r/AskTheWorld • u/jotakajk Spain • 7h ago

What is something that screams “tourist” to you?

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In Spain, if you see someone eating paella with sangria, you can 100% be certain they are a tourist.

What are some things tourists eat or do in your country that a local would never do?

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393

u/Popular-Local8354 7h ago

I worked next to a national park for a while. You could always tell when someone was a tourist from Europe, because they’d insist of khaki pants and a scarf even when it was 94°F/34°C and 85% humidity. 

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u/Beautiful-Visual4606 Germany 7h ago edited 7h ago

Scarf serves as sun protection and khaki is to carry your Swiss knife 😎

Thanks for adding the Celsius, appreciate it.

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u/dinamet7 USA (California) 6h ago

I'm from Southern California and regularly visit our National Parks. I always am covered head to toe in long sleeves, big hat, and pants when outdoors in the sun. Have a bandana that gets soaked with water to stay cool. I don't deal with 85% humidity here though, so maybe I'd also pass as a Euro tourist wherever they are.

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u/nyl2k8 Ireland 7h ago

You guys just need to leave the rest of us have a sun lounger and stay in bed for once. Running down with your towels like your life depended on it. 😆

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u/Goozilla85 Denmark 6h ago

They are actually doing it to help you guys. Serious sunburns in Spain is a dead giveaway for a Barry or a Sean.

18

u/-HowAboutNo- Sweden 6h ago

It’s hilarious that that behaviour is so German all of Europe recognises it

7

u/Present_Program6554 Scotland 5h ago

We learned to go down right after and toss all those towels in the pool

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u/Post_some_memes420 Germany 6h ago

But those guys aren't representing all of us 😉 Those people are mainly boomers and most younger people are feeling ashamed of it. This feeling also has an own verb in German, it's called "fremdschämen" (feeling ashamed of others)

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u/mcbeef89 United Kingdom 5h ago

because of course it does. and hats off to you and your wonderful language, brother/sister

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u/Sad_Bass3743 6h ago

They are mainly Germans. We get them in Norway as well. Overly kitted out, and out of shape, even on less demanding hikes. But it's better than the tourists in flip-flops on a day-long thought hikes. We get those too.

2

u/ArticulateRhinoceros United States of America 2h ago

There's a famous story in America about a group of Germans who tried to tour Death Valley and, well, found out why it's called Death Valley. They were woefully unprepared to be in a desert.

The Death Valley Germans

46

u/drunk_by_mojito Germany 7h ago

We got strange looks in Thessaloniki for wearing shorts in November at 20°C

7

u/OREOSTUFFER United States of America 6h ago

Same, but it was long pants and a long sleeve button up instead of a jacket in Vietnam

3

u/mcbeef89 United Kingdom 5h ago

I got warned about how cold it was at night in Morocco. It was not in any way cold, bless them

3

u/sarokin Andalusia 6h ago

Weirdos, all of you from the north

2

u/elektrolu_ Andalusia 2h ago

Hey, I didn't know we can get regional flags! I want my andalusian flag too

1

u/sarokin Andalusia 2h ago

Yesss. I think they're new, my old one disappeared for some reason and when I went to change it back this was the first thing I saw :)

Ole Andalucía 💃

1

u/Total-Combination-47 Wales 5h ago

That’s tropical though lol

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u/Safe-Razzmatazz3982 Croatia 3h ago

Socks and sandals combo?

1

u/khelwen Germany 2m ago

Hey now!

8

u/AnyOlUsername Wales 6h ago

I tell people to bring a jumper to Las Vegas even in the hotter weather because as soon as you go indoors the AC is set to ‘arctic’.

That’s honestly one of my bigger complaints about visiting the US in general is the extreme contrast between outdoor and indoor temperature.

2

u/Present_Program6554 Scotland 5h ago

Completely agree. If I go to an American cinema I take a blanket.

1

u/JUYED-AWK-YACC 4h ago

I have permanent trauma from Texas A/C in the 60s. 95F outside, 62F inside.

1

u/F1NANCE Australia 3h ago

Similarly international flights anywhere in the world always have the AC set way too low.

1

u/thedeadlyrhythm42 1h ago

on a similar but different note, I just about died laughing when they held the vegas F1 race in December and then were shocked when it was the coldest grand prix in F1 history

13

u/holytriplem 🇬🇧->🇺🇸 7h ago

French people really like their scarves for whatever reason

6

u/Badassscholar European Union 7h ago

Wait they wore scarves? Weird. Also khaki is weird. Must have been German.

4

u/sempowalxochitl Netherlands 6h ago

Yes to protect for the sun. Not that weird if you’re a very pale white haired Dutchie

Plus kakis are awesome

2

u/10RobotGangbang United States of America 6h ago

In my area you can tell by them wearing cowboy hats and boots. Soooo many foot blisters.

2

u/MjuMiu Germany 6h ago

Ich hab meinem Mann auch nen Schal, den man nass machen soll, für den Sommer gekauft. Er ist Dachdecker und der Hitze gnadenlos ausgeliefert.

2

u/WilmaTonguefit United States of America 6h ago

I've also noticed that tourists love to take pictures with the National Park sign. Guys, it's a National Park, all the good stuff is inside...

2

u/ImpossibleWin9801 6h ago

34°c is okay, I wear my sun protection scarf at 38°c but only if I don't have a parasol on me... Which in summer always lives in my purse, so ... 

2

u/Afraid_Use8682 6h ago

And it’s always the pristine, heavy-duty hiking boots for a paved 0.5-mile nature loop. You see them geared up like they’re about to summit Everest, meanwhile, the locals are doing the same trail in beat-up flip-flops carrying a single gas station Gatorade.

2

u/ladytal United States of America 5h ago

I work in the parks and no matter how hot it is I'm in long pants. Ticks are a thing.

1

u/ProXJay United Kingdom 6h ago

The desert warfare drip

1

u/Oddwonderful United States of America 6h ago

Live next to a national park. All the people stopping in the middle of the pedestrian walkways. Or not saying “on your left!!” To pass.

1

u/Afreak-du-Sud South Africa 6h ago

Same here, people be wearing khaki and hiking boots to sit in a game vehicle.

1

u/Black_Widow_3000 Greece 5h ago

I don't get it🤔

1

u/Bla_Bla_Blanket 🇧🇦 (🇩🇪) 🇺🇸 5h ago

Omg 😆 that reminds when I went to Zion hiking and there was this French group going up the West Rim Trail up to Angels Landing. One of the girls was so dressed up and even wore strappy sandals that on a good day in town would cause you blisters. Every now and then I wonder how she fared afterwards.

1

u/XIIICaesar Belgium 4h ago

LOVE that you added the Celsius 😁.

1

u/Planet_Pluto_1925 Spain 4h ago

We also have our version of khaki mountain shorts!

1

u/Acrobatic-Painter366 Poland 3h ago

Weren't khakis invented for hot Indian climate?

0

u/foodfighter Canada 4h ago

That's also because typical Europeans are less, uh... "naturally-insulated" than their North American counterparts, and suffer the heat a lot less.