Vegetables are Green Things
On episode 59 of the podcast….

Public restrooms in Munich
…or at least restrooms in restaurants.
I noticed something interesting on last week’s trip to Munich. Many of the restrooms have hair products, mouthwash, doedorant, etc. out on the sink as if you are at your own home. The first time I saw it, I assumed the restaurant was a family run place and maybe the owner left her things in there. But then I saw it two more times. What a great idea!
It was really great for me as I used the mousse in this picture to get my hair out of my eyes.
Clean cars
I walked down an average neighborhood street yesterday in Stockholm past about 40 cars. As I looked in each one, I noticed they were all completely clean! No food wrappers, trash or even crumbs. Every car looked great inside.
I think I’ve come up with the reason for this. No one eats in their car in Stockholm. It is not a fast food/drive-thru culture. The most people do around here is to take a thermos of coffee. And they love their coffee so much, they wouldn’t dare leave the thermos behind when they get to their destination.
I went through a drive-thru on the outskirts of Stockholm this past summer. I realized I had never done this in my 14 years in Sweden. They had 2 lanes for cars plus they actually used both the pay window and the delivery window – a practice the US seemed to give up about a month after it was introduced, leaving us with fast food restaurants full of empty windows.
Not eating in the car. Interesting concept. The Swedes may be onto something here.
Differences in dining between Sweden and the U.S.
Tips for travelers going either way.
Sweden:
Going to dinner takes 3 hours. I didn’t believe it either, but it’s true.
The dining area of most restaurants is the same size as my living room.
Your food may be cheaper than your drink.
Sip slowly – your drink will be smaller than your hand. No refills!
U.S.
Going to dinner takes an hour. We have movies to catch and the restaurants need to herd in the next round.
The dining area of most restaurants consists of many booths where we can all hide. We do not share tables.
Food and drinks are pretty cheap. This is why we have an obesity problem.
A small drink order comes with unlimited refills. I’ve never understood why people pay for larger.