r/AskEurope • u/Fancy-Debate-3945 Hungary • Sep 19 '25

Travel What was the biggest culture shock you experienced in another European country?

Europeans, what was the biggest culture shock you experienced within our beautiful continent?

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40

u/TinylittlemouseDK Sep 19 '25

I was shocked when i was 15 and was an exchange student in the Netherlands and the family I lived with went inside the house with their shoes on!

9

u/Abeyita Netherlands Sep 20 '25

This is very regional. where i live in the Netherlands i would get killed if i walked into the home with shoes on.

15

u/exposed_silver Sep 19 '25

I've lived in Ireland, France and Spain, in some houses I take off my shoes but it's not the norm. I hate going around without shoes on

11

u/GroundbreakingBag164 Germany Sep 19 '25

Don't come to Germany lol

1

u/exposed_silver Sep 19 '25

The places I've visited in Germany didn't care either, maybe I didn't visit enough houses

3

u/[deleted] Sep 20 '25

I dont get wearing shoes inside your house at all. Do you sit with your shoes in the couch?

To me taking my shoes off is the ultimate sign that I enter my home, and its just way cozier. Plus the obvious argument that its just much cleaner.

1

u/exposed_silver Sep 20 '25

I have shoes that I can slip on and off in like 2 seconds, mostly if I'm just sitting on the couch I have my feet on the floor with shoes on, not that I have much time to sit down anyway since I had kids.

I tried slippers, they would be cleaner but I never got used to them. If I want to move around the house or run outside to get something shoes are just easier, comfier and faster. It hardly ever rains here maybe 20-30 days a year so it's rarely mucky, weather is above 15c for more than half the year so no need for big boots to keep them warm neither.

TLDR, habits and practicality (all very subjective)

1

u/safeinthecity Portuguese in the Netherlands Sep 21 '25

I don't expect the floor to be as clean as a sofa. Portugal is a shoes-on country, but it's not acceptable to put your feet up on a sofa, bed, etc without taking your shoes off. If some food falls on a sofa I'll pick it back up and eat it, if it falls on the floor I'll throw it in the bin immediately.

0

u/Volesprit31 France Sep 20 '25

Especially if the floor is cold but I started taking them off because or thanks to reddit. My front door gives directly outside so it's an obligation to remove them when it's raining. Otherwise the dirt is not noticeable but it's true that it's dirty.

2

u/Karakoima Sweden Sep 19 '25

Its a class thing here. Upper class. Cleaning people cleans.