Everything in Europe is small! Let’s start in the kitchen…
Size Matters
As we continue our travels throughout Europe and Croatia there is one significant factor to get used to: everything is SMALL!
Cars, grocery stores, streets, on the outside. Rooms, kitchens and bathrooms on the inside. In Spain and Italy we found almost ALL smaller European cars; not an American or German car in site. But here in Croatia that has not been the case. We have seen our share of BMWs, Mercedes and “normal” sized SUVs. In conversations we found out that many make automobiles a priority- a sign of pride and stature, so the owners may let other things suffer in exchange for their status symbol. Not unlike America. Streets are very narrow and we have been places where only one car can pass at a time and it’s even necessary to move your side mirrors IN to avoid hitting a wall!
And grocery stores? Yes, there are some “larger” ones but mostly we find local bodegas, similar to what you might find in the larger cities. There can be several within the span of just one city block and I wonder how they all stay in business. The selection of products is usually limited but some things you find in everywhere is BEER, WINE and CHOCOLATE- the three major food groups! And we usually have to guess at times at what we are buying. Different languages; different terminology. What is body lotion/ crème/ gel in one country may be different in another.
As the video shares, the small interior room in your lodging takes some getting used to. King sized beds? Highly unlikely. Bathtubs? Very rare, and instead you will use a shower with a shower head that must be HELD to be used, a personal source of irritation for us. Sinks can be small and usually using a bathroom is a one person job with no room for two. Kitchens, likewise. Gas stoves have been the exception and refrigerators are usually very small since getting a large one up a narrow staircase would be death defying. Microwaves are typical, but everything else is iffy, even coffee makers! In Spain and Italy a coffee maker was a standard item, but here in Croatia it’s not.
The reality is, in America, the land of wide open spaces, we have room for so many things except in the larger cities. In suburbia there is land to build upon so everything expands to fill it up. It’s a unique traveling environment, but I like it and recommend you try it too, even for a bit.
#kitchens, #europe, #kitchensineurope, #bathroomsineurope, #smallkitchens
