You read about the way the US and Europe treat areas like education and health care, and start to understand that even though both sides of the Atlantic belong to the Western world, life can look pretty different depending on which one you're on.
It's evident without diving into difficult social policies, too. Last week, Redditor Jrusj asked other users: "Americans that visited Europe, what was the biggest shock for you?" and the answers immediately started pouring in.
As of this article, there are already over 14,000 comments under Jrusj's post, many of which reveal that the Old Continent can surprise even its descendants. Below, you will find the most popular answers, so continue scrolling and enjoy.
#1
I went to Europe I drank all the booze, ate all the food Stayed 2 months and lost 20 pounds
Americans aren't overweight because we're lazy or gluttons or anything else we're overweight because we are being fed s***
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497points
#2
The amount of casual nudity on TV. I had to chuckle at all the naked breasts frequently visible. Europeans are just healthier in their views of sexuality and nudity. We Americans are ridiculous prudes by comparison.
Oh and Belgian chocolate is better than sex. Often.
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386points
#3
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.
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379points
#4
I was surprised at how much walking I did. I did it because it was easy, not because I had to.
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340points
#5
Apparently you can get hurt and not go into debt
338points
#6
Cashiers in grocery stores sat in chairs as they rang up my yummy non-gmo cheese and bread. They also didn’t feel any job pressure to chat or smile or act like your best friend. They just worked and DGAF. It was amazing!
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336points
#7
How much better all the food was. Everything was fresh, made from minimal ingredients, and most of it was grown locally. (Going from US to France) I also lost about 15 pounds even though I stopped exercising in a gym. Also my skin and hair looked better than ever. I think preservatives and high fructose corn syrup might actually be bad for you.
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328points
#8
Holidays. Europeans get so much paid time off. I've gotten into arguments with some of my American friends because they legitimately believe tons of Europeans opt out of taking their PTO because there's so much work to do. I don't buy that. People would riot. Anywhere I went in late July-August, there were tons of shops closed cause people were spending the month with their families enjoying their time off.
That and public bathroom stalls going all the way down to the floor. Y'all understand privacy.
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275points
#10
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.
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265points
#11
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!
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258points
#12
When I ordered a small drink, it was actually small.
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250points
#13
I heard a story of a lady who was dumbfounded that there weren't going to be fire works celebrating the 4th of July. Couldn't conceive the idea that other countries don't celebrate America's independence day
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243points
#14
Young children were using public transportation (i.e., city bus, subway)—not escorted by adults—to get to and from school rather than a designated yellow bus. Where I am from, public transportation is barely useable by adults much less children.
240points
#15
History. I followed a tour of American tourists into the church in downtown. Question gets asked: Is this the oldest church in town? Heard reply:
(Chuckle) Oh no, the old church is on the North side of the river. This church was built in 1310.
Just a different perspective on history.
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240points
#16
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
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234points
#17
American living in Sweden:
Most people don’t respect Americans until they meet you and confirm that you’re not one of “those” Americans
People drink literally at any chance they get.
Every apartment has an electric bath towel warmer. It’s pretty standard apparently.
Boobs on TV.
The vegetables are exponentially smaller, bc theyre not genetically modified.
Fruit-flavored sodas are required to have fruit juice in it so the Fanta sodas here are more like a spicy Sunny D
They are hardcore about recycling out here.
Tipping culture doesn’t really exist.
The bank is never f*cking open.
Ground floor is not the first floor. Its the 0 floor.
Celcius
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234points
#18
I was in Switzerland for a few days. I felt like the fattest person in the country at 6’0”, 210 lb. It was also amazing to me that it felt like two different countries going from Geneva to Zurich. The language went from French to German with the architecture completely different between the two cities. Absolutely beautiful country.
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228points
#19
How old a lot of the cities are. People still living in buildings older than the U.S. Walking down some of the old streets feels like you’re time traveling into a medieval fairytale.
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213points
#20
The only thing that really surprised me was how much pedestrians trusted cars to not hit them
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213points