Some things I learned in Europe
I recently returned from two weeks in Europe, attending a trade show, working from our Geneva office, and then a little fun in Paris. Along the way I learned several things. Here are some of those lessons:
- Mullets are still very much in style among Eastern Europeans.
- Europeans still like Americans, even if they don’t understand or like our government. They especially like Americans who hate George Bush.
- At most hotels parking is relatively cheap, but Internet connections are ridiculously expensive.
- Swedish expats are kind of like the mafia – they all know each other, stick together, and help each other out.
- It pays to make friends with Swedes.
- Parisians are not as horribly unfriendly as I remembered (or feared).
- It’s hard to get less than 100 CHF bills out of an ATM in Geneva. For example, withdrawing 400 CHF gets you two 100 CHF and one 200 CHF bill.
- When you withdraw 100 CHF in Geneva and select the “mixed bills” option, it spits out two 50 CHF bills.
- The French and the Germans are pretty much total opposites. A “half glass” in German in a half liter. In France it’s half of a half liter (0.25 L). Germans pronounce every letter in their words. French pronounce maybe 1/3 of them. The rest are silent.
- Champagne + beer + white wine + red wine + cognac + limoncello = invincibility.
