BadgerBoi

But the plane had flown from Yurrp, so it's pretty clearly not the fault of the Merkins.

In any case I suspect that the airport personnel were too busy ensuring that the vending machines were stacked with ice cold Cokes (tm) to be bothered with letting the passengers disembark.

Personally I take my own ice cubes with me when I travel for more than 10 days to places where they speak Foreign.

catandmouse

One reason Americans put so much ice in their drinks is because of the lousy taste of their water. It's much more chlorinated than most water in Europe and the ice helps to disguise the taste of the chlorine. I also remember once being screamed at a McD as I failed to fill my bucket with ice before filling it with soda.
I like single beds. I don't like being disturbed by my partner every time she turns in the bed.
As for vending machines, well we have kiosks everywhere which sell candy bars and drinks and hundreds of other things. Ah but you have to interact with a human being who is not a "Murcan".
Librarygal, we just do things things differently from you. It's one of the pleasures of travelling (ah yes and we spell differently from you to - my browser has just complained about my spelling of "travelling"!)

Giggleswick

That's aberrant behavior (the screaming, I mean, not the absence of ice). Maybe they thought you were getting more soda than you were entitled to, but I almost never put ice in my soft drinks and have never been yelled at--or even spoken to-- about it here in the US.

Come to think of it, the only flak I've caught on the ice issue has been in Europe, where I've occasionally been lectured about Americans asking for ice, even though I've done no such thing.

I do admit, though, that my occasional quest for a cold glass of milk has marked me as an American weirdo, especially in Italy!

MichalFKowalik

+1
Just stay home, mate!

Your note reminds me of some EU folks telling me that they hate USA, because "Vegas is sh**" and "Immigration on ORD su**"

mfk

stut

Folks,

A friendly reminder to please keep any discussion civil, and addressing the OP's post, rather than directing any criticism at the OP personally.

stut
Moderator
Europe Forum

Sixth Freedom

As an English man my perspectives are.

I prefer colas, lemonade and other soft drinks served ice cold. The ice should, in my view, be solid chunks that take a long time to melt. UK and European establishments typically offer terrible ice in my view and I agree that they tend not to put enough in the glass.

My perfect Coke: squeeze an orange segment into a glass and put the segment in the bottom of the glass. Fill the glass with ice above the orange segment and then top-up with Coke from a glass bottle. Drink and repeat until the bottle is empty.

The orange squeezing not only releases juice but also gets out some of the oils in the skin, which infuse through the drink and make it delicious. Placing the segment in the bottom of the glass ensures that the cola is always absorbing the flavours of the orange.



I have not yet suffered broken air conditioning at a hotel.

The single beds are a bit strange. I am happy just to live with that though.

Why not just pop in to a local grocery or supermarket?

Chandler Bing

At least they've been there! My father dislikes the US and that's mostly based on the fact that 'all the TV shows are pre-laughed'

T8191

. I tend to avoid Europe, as it is full of people who speak foreign languages, drive on the wrong side of the road and eat strange food. *

The ice issue doesn't bother me that much, as ice in wine is a big no-no. Aircon is rarely needed, as the weather is usually cold anyway. Not had a problem with beds, either.


* unlike America.

HIDDY

Your experience regarding finding drinks in chiller cabinets not very cold is a valid one. Usually common in outlets near big tourist attractions where there is limited choice for the tourists. That's why they can charge you double and serve it warm. As you won't return they don't care. Next time, don't be naive go prepared!

Broken air conditioning happens everywhere in the world. It's how the hotel management deals with the problem that counts. You obviously weren't forceful enough!

Single beds pushed together to form a double is very common in the likes of Spain. The wife and I don't like them either but it's hardly a hardship as we're usually so tired after a days sightseeing sleep comes easily.

Vending machines have a habit of taking your money then breaking down....the less of them there are the better I say.

To the real traveller all your moans are pretty lame to be honest. There are things 100 times worse out there than what you've experienced.

exilencfc

Well go on then Hiddy don't leave us in suspense.

YuropFlyer

1) In Europe it's Coke with Ice. Not Ice with Coke. Deal with it. Usually Coke is served cool, but not necessarily .... ice cold with tons of ice.
2) We've 3 weeks summer a year. Max. And then it's maybe 30C. Unless you're talking Spain/Italy. But the hotter a destination, the better the AC usually. Yes, I've had a stay (or two, if I think about it) in German 4* hotels without AC in the hottest summer day. Yes, it sucked. But it would have sucked more if it was in 4 months winter period, and the heater would have been broken..
3) Not experienced that. I've stayed at couple of "twin" rooms, and they always had properly separated beds.
4) There are a lot of vending machines in Europe. Of course not in a totally remote place. But at train stations, many postal offices, butcheries, supermarkets, kiosks etc. there are attached vending machines.

Oh: And it's NOT the US where you're going..

From all your complaints, I would really suggest you stay somewhere as US as possible. Go to the UK

exilencfc

Just cos we speak English doesn't mean we've got an obsession with ice Or decent size hoetl rooms or air conditioning.

YuropFlyer

That was actually a joke, as the UK is often described as their (US) little "spy" (or worse) over the atlantic

Giggleswick

The twin room complaint reminds me of the time my trusty travelling companion (TTC) and I, being budget travellers and just friends, were in a tiny twin room in a London guesthouse. In between our beds was a table about eight inches wide with a lamp on it. While we were both asleep, TTC did an arm-flail, and the lamp landed on top of me. I wasn't hurt, just startled, but of course we sued the hotel and posted negative comments all over the web--what else could we do?

No, actually, we laughed pretty hard, and the night that TTC tried to kill me is a standing joke to this day. But then, we have two basic rules about travelling together: 1) if you packed it, you carry it, and 2) no whining.

exilencfc

I realised it was a joke and tried to reply in the same vein. Post obviously needed more smilies.

Cool illustration though, and a fair bit of truth in it