Climatization
One important area of difference between Europe and the US that I forgot to mention is bathrooms. The bathrooms that you and I know, they do not exist in Europe. Not even close. Public toilets are smaller, and sometimes unisex. Many times you have to pay to use them. Hotel bathrooms are not bathrooms but "water closets." That's not just a different term, it more accurately describes the size of the things. Find a coat closet or linen closet in your home. This is the size of the average European bathroom. They do not understand the concept of a shower or a bath tub. They make half-hearted attempts at both, and fail miserably in each case.
The first room they gave me in this hotel had a toilet so close to the wall that you could not sit on it, because there was no room for your knees. Neat huh? The whole bathroom was so small that you actually had to stand in the toilet in order to use the sink (I'm kidding). Also, the toilets in Europe, you need to tell them to start AND when to stop flushing.
I reserved a room with "climatization" here in Dijon. My apartment in Clermont-Ferrand does not have it - I'm working on that. You see, A/C is a foreign concept to Europeans. Sure, it was invented over 100 years ago, and yes, it does get hot here. Somehow, it just has not caught on yet. You have to ask for hotel rooms with A/C, and they are sometimes hard to find at a good price. I was able to find a great price on one here in Dijon, at a nice hotel, so you can imagine my disappointment when I went to turn on the "climatization" and it did not work.
I complained (politely) on my way out to dinner. The guy said he would check. I returned, he had checked, and "yes moisseur, ze climatization een your chambre does not work." I know that. I told you that before I left. Now what are we going to do to correct this, you froggy French...? "Would you like me to remove you to another chambre?" Yes, one "avec climatization, s'il vous plait." So this guy gives me one key, then another, then another. Each time I run up to the new room he has proposed, only to find that it does not have A/C in it at all. After doing this twice, I decided we were having a communications failure.
"You understand that I'm looking for a room that has air conditioning that works, yes?" "Yes, let me bring the keys and we will find a room that has it." Ends up this guy had no idea that only certain rooms in the hotel had A/C. He said he'd been working here a month and no one had ever brought it up. This sums up the European thinking on A/C.
In finding a room with A/C, he has upgraded me to the largest hotel room in Europe. It's about 12x14, and the bathroom is as big as a walk in closet - huge by European standards. The A/C is humming away as I type this, and I couldn't be happier.
The first room they gave me in this hotel had a toilet so close to the wall that you could not sit on it, because there was no room for your knees. Neat huh? The whole bathroom was so small that you actually had to stand in the toilet in order to use the sink (I'm kidding). Also, the toilets in Europe, you need to tell them to start AND when to stop flushing.
I reserved a room with "climatization" here in Dijon. My apartment in Clermont-Ferrand does not have it - I'm working on that. You see, A/C is a foreign concept to Europeans. Sure, it was invented over 100 years ago, and yes, it does get hot here. Somehow, it just has not caught on yet. You have to ask for hotel rooms with A/C, and they are sometimes hard to find at a good price. I was able to find a great price on one here in Dijon, at a nice hotel, so you can imagine my disappointment when I went to turn on the "climatization" and it did not work.
I complained (politely) on my way out to dinner. The guy said he would check. I returned, he had checked, and "yes moisseur, ze climatization een your chambre does not work." I know that. I told you that before I left. Now what are we going to do to correct this, you froggy French...? "Would you like me to remove you to another chambre?" Yes, one "avec climatization, s'il vous plait." So this guy gives me one key, then another, then another. Each time I run up to the new room he has proposed, only to find that it does not have A/C in it at all. After doing this twice, I decided we were having a communications failure.
"You understand that I'm looking for a room that has air conditioning that works, yes?" "Yes, let me bring the keys and we will find a room that has it." Ends up this guy had no idea that only certain rooms in the hotel had A/C. He said he'd been working here a month and no one had ever brought it up. This sums up the European thinking on A/C.
In finding a room with A/C, he has upgraded me to the largest hotel room in Europe. It's about 12x14, and the bathroom is as big as a walk in closet - huge by European standards. The A/C is humming away as I type this, and I couldn't be happier.
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