway – there's a signficant step and gap that can create havoc if you're not paying attention
- "Look Right" – in London, painted on the sidewalk curbs to remind non-British folks that your empty lane to the left is actually traffic coming from the right (folks get hit all the time)
- "Take Away" – in London, it means take-out
- "Fucker" – in London, a German tour company with this name (but with an umlaut – double dot – over the u); only problem was that they were in England and nearly caused a riot as everyone was staring and pointing at the bus and they had no idea!
- "Fahrt Gut" – in Vienna, Al had his picture taken with this sign -- ha!

Cultural Behaviors
- Parisians - last time Al was here on a tour, he and his mom experienced the renowned "rude Parisians"; but Locke and Al didn't run into a single problem (and we interacted with many folks), so Al's opinion of the French just skyrocketed
- Germans & Austrians will stare (not necessarily rude, but it is still unsettling)
- Czechs are very courteous in the subways and in driving
- For the most part all the Europeans we interacted with were polite; only problem we ran into were the Venetian Italians, who were already fed up with the boat loads of tourists already there

Fashion Styles
- Burgundy red hair is the NEW blonde – specifically for French, German & Czech women
- A few young plump girls wearing very tight tops – like their American counterparts – but instead of looking sexy they look like a sausage casing gone bad (we called them SC (sausage casing) girls)
- Capri pants are all the rage – especially for MEN!
- STRAIGHT men are fashion conscious – particularly in Italy
- BRIGHTLY colored tennis shoes

Dining Out
- When ordering, indicate "1" with your thumb; if you use your index finger (American-style), you'll get 2 of whatever you just ordered
- Breakfasts are usually bread with cheese & deli meats plus cereal
- Portions are much smaller – no supersizing!
- No free refills
- You pay for ketchup at fast food restaurants
- Salad dressing is olive oil & balsamic vinegar in Italy
- Forget steaks – you get rumpsteak instead!
- Outdoor cafes are everywhere (great if you're a non-smoker)
- Tipping is 5-10% and is covered if "Coperto" appears on your bill in Italy (we overtipped our waiters there)
- Dogs often lay very obediently with the diner (mostly in Germany)

Animals
- Germans love big black dogs or small white dogs (Berlin was different with a lot of brown dogs)
- Italians love small bronze terriers or black cats

Buildings & Rooms
- 1st floor is not the ground floor – it's the next one up
- Elevators are made for two skinny people
- Elevators don't have the "feelers" and will NOT pull back – we witness a few oops!
- A double bed is TWO twins pushed together in a wooden frame
<<< - What does a man do with a Beidet (low sink for the ladies in France/Italy) – nothing!
- Restrooms are usually indicated by "WC" (water closet from the British)
- Men's urinal in public restrooms will have a small fly etched into the porcelain as target practice
- You have to pay for most public restrooms – but they are clean!

Public Transportation
- For subways, you need to know the two end points to figure out which direction you're heading - Some cities (Munich, Berlin, Paris) had different systems converging at stations; you have to pay attention to which system and then which line you were taking
- Some subway system doors didn't open automatically (Vienna, Prague) – you have pull a level or push a button to activate the door

Cars
- Cars can be very tiny (Smart Car), yet are still driveable on highways
- German carmakers that sell in the US (Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Volkswagen) sell much smaller models in Europe (e.g. Mercedes' A140, BMW's 1-series, Audi's A2 & A3, and Volkswagen's Polo)
- Models for both the US and Europe will have different size engines; for example BMW's 3-series are sold in Britain as 316 (1.6 liter engine) or 320 (2.0 liter) vs the American market with 325 (2.5 liter) and 330 (3.0 liter)
- Diesels are VERY big in Europe; bet you didn't know that BMW made them, huh?
- Station wagons are very popular; we estimate about 1/3 of the auto market
- SUVs are compact to medium-size; we saw one Hummer and one Expedition
- Pickups are virtually non-existent; we saw one only

Traffic Lights
- With red light, yellow light will come on for 2 seconds just prior to turning green (Britain, Germany, Switerland, Austria)
- Green light will flash 4 times prior to yellow light (Austria)
- Small bicycle lights down on pole (France, Netherlands)
- Traffic lights just for pedestrians only (more common than in US)
- All traffic lights are placed at the front of an intersection (so if you pull up to the crosswalk, you can not see the lights because they are directly overhead – fortunately, my moonroof saved me many times)

Streets
- Much more narrower than US
- Lanes will start and stop without notification
- Street signs are on building corners high up (Netherlands, France, Italy)
- Most major boulevards will change names every couple of blocks
- Many small Italian cities are simply not signed; you have to ask

Traffic Circles/Roundabouts
Used quite extensively and likely place where most tourists get into trouble (fender benders & lost); so, here's our take on the right of way and how to proceed in the circle:
- England - in the circle; using centrifigal force
- France - in the circle
- Paris (only) - coming into the circle; using hand gestures to indicate your intention
- Benelux - in the circle
- Germany - coming into the circle; select lane from sign and stick to it
- Austria - coming into the circle
- Italy - usually coming into the circle, but a line of white yield signs on the pavement will determine otherwise; drivers are always impatient and will "push" even if they don't have the right of way
- Czech Rep - didn't see any?

Can't help but think of Chevy Chase's dilemma in "European Vacation" as he's stuck in a circle in London. Locke had our adventures and VERY close calls – especially in the Parisian circles. With a brand new car, I think I got a few more gray hairs that day...

City & Highway Driving
- All city driving is more chaotic and crazy than in the US, with the Italians being the worst and the Czechs the most polite (they actually stop for you while in a crosswalk)
- Unlike city driving, European highway drivers are VERY discipline; meaning you pass on left and then immediately move over to right
- Average highway speed is much higher than in US – usually around 80 mph
- In Germany and Italy, you MUST drive with one eye on the rear view mirror before passing because a high speed car will likely be in the left lane and ready to mow you down

Interstate/Freeways
- Known as: Autobahn (Germany/Austria), Autonelswegen (Netherlands), Motorway (Great Britain), Autoroute (Belgium/France/Switzerland), Autostrada (Italy)
- Signs DO NOT have direction of travel; for example in the US the approach sign will have NORTH 101 to San Francisco or SOUTH 101 to San Jose; in Europe the approach sign will have A7 Milan or A7 Genoa (or just Milan/Genoa) – you better know your local geography and know what your relationship is to the cities

Toll Roads/Turnpikes
- Toll highways in France and Italy; Toll stickers (upon entry at customs) in Switzerland, Austria and Czech Rep
- Coins for tolls: in France it's a real pain as you don't know your toll until you approach the attendant; thus, we always had lots of change on hand and Locke had increments ready so I could hand them over quickly or pluck them into the bucket (I was so stressed once, I left and didn't even get the change)

License Plate Codes
A – Austria (though it is Osterreich in German)
B – Belgium
CH – Switzerland (Confederation Helvetica in Latin)
CZ – Czech Republic
D – Germany (Deutschland in German)
F – France
FL – (Fursturdam) Liechtenstein
GB – Great Britain
I – Italy
L – Luxembourg
MC – Monaco
NL – Netherlands
RSM – (Repubblica) San Marino
V – Vatican
USA – United States of America (for vehicles abroad)

-- Al & Locke