r/AskEurope

For us it's probably Pulisic, Howard, Dempsey

What’s the strangest thing your country once had a shortage of that wasn’t the result of war?

I recently learned of Oude Pekela, which is apparently one of the poorest places in the Netherlands, even though the pictures on Wikipedia looked nice enough.
That got me curious: far from the stereotypical rich & poor areas (like St Tropez or Roubaix in my country), what are your country’s inconspicuous affluent & deprived areas?

I went to vote this morning in the UK - there are elections today for local governments - and it struck me how quick the process was. The total time from when I walked out of my house to when I got home again was 13 minutes, of which maybe 2-3 minutes was spent at the polling station itself. This was unusually quick because there was no queue, but it's rarely too much longer than that.

I've heard some horror stories from Americans talking about how it can take them 30-60 minutes, or worse, to queue up to vote, and that locations to vote can be far away.

How does voting compare in your country? Is it a quick and relatively simple process, or something which can be a bit slow?

Is there something in particular your country is good at that people rarely talk about?

Is there state roadside help? Individual roadside help covered by your insurance? Call a friend, flag down a passer-by? Will petrol stations loan you a can to take a few litres to your car?

I've heard that we Canadians have a higher tolerance for driving long distances compared to people in Europe. For example I wouldn't bat an eye at driving from where I am in Winnipeg to Vancouver and that's only 23.5 hours of driving.

What do you consider long distance? 200km? 500km?

Edit: To clarify were talking one or twice a year for vacation and definitely not all in one day.

Or, how would you spend it and where might you go with that money?

We have this wacky religion here in the United States. They’re not really Christian they have a whole other Bible called “the Book of Mormon”. A small portion of them take multiple wives and they have a lot of weird practices. They build enormous temples, they don’t drink coffee, soda or alcohol.

They’re honestly really scary to me. What do you think about Mormons? Or do you not think about mormons?

Which religions are growing fastest in your country, according to the number of converts?

I have been researching the political systems of a lot of different countries(mainly in Europe) and I noticed that a lot of the countries have a VOLT Party, never in parliament, but it was still an interesting thing to see. I was wondering what was your opinion of the VOLT Party and if you don’t support it, a follow up question of what is your opinion of the EU?

Everyone likes to travel differently ans become different type of tourists.

I haven’t visited many countries in Europe but from the ones I experienced I can say that I enjoy listening local music genres, learning about their history and culture and even though it rarely happens chatting with locals.

I don’t know which countries would fit this the most.

Anyway which countries fit your travel style the most ?

Thank you for your answers.

I’ve been watching the UK State Opening of Parliament this morning, where the King reads a speech outlining what the government plans to do in the new session of Parliament (a Parliament lasts up to 5 years; a session is typically about a year).

What happens in other countries around Europe? How do your parliamentary sessions start?

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how the Brazilian national team jersey stopped being “just about football” for many people.

For decades, wearing green and yellow meant the World Cup, crowded streets, family gatherings, barbecues, celebrations, and a shared sense of national pride. It was a symbol of Brazil as a whole, far beyond politics.

However, in recent years — especially during the rise of Bolsonaro and the Brazilian right-wing movement associated with him — the national team jersey became heavily appropriated by political groups. It started appearing constantly at political rallies, demonstrations, and partisan events. Over time, many people began to automatically associate the green-and-yellow jersey with a specific political ideology, even when someone was simply wearing it because they liked football or wanted to support Brazil during the World Cup.

As a result, something unusual and honestly sad happened: some Brazilians now feel uncomfortable or even afraid to wear the national team jersey in public. Not because they stopped loving their country or football, but because they do not want to be mistaken for supporters of political movements, ideas, or figures they strongly disagree with.

It is strange to see how a national symbol — something that should represent everyone — gradually became viewed by many as a political statement. It raises an important question: why should anyone feel hesitant to wear the jersey of their own country?

Do you european fellas have been through something like this?

I think we Turks in general find the foreign Turkish accents extremely cute. I honestly love them.

And I heard that it’s same case for many Asian countries as well.

But I don’t know if it’s a common thing in many countries. For example very often (in internet) I hear that French speakers don’t enjoy it as much when foreigners speak their language.

Hi european community!

Are there any banks in europe that have cards without connection to Mastercard or Visa? Or even without any debitcard function at all?

Specifically in terms of their culture?

As title, very curious to hear about the very small things, to hear from other...

• europeans that moved to a different european county -
• even if not a Schengen, but all of europe
• as well as others from around the globe

What small everyday habits or subtle routines, here in Europe did you personally start noticing + appreciating more n more over time, when you moved from your birth country?

Honestly tickets this year are significantly more expensive than any of the previous cups, but i am so tempted idk

I am German and every time I set foot in Belgium I have to buy as many beer bottles as I can carry (please don’t tell the German government that 😅). I also love to buy large amounts of Ibuprofen when I go to the UK because it’s dirt cheap there (in emergencies I will get some from the Netherlands too)

What are your go to purchases when visiting another European country?