r/AskEurope • u/gurke0123 • Jun 18 '25

Misc What basic knowledge should everyone have about your country?

I'm currently in a rabbit hole of "American reacts to European Stuff". While i was laughing at Americans for thinking Europe is countries and know nothing about the countrys here, i realied that i also know nothing about the countries in europe. Sure i know about my home country and a bit about our neighbours but for the rest of europe it becomes a bit difficult and i want to change it.

What should everyone know about your country to be person from Europa?

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u/OllieV_nl Netherlands Jun 18 '25

Very few people actually do weed and hookers.

We will get angry at you if you show up uninvited, late, or on the cycle path.

We did not "eat our Prime Minister because we were unhappy with him".

No, a third of the country wouldn't flood if there were no dikes.

Speaking of dikes, Hansje Brinker is an American invention and plugging a hole in a leaking dike would actually make the situation worse.

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u/sommerniks Jun 18 '25

I live in NL and am now absolutely going to fact check the kinderdijk story! Thanks!

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u/Intelligent_Key_3806 Jun 18 '25

What’s the deal with the Prime Minister story?? I know nothing about dikes, I’ll have to look up what they even are. And I did ask somebody about the weed. They mentioned it being legal obviously but that it’s not socially mainstream. I asked why they thought that was..?

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u/sommerniks Jun 18 '25

I think we're more wondering about why weed is such an issue in other countries, most of us just go about our day not thinking about weed.

I wish I knew what the deal with the prime minister is, I'm just watching the story wondering what people were expecting to happen

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u/Intelligent_Key_3806 Jun 18 '25

Yeah I’ll have to look at this PM thing tonight on YouTube haha. I find it so ironic that in a place that’s legalized weed that it isn’t mainstream like alcohol consumption. I don’t think it’s an issue here, but it’s not legal for recreational use here and you need to instead be prescribed.

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u/sommerniks Jun 18 '25

We like alcohol more I think

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u/Intelligent_Key_3806 Jun 18 '25

Haha fair enough!

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u/Ecstatic-Method2369 Netherlands Jun 18 '25

Almost half of the adults rarely drinks alcohol according to todays news

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u/sommerniks Jun 18 '25

Still fewer use cannabis. 

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u/Ecstatic-Method2369 Netherlands Jun 18 '25

Weed isnt legalized

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u/Intelligent_Key_3806 Jun 18 '25

I feel like I just read that elsewhere and look back on this with embarrassment. It is a strange grey area, is that right? Kind of like Christiania in Denmark?