19 Traditions Europeans Grew Up With That Are Totally Foreign To Americans

"What I assumed to be a near-universally popular policy has been torn to shreds by Americans..."

Despite being raised by European immigrants, I still get a ton of culture shocks when traveling around the continent. As Americans, we're probably all well aware of norms like tipping culture and basic etiquette. But when redditor u/Grimlocknz asked the r/AskEurope community to share their country's cultural norms that would shock Americans, I can confirm I learned a few things. Here's what locals from all over Europe had to share.

1. "Children in primary/grade school walk to school alone or in groups each morning, unsupervised."

Sdi Productions / Getty Images

—u/Myrialle, Germany

"Not just walk, but also use public transportation by themselves. The other day, I thought about how Americans would probably be surprised if they saw that subways/buses/trams are full of primary school children going to school or just getting around alone."

—u/Ostruzina, Czech Republic

2. "I'm a Finn; we go to the sauna naked. It's normal to have seen your friends and family members naked. It's not sexual, nor is it embarrassing."

—u/bullet_bitten, Finland

3. "Everyone is sir/madam until you both decide otherwise. Calling an adult you just met 'you' or by their name is a big no-no."

Morsa Images / Getty Images

—u/kompocik99, Poland

"You're not allowed to use the word 'you' with strangers at all. So instead of saying, 'What are you looking for?' you'd say something along the lines of, 'What is sir looking for?' It also influences what greetings you can use. You cannot use the equivalent of 'Hello' or 'Thanks.' It's always 'Good morning' or 'Thank you.'

But then again, it's changing rapidly right now, and actually, for someone my age (20-ish), it's considered unnecessarily formal and impolite to formally address another person my age at a bar, cafe, or hairdresser. But at a restaurant, it's the other way around."

—u/predek97, Poland

4. "I have witnessed Americans fume at the way service works when eating food at a pub. No one will greet you when you walk in or come to your table to take your order. Find a table, read the menu, order, and pay at the bar."

—u/publius_decius, England

5. "Babies sleeping outside. In particular, babies sleep alone in public places like restaurants or shops."

Encrier / Getty Images/iStockphoto

—u/GeronimoDK, Denmark

"Norwegian here. We do that here, too. The babies are, of course, very well dressed. If they are outside cafés, the parents usually sit by the window and watch them. In the kindergarten where I worked, we had a rule that the older kids (two to five years old) should stay indoors if it were below -10 degrees, but we went outside for hours until then."

—u/knutbl, Norway

6. "Irish people swear and curse creatively; it's like punctuation and emphasis in everyday speech. And our religious comments are also not appreciated, i.e., 'Christ on a bike,' 'Jesus, Mary, and St. Joe,' or 'Fuck him and the horse he rode in on.'"

—u/WyvernsRest, Ireland

7. "In Stockholm, it takes an average of nine years of waiting in a rental queue to be able to rent an apartment (or you can sublet for hugely inflated prices). Once you sign a rental contract, your waiting time starts over again. People trade rental contracts to be able to move apartments, and rental contracts are sold on the black market."

Maskot / Getty Images/Maskot

—u/1agomorph, Sweden

8. "Attitudes towards sexuality in teenagers, and honestly teenagers in general, seem to be very different. I read so many Reddit posts of people saying their parents would not let them date someone and having to sneak around to have sex. That is ridiculous to me. I didn't have sex personally until I was 20 because I hadn't found a partner until then, but my parents told me it would be okay to have someone sleep over when I was around 15 or 16. They even got me a bigger bed, saying, 'The 90-centimeter single bed will be uncomfortable if you ever want to have someone stay there with you.'"

—u/icyDinosaur, Switzerland

9. "Waiters in restaurants won't constantly bother you, and you have to actively wave them down if you want to order another drink. This might be seen as a lack of engagement by Americans. Also, there is no free water in restaurants here, which I don't particularly like because ordering these tiny 20-centiliter water bottles that are gone in two gulps is a giant waste of money."

Oscar Wong / Getty Images

—u/Vince0789, Belgium

10. "The number of people, including politicians, who are publically atheist. I am not saying all Americans are wildly religious; I'm sure for most, it's just something you put on a census and go to church about once a year. But I've heard it's very taboo in the US to nonchalantly say you don't believe in god, which is sort of the default here if you get chatting about religion."

—u/ninjomat, England

11. "Children starting around the age of six are able to play outside on the streets and in the woods and meadows with other children on their own, unsupervised. At least in the villages. As long as they are home before supper and the parents have a general idea of where they are."

Tatiana Kolesnikova / Getty Images

—u/Tubafex, Netherlands

"American here. That was normal when I was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s in cities and suburbs. Something changed here after that."

—u/caloomph, USA

12. "Finns value their personal space. This includes both physical space but also verbal. If you're waiting for a bus, for example, stand a few meters apart from other people at the bus stop when possible. Do not sit next to anyone on the bus or sit if there are still empty seats. I can easily tell who is foreign when I'm in line in a grocery store because they tend to stand so uncomfortably close to me."

"We also appreciate being left alone when out and about (but are happy to give you directions or help in any other way if needed). There's no need to initiate small talk if you're alone in an elevator with a Finn because, to us, awkward silences aren't generally awkward at all. 

In general, we value silence and converse in more hushed tones compared to people outside of Finland/northern Europe, especially out in public spaces."

—u/ninaeatworld, Finland

13. "It was pretty common to go drink a beer or two with classmates and friends in senior high school years. This was a while back. I am a millennial, so I'm not sure if it is still common. We also had a party with soft alcoholic drinks at the end of elementary school. The legal drinking age is 18, but it's not like the police are chasing around kids drinking beer. Bars and grocery stores require an ID, though, if you want to buy alcohol."

Azmanl / Getty Images

—u/chunek, Slovenia

"This was pretty common in Romania too, though I'm also a millennial. My parents were strict, yet I never saw them bothered by the fact that I had a beer while out Actually, I remember my 17th birthday party, apart from beer and wine, both my dad and I bought brandy, sherry, and other liquor."

—u/DarthTomatoo, Romania

14. "There appear to be fewer things as confusing to Americans as the 'if you meet the minimum education requirements, you're just in' policy in higher education admittance."

—u/41942319, Netherlands

15. "Living comfortably without a car or a driver's license. Even if someone has a car, they only use it for transporting something heavy or going for journeys outside of town, not daily commuting. Daily commuting is done by train, and the train stops in every other village."

Chalabala / Getty Images/iStockphoto

—u/Ostruzina, Czech Republic

16. "I'm an American living in Portugal, and one thing that surprised me is that you take off your clothes in front of the doctor. In the US, they give you privacy, and you take off your clothes and put on a gown. Then, the doctor or nurse knocks and comes in. Here, you go to the gynecologist, and you just take off your pants and undies and hop right up into the stirrups. A friend said she was shocked not to be given a robe for her mammogram. Just shirt and bra right off and let it all hang out. Makes sense! They're going to see your bits and bobs anyway! It's more efficient to not have that extra step in between."

—u/dutchyardeen, Portugal

17. "We have the Right to Roam in Scotland, and whenever I've seen this discussed on Reddit, what I assumed to be a near-universally popular policy has been torn to shreds by Americans. It's anathema to them; it fries their brains."

Plume Creative / Getty Images

—u/cragglerock93, Scotland

"It's a legal right to walk and camp on most land in the country, irrespective of ownership. There are many exceptions, though: gardens, land immediately around homes, airfields, military sites, railways, motorways, industrial sites, prisons, sports stadiums, etc. It's also still a crime to destroy property while exercising your right to roam (i.e., you can't trample crops or set fire to the woods). The main benefit of this law is that you can hike in the wilderness and up hills without the landowner stopping you."

—u/cragglerock93, Scotland

18. "Eating proper meals at school and not snacks. I can't imagine eating a pack of chips, pizza, or industrial slices of bread. Lunches were cooked on-site and consisted of proper dishes like a restaurant."

—u/Matttthhhhhhhhhhh, France

19. "Keeping a separation between work and real friendships. Americans chit-chat at work and talk about personal things. Currently working in the US and am a bit socially awkward at work here."

Helen King / Getty Images

—u/smokeandmirrorsff, Germany

Are there any norms in your home country that you think Americans would be shocked to see? Let us know in the comments or fill out this anonymous form!

Note: Responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.