This summer I had the opportunity to travel to some countries in Eastern and Central Europe with my parents. Since this was our first time in Europe, we were all over the place trying to make our way through the bustling streets, not to mention the over-crowded train stations. By the end of our trip, we were really at the top of our game! However, here are some of the “typical tourist-y” things that we did/saw while traveling in Europe!
10. Standing in line at a French boulangerie, practicing (not-so-discreetly) how to give your order in French and when you finally reach the counter, the waiter smoothly takes your order in English!
9. Taking endless pics trying to get the perfect angle of the Manneken-Pis in Brussels.
The statue is essentially of a little boy pissing.
8. Crowding the Eurail entrance because you have so much luggage due to the shopping spree that is Europe.
7. Freaking out when you find out that the hotel room in Interlaken, Switzerland isn’t air-conditioned. (I mean, even Switzerland has summers, right?)
6. Almost being hit by fast bikers because you were walking on the cycle-tracks, completely neglecting the pedestrian laws.
5. Tipping the waiters.
They aren’t as underpaid as our waiters, I guess.
4. Taking a cab to the hotel as soon as you step out of the train-station although it’s really not that hard to just take the local transport!
3. Complaining and being shocked at the portion sizes!
A “small” actually means “small,” unlike the “small” that we have.
2. Selfies, selfies everywhere!
I was actually guilty of buying a selfie stick on my first day of sightseeing. But it really does help take good group pictures.
1. Talking at the top of your voice.
We don’t realize how loud we are until we get awkward stares from Europeans who try not to be annoyed at how loud we are.