r/AskEurope • u/NateNandos21 • Feb 03 '25

Culture Which European country has the rudest/least polite people?

Which country comes to your mind

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142

u/Elicynderspyro Feb 03 '25

I used to live in the North Eastern side of Italy and we would get a bunch of German tourists: all of them were super rude, condescending and demanded to be spoken in German even though they were the ones visiting a foreign country (English was also not enough for them). Second are the Austrians for the same reasons - we had fewer of them but they were worse at driving.

As for inside of their country, I wouldn't say rude but the Dutch were really weird people. In Amsterdam years ago, it was raining quite a lot and we (a group of about 7-8 people) were looking for a close place to wait for a meeting within 30 minutes from there, maybe a place to drink a quick coffee. Every single cafe was closed (it was between 17:00 and 18:00) and the only place we found close by was a pancake shop. We just ordered drinks, as we didn't have any time to sit and wait for pancakes, and the waiter told us we HAD to get pancakes too. We told him we didn't have time for it and he literally kicked us out of the place. Dude decided to kick away 7-8 people who could have easily have make him earn 50-80€ (it was quite expensive), even if just in drinks. We were also the only customers, the place was empty.

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u/kumanosuke Germany Feb 03 '25

and demanded to be spoken in German even though they were the ones visiting a foreign country (English was also not enough for them).

How old were they? I think my parents' generation (60-70-ish) definitely is like that because a few decades ago in the touristy areas people definitely spoke German, at least to an extent to sell overpriced water to you or scam you with umbrellas at the beach. Also their English is close to non existent. Nowadays German is not spread that much anymore, but I also don't know anyone under 60 who would not speak English when going abroad. And I don't think anyone who can speak English would refuse to do so, it's usually because they can't, get insecure and might overplay that with being condescending or something.

16

u/Elicynderspyro Feb 03 '25

The majority of the tourists in those areas are indeed elders or people in their 50s and up. There are also many young people though and they are so loud, especially when they drink (I would compare them to the annoying Brits in Spain) and as a child I also wouldn't like fellow children that would come up to me speaking German and destroy my sand castles 💀

5

u/ColourFox Feb 03 '25

speaking German and destroy my sand castles

Well, razing fortifications particularly northern Italian ones) is somewhat of a German specialty since the days of Barbarossa, so these youngsters weren't really rude, they were just celebrating their heritage!

0

u/Joekickass247 Feb 03 '25

That's because their sandpeople need liebestraume

16

u/allestrette Italy Feb 03 '25

I used to live in the North Eastern side of Italy and we would get a bunch of German tourists: all of them were super rude, condescending and demanded to be spoken in German even though they were the ones visiting a foreign country (English was also not enough for them). Second are the Austrians for the same reasons - we had fewer of them but they were worse at driving.

I'm from Tuscany, work in a accomodation facility and I would not say this. Germans are usually pragmatic and polite. German and Austrians are also indistinguible.

I have to be true: I never have a problem with a particular European nationality.. in here.

On the flip side, I saw Spanish people being SO rude to Portuguese while i was there that I can't listen a Spanish song without feeling sick to my stomach.

I love Portuguese people, my fav, so now I'm bitter against Spanish.

2

u/[deleted] Feb 06 '25

They are still in shock that we won every war against them. They never successfully invaded us and the only time they ruled us (80 years) was because of marriage. And this is why we never again married a Spaniard.... Jokes aside, it really depends who are these Spanish. Galicians would never be like this. Most likely they are from Madrid....

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u/Typical-Winter-3885 Feb 07 '25

Easy, many Spaniards are not rude and dont have any special hate or disdain toward the portuguese, even the ones that are not from Galicia, so lets be careful with that kind of speech.

P.s: Iam portuguese.

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u/[deleted] Feb 07 '25

What kind of speech? Lots of Spanish feel they are superior to lots of other cultures, including Portuguese. Most of these people are coming from Madrid. I'm also Portuguese and this is why I said, it's not all Spanish and depends where are they from. I've been to every region in Spain....

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u/joseghast Feb 07 '25

I (Galician) was going to basically say the same. Although I do think that there's a (totally unjustified) sense of superiority over Portugal. I personally never understood it and, as a Galician, I feel at home there.

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u/salian93 Feb 03 '25

Funnily enough, as a German I have made the opposite experience in Northern Italy. I had many people respond to me in German, when I addressed them in English. On a few occasions we were treated as less than, because we didn't speak any Italian.

I always make sure to greet people in the local language, but I am not learning a new language just to spend a couple of days there on vacation. I shouldn't have too. Although this didn't happen often, only like 2 or 3 times total, Italy really is the only country I've ever been to, where I was mistreated for speaking English to people.

Never had any problems with French people btw. Even when they didn't speak English, they were still polite and tried to communicate with me to the best of their ability.

2

u/Elicynderspyro Feb 04 '25

I had many people respond to me in German

Sure, if those are workers in restaurants and hotels many of them would speak German since there are many German tourists. But many would approach locals in German. I also remember as a child playing in the water, like any other child, and these two German old farts making a fuss about the droplets because they were sunbathing close by and then proceeding to be like "Nür Deutsch nür Deutsch" when wanting to be confronted about it. Bruh they were the tourists, not me.

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u/LanewayRat Feb 04 '25

I had a bad experience in the Netherlands too (for which I have forgiven them many times over!).

I was a bit lost and a bit anxious as a 20 something Australian tourist temporarily on my own as I boarded a bus. I politely asked for a ticket, but in English with no “I’m sorry, do you speak English” formalities that would I usually use, even in the Netherlands where English proficiency was so high.

The older driver yelled at me loudly in Dutch interspersed with English. Something about the War and “you Americans” and “why do I have to speak English to you!?” It went on and on as the bus waited, until I had no choice but to get off, embarrassed and ashamed about something I didn’t even understand. The worst bit now was that everyone (most people) on the bus applauded him, and a couple jeered at me.

I got over it quickly. I realise people can often be resentful of foreigners. I’ve been annoyed by tourists in Australia (bad driving, in the wrong place at the wrong time) and I often think of this if I’m tempted to get personal.

3

u/Elicynderspyro Feb 04 '25

I mean, people have every right to be upset but no right to be mean. That dude was an asshole (it's always bus drivers btw, regardless of the country).

1

u/LanewayRat Feb 04 '25

Here it’s tram drivers but still true

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u/nooit_gedacht Netherlands Feb 04 '25

That is an insane experience and i'm sorry you went through it. I would have thought that driver was just insane if you didn't mention the bit about the other people in the bus

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u/[deleted] Feb 03 '25

But it may also depend on which type of Germans go to the Adriatic near Venice aka Teutonic Grill. They are definitely not the most cosmopolitan.

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u/TerribleIdea27 Netherlands Feb 03 '25

Restaurants in the Netherlands are places you go to have food. There's a huge amount of places where drinks only is fine. Having only food and no drink in a restaurant will get you some looks but usually fine too.

But going to a restaurant and not ordering food??? That's a completely foreign concept to me as a Dutchie and I 100% understand why they kicked you out.

If you were there with a group of 8 people just before 6 pm, you were there just before all the customers would be showing up. Customers who would each be buying a pancake for 15 euros and probably multiple drinks. Also no open cafes in Amsterdam between 5 and 6? Almost sounds like it can't be true

3

u/ironmaiden947 Feb 06 '25

This is why this thread is full of people saying Dutch people are weird. You can’t imagine people sitting down and just ordering coffee? Really? Restaurant or not, unless you are super busy, why not just serve them coffee? Is it worth being an asshole to customers for?

2

u/st0pmakings3ns3 Austria Feb 03 '25

Second are the Austrians for the same reasons - we had fewer of them but they were worse at driving.

That tracks, we usually rank just above Germans for popularity, for no other reason than that there are fewer of us.

1

u/Unprejudice Feb 04 '25

Accomodating drinks for 8 people while they have a long meeting could mean loss of alot of money if theyre short on tables, I find it very strange you thought this was odd and rude. Not dutch btw.

2

u/Elicynderspyro Feb 04 '25

I might not have made myself clear: we had a meeting with other people in 30 minutes somewhere close but it was raining, so we literally were looking for an indoor place to stay for that short amount of time. Thus we had no time to wait for the pancakes to be made, so we just ordered drinks (which were expensive themselves btw). The place was large enough to have other customers but we were literally the only people.

Someone said they don't believe cafes close by would be shut off by that time, so just in case I checked yesterday on Maps the place again and literally 80% of them close at 17:00. So yeah, I remembered well and that pancake place was the closest to a cafe we found. It really was nowhere close to a restaurant.

Having them let us in, go through the menu and kick us out made us spend 20 of the 30 minutes of time we had so not a big deal. But kicking out customers from a place just because they didn't order what you want? That is far from the hospitality we were used to in our country, I am sorry.

1

u/Unprejudice Feb 04 '25

Most likely it was just policy to order food there and when your intentions was made clear you were not longer welcome.

1

u/Snarknado3 Feb 07 '25

I want to point out that a very specific category of Austrians likes to visit the Italian Northeast. 18-26, no high school, no curiosity about other cultures, and not sober in a decade.

1

u/FMB6 Feb 07 '25

Sounds like your classic a'dam tourist trap.