"Europe's Better"

Have you been to Paris? Barcelona? Berlin? Rome? Other major cities in Europe? What is the first thing that comes to mind when I ask you what those cities are like? Sure, all of them have their differences, but at least in Southern Europe, I am convinced of one thing: People socialize. And smoke cigarettes. And roll their own cigarettes. And drink wine. And drink beer. There doesn’t seem to be an overconsumption about it. It just is a consistent way of life. You wine. You dine. You smoke. You chat. And smoke some more.

I’m not belaboring the cigarette point for kicks and giggles. It is part of the culture. There are smoking areas in airports. Outside of restaurants, people sit and smoke and TABACS stores are still on every corner (depending on where you are). I felt in order to really be a part of the culture when I lived in Europe, I had to smoke the occasional cigarette. Even rolled my own! Well, a friend may have assisted, but it was authentic and true.

The “Smoking Kills” on the labels now are pretty funny. Even my ingenious wife asked me as we carousel-ed the Parisian streets “I wonder how the anti-smoking campaign caught on so strongly in the US and did not in Europe?” I did not have a good answer to that question.

Even if people are not smoking, they are lounging. I have lived this so it is not like I am blowing smoke up anyone’s asshole. I don’t know if that expression was used correctly.

People take 45 minutes for a coffee. They order, they sit, they stir, they sip. And maybe smoke. And maybe eat. People sit for hours on end during and after dinner, sipping wine and beer, and just engaging. It’s a weird phenomenon and then again, not at all.

I love the camaraderie. And the vibe which that environment creates.

As Alex and I transitioned to magical Paris to monochrome Switzerland, we had dinner one night at a fancy-ish restaurant in Zurich. The waiter, who we learned was 17 (10pm curfew) had been to Miami recently. Alex, who generally does not engage randos, asked “did you like it? How was it?” He responded with a simple two words:

“Europe’s Better.”

It was not as humorous as his expressions when he handed me a beer, exclaiming “the good water” or when dropping off desert said “here are your vitamins.” Get this guy on open mic stat. But not in Switzerland. Somewhere more lively.

Don’t let his humor and good waiting distract from his main response and what prompted this post. It’s such a simple expression, and he didn’t go into much detail (complained about the traffic and some other US-ish stuff) but it’s not about that. It’s about Europe.

And you can hit on so many qualities of it and look, no place is perfect. His answer was a characterization.

I watched an American family of three be on their phones for a full 20 minutes straight while waiting for a check at a pizzeria in Grindewald. Straight. One even had an earphone in. It made me sick.

Because I had just been around so much beauty in Paris. So much engagement. And voices. And cigarette smoke. And beer. And little bread dishes. Or no food at all. And people just sit and talk and sit and talk and smoke and talk and drink and talk. Giving that American family 4 hours to do that would be painful. They would hate it. Hate it.

This 17 year old waiter was a good kid. He had a nice young face with welcoming eyes. And he did his job well. I don’t know his grades in school, but he seemed like a smart guy with a bright future. And after a two week trip to the US, he answered a simple question with a simple phrase. And I tend to agree with the answer. The conclusion and the simplicity of it.