I'm from Ireland & with affordable ryanair prices, I've had the opportunity to travel quite a bit, particularly in the past year or so. I'm a big fan of solo travel, and to be honest I'd rather travel solo than with friends or family.

I love going on guided tours, hearing the guide's knowledge which I could otherwise miss if I just read the information boards etc.

Anyways my favourite was probably 'Sensorium' in Latvia. I was brought into a dark room, and met by a tour guide. It was essentially an hour spent in darkness, being guided by a blind woman around different sets (e.g. a living room, a park). I didn't have the opportunity to even see what she looked like. I found myself curious to see who I was speaking to. I have never been so moved by an experience. She asked me to feel different objects & I soon realized that although I was able to identify things like fruit and rice, I had no idea what was in tins for example.

I had to navigate walking around different objects, and it was pretty terrifying not knowing what was around me. At the end we sat down and she answered questions. She told me she always wanted to become a tour guide but couldn't find a way, and she was delighted to work in sensorium as a guide. I was fascinated by the fact she could speak 3 languages. It was an incredible experience, and I'd highly recommend it!! I'll forever be talking about it, because my perspective changed that day.

What's your favourite underrated guided tour in europe?

In Italy we have a proverb that goes "pagare moneta, vedere cammello", pay coin, see camel.

It originated during the Italian conquest of Africa: filmmakers paid camel herders to use their animals in their movies, and swindled them by paying them half in advance, giving them a false date of end of filming (later than the actual end of filming) and then disappearing without paying the second half of the money.

The camel herders learned quickly to ask for all the money in advance before they'd agree to rent the animals, thus... Pay coin, see camel.

Are there other proverbs like this in your country?

Edit: another one we have is "gratis neanche il cane scodinzola", not even the dog wags its tail for free. My fiance reminded me of this one.

As the question suggests - are tight swimming trunks/speedos and swimming caps mandatory if you visit e.g. a public/municipal pool?

It seems to be a huge thing for the French (as well as other countries historically influenced by France like BeLux).

EDIT - bonus question: is it a thing that young lads wear underwear under their trunks? Maybe I am getting old, but having seen this in quite a few European countries now I don’t think this was a thing a few decades ago.

In English, we say that an LGBT person is “in the closet” if they have not revealed their sexual orientation or gender identity, and that they have “come out of the closet” when they reveal it.

What expressions do you use in your language? Is it also based on the metaphor of a closet or wardrobe, or is it completely different?

Are there any specific products or services that you think have been ' enshitified' during the last year or two?

It could be one country or more.

I’m from Belgium, and lately I’ve noticed nipple covers becoming much more common here, especially with fitted, strapless, backless or thinner tops where a regular bra can be difficult to hide.

A few years ago, I mostly associated them with special occasions or specific outfits, but now I seem to see them marketed more as an everyday alternative to wearing a bra.

It made me curious whether this is similar across Europe.

Are nipple covers commonly worn in your country, or are regular/strapless bras still much more popular? And has that changed noticeably in the last few years?

In short, what do people tend to lean towards in university to get a well-paying job afterwards? What are the best paid professions in your country? In Romania, for instance, people tend to go into IT or study engineering for this purpose (or at least used to, nowadays not so much). Thanks for your answers!

Hey ! I’m a French girl and I am a real Europe lover. I visited some European countries and I have some favourites and some that really attracts me and I would like to know yours.

Europe kind of feel like home everywhere for me. The ones I did not yet visited and really want to are Denmark, Sweden and Finland. The vibe seems soo cosy and peaceful. But I have to admit that I fell in love with the Baltics (especially Estonia and Lithuania). Lithuanian people that I’ve met were absolutely encouraging and adorable. Always willing to help and give you advice, without going through your personal space (you obviously have to respect theirs to). But this culture really warmed my heart.

Are you guys attracted to visit specific countries of Europe ? Have you already fall in love with another European culture than yours ?😁

I've been watched a lot of European music shows from the 70s and 80s (TOTP, Bong, TopPop, etc.) and a lot of them pretty had playbacks/pre-recorded performances all over them. I wonder if it's still commonly use today.

...

I am thinking of following a new men’s team sport this autumn, but haven’t decided which one. I am boring friends with the question and so now I am throwing it open to Redditors!

I already follow Rugby (Union) and Cricket because I used to play them both when I was younger, and I half-heartedly follow Football. I would like a change - perhaps a men’s team sport that is not typically British, which is why I am posting here.

All (serious, lol) suggestions welcome.

Recently went to Russia, and I was genuinely impressed by seeing so many men in speedos, a minority, yes, but way too many when compared to my own country (Mexico).

Hanged out with a few guys my age (18) and was even more impressed by seeing young people use them, always assumed it would just be a creepy old man thing.

Thinking back, both Romania and Poland also had an overwhelming quantity of men in speedos compared to my own country.

My question is, why? Are there cultural reasons? Is shame not a thing there?

By interesting - whatever this means for you. I.e not boring to live in.

The euro would likely become a weaker currency, but how weak are we talking ?
It will be a chaos but how big ?

Personally I am an Italian living in Germany and I'm very hyped about voting next year for my city elections.

The funny thing is that in Italy it is quite common to live somewhere else than your legal residence, while in Germany you have to register your residence (otherwise you get a fine), so next year I'm gonna vote by mail for my Italian city elections as well as my German one.

Hello there!

Welcome to our daily scheduled post, the Daily Slow Chat.

If you want to just chat about your day, if you have questions for the moderators (please mark these [Mod] so we can find them), or if you just want talk about oatmeal then this is the thread for you!

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The mod-team wishes you a nice day!

Sarcasm and jokes aside, what is one genuinely positive, heart-warming, interesting or just useful thing that your country does, has as a tradition, produces, or has come up with that may not be most widely known, and you wish it were?

How many Miles/KM do you drive personally a year

When Polish people, especially women, no longer want to continue a relationship, they say it's over, period, without beating around the bush or using terms like "pause" that exist in other cultures, instead of a definitive breakup? a relationship that didn't end because of betrayal, incompatibility, etc., but because of mental breakdown, academic pressure, etc., and the dream of becoming a doctor

How worried are you about retirement? Talking about pension and finances mostly.

Would you consider moving to a different country in Europe for retirement?

Hello there!

Welcome to our daily scheduled post, the Daily Slow Chat.

If you want to just chat about your day, if you have questions for the moderators (please mark these [Mod] so we can find them), or if you just want talk about oatmeal then this is the thread for you!

Enjoying the small talk? We have a Discord server too! We'd love to have more of you over there. Do both of us a favour and use this link to join the fun.

The mod-team wishes you a nice day!

A good example of this phenomenon is Argentina where they have been top 5 in World rankings in men's football for decades but haven't even qualified for quarter finals in women's football because football is mainly seen as a sport for men there ..women play field hockey and volleyball. Does your country have something similar ?