The 8 most annoying Things American Tourists do in Europe

Naive

A few days ago, we toured the Garmisch area again, when we stopped for lunch at the restaurant Edelweiss next to the Benedictine Ettal abbey.

Sitting in a German Food themed restaurant, in a tiny rural village, we overheard Americans talking to the waitress. They asked: “Can you give us pizza to go?”

Keep in mind the restaurant doesn't advertise pizza, and it was clearly a traditional Bavarian-German themed food place. 5 minutes later, a couple came in asking for an Iced Coffee to go…

Food to go is not a standard thing in restaurants in Europe. Besides, assuming a place is doing pizza as a default, is somewhat bold, especially in a rural village.

This is one of the examples of blissful American ignorance. You guys don't mean it because you assume that our culture is the same as yours in the US.

Some more harmless, naive and at time uninformed instances, include:

• Assuming everyone speaks English. Think about it, there is not one country on mainland Europe (except Gibraltar, which belongs to the UK) that speaks English as primary language. The UK and Ireland are islands. We have countless languages and some have more, such as Switzerland and its 4 official languages.
• Mixing up countries, regions, cities. Examples include, France is in Paris (that one hurts :D), that Holland is the Netherlands, or that Europe is a country.
• That everyone accepts USD. Many countries use the Euro and others have a currency of their own. The Brits have the British pound, the Romanians the Leu, the Swiss pay with the Swiss Franc and so on.
• That we celebrate YOUR national holidays. We don't do the 4th of July because we all have our national holidays. For example, in Austria, we celebrate our national day on the 26th of October in France it's the 14th of July.
• Other things that may confuse travelers coming to Europe from other countries too. We don't do soda refills in Europe, Starbucks are not the norm, ice cubes are not added to your water, water (often also tap water) is not free in restaurants, ranch dressing doesn't exist in Europe and public toilets in some European countries are not free.

And then there are instances where Americans seem to be lost wandering about.

We have spotted Americans driving in Pedestrian only city squares and walking on high-speed bicycle lanes.

But the above-mentioned incidents are harmless and we, as Europeans, will just smile to ourselves.

A much bigger issue is people taking selfies in front of holocaust memorials in Germany, and that is not limited to Americans.

Loud Conversations in Public

When you ask someone in Europe how they define American tourists, regardless of which country or region, you will hear them all say the same things.

Americans are loud!

You can hear Americans from afar, especially when they speak to each other in public.

Tony might be waving and calling out at Richard across the city square, and all the world will know that they are American tourists.

We unwillingly overheard a complete conversation minding our own business sitting in the windmill pub in Amsterdam.

Selected central or northern European nationals might notice it more, others, such as southern Europeans, won't mind it because they are loud as well.

Keep in mind that many of the younger people understand English in Europe. So, we can understand all your dialogues, also the ones that we don't want to hear.

That said, I love the friendliness and small talks with Americans. It's always refreshing!

Being Fussy & Outrageous Requests

This is a problem that we have encountered in the hotels that I worked in Austria, but I have been hearing from other hotel industry workers across Europe that they faced the same problem with American Tourists.

Again, I want to point out that not all US American tourists behave that way.

This includes:

• Asking for things that are not offered or not on a menu. For example, a dish that isn't served at the restaurant or asking for a room special, which the hotel didn't advertise.
• Asking for special diet only foods. As in Gluten-free bread at a bakery or keto version of a Wiener Schnitzel. Most people won't even know what keto or gluten-free is, especially if you travel to rural tourist areas in Europe.
• Asking for food alteration that are not possible or available in a given region in Europe. For example, coffee with almond milk (the Italians would be outraged).

Then there is the concern about how service staff and workers are occasionally treated, which brings us to the following matter...

Asking for Managers

Demanding to speak to the manager when you don't get something your way? We don't do this in Europe, and our motto is also “The client is not always right”.

While this might not be the case everywhere in the US, service workers, such as waiters, shop sellers etc. are to be treated with respect in Europe.

Unfortunately, we have experienced people looking down on service staff, and we have also been threatened to be sued. (I worked at 4-star hotel receptions)

This is just a gigantic NoNo in Europe, but fortunately these situations have not been the norm.

Thanks to all the other amazing Americans who have been just great all around!

They Keep on Tipping

Tipping in European countries is a way to thank the establishment for outstanding service and product.

You don't have to tip because tourism sector workers are paid with benefits. Case in point, in Austria, people get 14 monthly payments instead of just 12 and our social care system is the universal law.

We Europeans tip occasionally when we enjoy our food or service in restaurants. For example, if the bill is €18.30, we ask the waiter to round it up to €20 and that's our tips.

We were at the Oktoberfest in Munich last year and small coffee shop workers asked for tips. This is frowned upon, and it's rude, and most were serving Americans in the establishment on that day.

Just keep in mind, giving tips is optional in Europe!

Late to Tours and Courses

We had cases where Americans were supposed to show up like everybody else at 8 am at a ski resort meeting point with their instructors, and they were always outrageously late.

You will mostly trigger Swiss, Austrians, Germans, and people in Liechtenstein if you are late because punctuality is a virtue here. This might not be a problem in other countries.

Tours and course instructors will probably not wait for you, except if you paid for a luxurious private skiing instructor in Kitzbühel or Arlberg.

Comparing to the US and Complaining

We all do it, we compare our countries and towns back home with the new places that we are visiting.

Yet, unfortunately, this seems to be a common trait among US Americans and Europeans tend to notice it a lot more with Americans (probably because many of use understand English).

People in Europe don't like to be compared to America or American culture.

You see, when people left Europe to settle in America, the ones left behind in Europe were reminded of their greatness for not leaving the continent.

Therefore, Europeans pride themselves (I dare say a bit too much at times) on being European and don't like to be compared to North Americans in general.

So, technically, the fault is not on the Americans only here. We Europeans are full of ourselves!

Also, complaining about a region or country, is a big turnoff in general. No matter if you are American or not.

Nazi Related Jokes

Last but not least, Nazi related jokes.

This is a problem we have been facing in Germany and Austria only!

When WW2 ended, we had certain decrees put in place. It is illegal to say, certain Nazi slogans and fascist symbols have been outlawed ever since.

So, when an Americans (and also other nationals such as Brits) make Nazi jokes or call out “Heil Hitler” in public in Germany, it is simply tasteless.

Be aware that some regions use the “Heil” as a greeting. It's an old Roman greeting. For example, we use it frequently in Tyrol, and it has nothing to do with Fascism.