# Small things you notice when travelling abroad **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 9, 2018, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277 "2018-01-09T22:51:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2018, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/61 "2018-01-14T21:42:53Z")
The “Pay to Pee” in public bathrooms was new to me when visiting Germany. Most bathrooms also had an attendant that was supposed to be tipped. Also, no. mountain. dew. _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![Kiwi\_Fruit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiwi_fruit/32/12_2.png) [@Kiwi\_Fruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiwi_Fruit)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/62 "2018-01-15T02:14:22Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > No trash cans in London. > > My wife and I had bought some bottled water and walked about looking for a place to toss the empties, but there were no outdoor trash cans to be seen. In NYC one sees trash cans everywhere, but none in London. > > I asked the guys at work and they said it’s a terrorism thing…bad people can put bombs in trash bins. They’re starting to come back, but are basically a frame to hang a clear plastic bag on. If you can see inside, then less likely to be hiding place for a bomb. ---
**Author:** ![Kiwi\_Fruit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiwi_fruit/32/12_2.png) [@Kiwi\_Fruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiwi_Fruit)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/63 "2018-01-15T02:21:29Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Where in Europe? As I’m always wont to mention in this kind of threads, Europe is a whole diverse continent of 47 countries, and though I haven’t hardly traveled all of them, I haven’t seen this in any European country I’ve been to. At the very least not in my home country, where everything is priced x.95 or x.99. I noticed this in Germany too. I bought a burger at the Maccas in the station in Hamburg. €5.99! Change given was 2 x €2 and a cent. I think it’s because Germany is one of the few eurocurrency countries to keep the cent coin. Others have the 10 cent as the smallest coin. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/64 "2018-01-15T02:33:46Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Considered extremely rude in Spain as well, not because of the “bottom of your feet” thing but because feet do not belong on chairs. Yeah, the odd thing is, I’m from and live in the US, and it’s not been my sense that it’s considered “okay” to do so, here, in the US. I don’t know if it goes as far as “extremely rude,” but certainly uncouth, at the very least. Maybe it varies even within the US by region. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/65 "2018-01-15T02:56:33Z")
Outdoor seating, chairs with no cushion, in casual venues, a decently clad foot, with only the\*\* heel \*\*of the foot or the shoe - \*\*never the sole \*\*- on the seat is borderline permissible if one is discreet. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/66 "2018-01-15T02:57:01Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Over 20 years ago? Then what you got out of the machine may have been barely considered coffee by local standards. Now lots of factories have The Old Coffee Machine (which may even be free) and a vending machine with Nespresso caps, sandwiches, sodas… Maybe true - but the coffee from those machines was several orders of magnitude better than from coffee in US machines back then. We had one at work which pretty much no one ever used, it was so dreadful. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/67 "2018-01-15T03:01:58Z")
> [@Ruby](#): > > The “Pay to Pee” in public bathrooms was new to me when visiting Germany. Most bathrooms also had an attendant that was supposed to be tipped. On the way to Europe in 1990 on the QE II we discovered that the term for going to the loo in England was “spend a penny.” So not only in Germany. I didn’t notice any bathroom attendants the last time I was there, though. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/68 "2018-01-15T03:06:36Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > Breakfast in Holland (and also staying with Dutch people outside Holland) bread and cheese - with the cheese cut in thin slices with a Dutch cheese slicer. When we were in Austria breakfast was bread, cheese, and cold cuts. My wife loved it. Our hotel in Madrid had a breakfast buffet the size of a football field (either definition of football.) Every type of sausage I had ever heard of and many I did not. I could have happily spent a month in that place, eating three meals a day there, and still not have gone through everything. If heaven exists and my station is not in a reproduction of that dining room, I will be sorely pissed at the deity. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2018, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/69 "2018-01-17T21:41:51Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > On this Thai island most every place sells both cigarettes and bug coils. But NONE sell lighters or matches! > > My lighter expired five days before my holiday ran out and now I can’t find a light anywhere! > > Plus, people smoke everywhere and all the open air restaurants light many bug coils every night. How do they not sell lighters or have matches? When I was in China, Zippo seemed to have a very pervasive presence. There was even a Zippo outlet store inside the local Walmart. Of course, in China, it seems like all the men, and all the old women, smoke. Also in China, there were two wastebaskets everywhere, one for trash, one for recycling, but there’s not really an easy way for a Westerner to tell them apart (they’re not different colors or anything). I threw a plastic bottle in the wrong one and a passing old lady gave me an earful. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2018, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/70 "2018-01-17T22:09:05Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > What do signs for the M25 motorway around London say? I imagine that all Londoners are aware where the road goes. Well yeah, it goes round and round and round… 😛 Signs _to_ the M25 say ‘M25’, but once you get to it, they give at least some idea where the road is going. Londoners may know where the road’s going (doubtful, many Londoners don’t drive), but there are millions of drivers on there every year who don’t know it. Most of the country’s driven round at least part of it at some point, generally cursing it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2018, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/71 "2018-01-17T23:07:54Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > Well yeah, it goes round and round and round… 😛 > > Signs _to_ the M25 say ‘M25’, but once you get to it, they give at least some idea where the road is going. Londoners may know where the road’s going (doubtful, many Londoners don’t drive), but there are millions of drivers on there every year who don’t know it. Most of the country’s driven round at least part of it at some point, generally cursing it. I guess this is something I have not noticed. There are usually plenty of signs as to where a motorway, I mean highway/expressway/interstate, will lead you here. They generally occur when you enter the motorway or when the motorway splits off, with occasional reminders along the way. I mean, I’ve spent many years abroad, but apparently I’ve never noticed. Is it that your roads have more constant reminders? ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2018, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/72 "2018-01-18T19:20:21Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > In Belgium, cups of coffee come with a cookie and a piece of chocolate. This is soooooo true! ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2018, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/73 "2018-02-11T16:13:14Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, the odd thing is, I’m from and live in the US, and it’s not been my sense that it’s considered “okay” to do so, here, in the US. I don’t know if it goes as far as “extremely rude,” but certainly uncouth, at the very least. Maybe it varies even within the US by region. In the book **Martin Chuzzlewit** , Charles Dickens made fun of the American love of putting their feet up on stuff. So apparently it’s a tradition that dates back to the 1840s, at least. One thing I noticed about Germany was the presence of cigarette vending machines. It felt like going back in time to the 1970s! ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2018, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/74 "2018-02-11T18:51:55Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I guess this is something I have not noticed. There are usually plenty of signs as to where a motorway, I mean highway/expressway/interstate, will lead you here. They generally occur when you enter the motorway or when the motorway splits off, with occasional reminders along the way. I mean, I’ve spent many years abroad, but apparently I’ve never noticed. Is it that your roads have more constant reminders? They are more likely to have distant directions. For example, as soon as you cross from France to Spain you start seeing signs that say Algeciras (sometimes with Arabic lettering as well). Algeciras is on the other end of the country but those Moroccans and Algerians carrying mattresses on top of an already-bursting car don’t care what else is on the way, they just want to find the ferry. And the directions are different; in the US roads are marked with cardinal directions but you can find yourself going north in a road marked Whatever South and cars are likely to have a built-in compass. In Europe we don’t bother with cardinal directions; compasses in cars are extremely rare (it’s not like we give a shit where North is anyway; we’re not trying to go visit Santa). This is a problem with mapping software too: I’ll be leaving the garage and the perky lady says “go! southwest! on! Naples! street!”… well, I guess since Naples is one-way, that way is southwest. And if it isn’t, the perky lady will just have to calculate a correction cos I’m going the way the road signs say. ---
**Author:** ![toast\_pakora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@toast\_pakora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toast_pakora)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/75 "2018-02-12T08:29:04Z")
\*Breakfast in Holland (and also staying with Dutch people outside Holland) bread and cheese _My first breakfast in Holland… white bread, a dish of butter, and a bowl of chocolate sprinkles_. _Well I soon figured it out and it was deliciou_s. \* ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/76 "2018-02-12T14:37:00Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Vending machines. I knew before I clicked on the link it was going to be Japan, a country rather famous for its vending machines and what can be bought from them. > [@Nava](#): > > And the directions are different; in the US roads are marked with cardinal directions but you can find yourself going north in a road marked Whatever South and cars are likely to have a built-in compass. In Europe we don’t bother with cardinal directions; compasses in cars are extremely rare (it’s not like we give a shit where North is anyway; we’re not trying to go visit Santa). This is a problem with mapping software too: I’ll be leaving the garage and the perky lady says “go! southwest! on! Naples! street!”… well, I guess since Naples is one-way, that way is southwest. And if it isn’t, the perky lady will just have to calculate a correction cos I’m going the way the road signs say. Maybe she gives the direction because you don’t have a compass in the car! 🙂 I’ve had two navigators here in the US, a Magellan and a Garmin and neither gives a direction as such but merely to turn left or right at the next intersection. In any event, on the highway the direction (US-66 West) is only a guide. On this [stretch of road](https://www.google.com/maps/@33.7982823,-110.4960785,14z?hl=en&authuser=0), shared by US-60 (an east-west highway) and AZ-77 (a north-south one) just how would you label them. To add to the topic, you can get a beer with your burger at a German McDonalds. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/77 "2018-02-12T15:12:00Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > To add to the topic, you can get a beer with your burger at a German McDonalds. And mayo for your fries in most all of Europe. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/78 "2018-02-12T16:39:06Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Spent 3 weeks in Bavaria (or southern Germany). Breakfast is often made up of cold cuts, cheese and bread. Or at least that was always offered at the little hotels we stayed at. Eggs where not usually offered. I remember this bit from my travels in Europe and always loved it. I’m not a big fan of breakfast food so I would much rather have some cold cuts and cheese on some kickass bread than cereal and a shitty muffin. This is by far the stupidest thing to mention in this thread, but I’m doing it anyway: When travelling to England I noticed how eerily familiar-yet-not everything is. You know you’re in another country, but everything is in English, and people know idioms and pop culture references…so it’s like being at home…but not. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2018, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/79 "2018-02-12T16:41:04Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > Well yeah, it goes round and round and round… 😛 > > Signs _to_ the M25 say ‘M25’, but once you get to it, they give at least some idea where the road is going. Londoners may know where the road’s going (doubtful, many Londoners don’t drive), but there are millions of drivers on there every year who don’t know it. Most of the country’s driven round at least part of it at some point, generally cursing it. There is an inconsistency with the M25. Most people think of it in terms of clockwise and anti clockwise. Delays will be reported on the radio with things like ‘30 minute delay between junctions 21 and 25 clockwise’. But the signs when you near the motorway use cardinal directions in line with other motorways. On the outer edges they will have North and South, on the top and bottom sections they will have East and West. I’ve been driving it for decades and I still have to take a few seconds to translate that if it’s a junction I’m not familiar with. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277/80 "2018-02-13T08:19:30Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > Mexico. > > Where are the seats for the commode? I didn’t notice this when I was there late last year. But it does seem to be common that there will be one sink, or set of sinks, for both males and females, positioned in between the the men’s and women’s restrooms. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-things-you-notice-when-travelling-abroad/806277.md?page=3)