What in your country/area is totally normal but visitors get excited for?
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Italy. I've seen tourists (probably american by the looks and the words) cheering and in awe because, in cities, there are free public drinkable water fountains.
American here, I was over the moon when I visited Amsterdam and everywhere (even in stores) had water fountains that not only had clean drinking water to refill water bottles, but where so prominently displayed (we hide ours by the bathrooms, if we have any), and most where very artistic or at the very least matching the aesthetic of the store.
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I grew up in Portsmouth, England. Some my friends would come to school from the Isle of Wight on the hovercraft service. We all thought the hovercraft was pretty cool, but I only recently found out that it's the only commercially operated hovercraft in the whole world.
Is it still operating? For some reason I thought it stopped quite a while ago. Or maybe that's the one that used to cross the channel.
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Kangaroos, wombats and platypuses.
Kangaroos and wombats are dangerous when you're driving at night.
To be fair, I'm probably unique in my apathy toward, borderline dislike of, platypuses. When I'm out fishing and I see a platypus I pack up and go somewhere else because I know I won't be catching any fish.
I remember I was maybe 8 years old and lucky enough to go out on my dad and uncle's fishing boat. They were commercial fishermen, netting sardines.
I was so excited when dolphins showed up, only to discover that not everyone loves dolphins when my uncle got the shotgun out. He didn't actually murder any dolphins that day but not for lack of trying.
Suffice to say, I think most fishermen have a healthy dislike for other predators.
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Winter. I guess it's different when you only put up with the endless darkness, cold and snow a week once in your life.
I'm originally from Florida and I moved to Minnesota as an adult. It blew my mind when I realized it was colder outside than it was in my freezer. I was in college my first few winters up here and the first good snowfall a group of freshmen from more tropical climates (mostly southern China) wandered outside in awe to play in the snow and even after my first winter I usually joined them because I know when winter stops being magical it starts being miserable and I'd like to put off the misery until February or so.
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When I visited the US I was excited to see squirrels running around. We don't have squirrels where I'm from. We took pictures.
It must have looked like we were excited to witness a cloud in the sky.
Oh wow. I saw a squirrel once in Catalonia. Wonderful sight.
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I've only been abroad one time, and there were little gecko/lizard things everywhere, climbing up walls and scurrying across roads, and nobody cared. I was constantly fascinated but to the locals they're just kinda there.
Bonus question to anyone who visited the UK - was there anything that fascinated you but I'd be taking for granted?
Pic unrelated.
The first time my cousins from FL visited Canada, it was July. They were surprised there was no snow. So, we took them over to the rec centre and they saw a small pile of snow out back. They were thrilled.
It was dumped out of a Zamboni.
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I've only been abroad one time, and there were little gecko/lizard things everywhere, climbing up walls and scurrying across roads, and nobody cared. I was constantly fascinated but to the locals they're just kinda there.
Bonus question to anyone who visited the UK - was there anything that fascinated you but I'd be taking for granted?
Pic unrelated.
There is this bridge over a river that people come from all over the world to fuck under.
I have no idea why. It doesn’t even show up in search results for the bridge.
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I moved to the midwest USA 15 years ago and I still can't get over the trees screaming at me. It's deafening but no one seems to care.
The trees are silent where I come from
wrote last edited by [email protected]We have cicadas in Provence, but only when I moved to southern Japan did I understand the meaning of the adjective deafening. They must be a different species. I had to actually scream to my partner to be heard.
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I've only been abroad one time, and there were little gecko/lizard things everywhere, climbing up walls and scurrying across roads, and nobody cared. I was constantly fascinated but to the locals they're just kinda there.
Bonus question to anyone who visited the UK - was there anything that fascinated you but I'd be taking for granted?
Pic unrelated.
Depositing bottles.
Put them into a machine, and it gives you money back 🤯
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I've only been abroad one time, and there were little gecko/lizard things everywhere, climbing up walls and scurrying across roads, and nobody cared. I was constantly fascinated but to the locals they're just kinda there.
Bonus question to anyone who visited the UK - was there anything that fascinated you but I'd be taking for granted?
Pic unrelated.
Lakes. My small city has 330 lakes. There are more lakes in Canada than the rest of the world combined.
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The tides at the Bay of Fundy. Highest tides in the world but you have to watch it for 12 hours. Tourist flock there and the locals don't understand the appeal.
I peeked at a timelapse or two. Holy shit, 17 meters ? I've never heard of this. I remember from my holidays in Brittany learning that they have 6 meter tides, and here in Mayotte we have about 4 meters tops which already seems like a lot.
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I've only been abroad one time, and there were little gecko/lizard things everywhere, climbing up walls and scurrying across roads, and nobody cared. I was constantly fascinated but to the locals they're just kinda there.
Bonus question to anyone who visited the UK - was there anything that fascinated you but I'd be taking for granted?
Pic unrelated.
wrote last edited by [email protected]If you're in the UK, then here in the US, it's the sounds.
Crickets, frogs, birds, beetles, giant wasps, small mammals. The spring and autumn are wild with sounds.
My partner is a Brit in an industry where many get stationed here, and they all say the same.
Edit: And if you're outdoorsy, the geography, of course.
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I've only been abroad one time, and there were little gecko/lizard things everywhere, climbing up walls and scurrying across roads, and nobody cared. I was constantly fascinated but to the locals they're just kinda there.
Bonus question to anyone who visited the UK - was there anything that fascinated you but I'd be taking for granted?
Pic unrelated.
Whitetail dear. Don't stop to look at them. They are dear. Keep moving.
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I've only been abroad one time, and there were little gecko/lizard things everywhere, climbing up walls and scurrying across roads, and nobody cared. I was constantly fascinated but to the locals they're just kinda there.
Bonus question to anyone who visited the UK - was there anything that fascinated you but I'd be taking for granted?
Pic unrelated.
I'm originally from the Orlando area and worked for Disney for a while. Tourism folks there pass stories around and have their own folk tales of sorts. Your question reminds me of one of them.
Central Florida has anoles, little lizards, absolutely everywhere. A woman was working the front desk at a hotel, and a couple comes up to check in. She tells them the room number and hands then the key. A few minutes later the husband runs back up to the desk and tells her that "there's an alligator in our room!" "An alligator?!" She replies and they both rush to the hotel room, where she finds the wife screaming and pointing at the couch. "The alligator is under there!"
The front desk worker lifts up one end of the couch and spots a four inch green anole. She catches it and sets it outside.OP, I've never been to the UK, but don't you have hedgehogs? How common are they?
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I moved to the midwest USA 15 years ago and I still can't get over the trees screaming at me. It's deafening but no one seems to care.
The trees are silent where I come from
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Is it still operating? For some reason I thought it stopped quite a while ago. Or maybe that's the one that used to cross the channel.
Yeah, still running like normal: https://www.hovertravel.co.uk/.
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Depositing bottles.
Put them into a machine, and it gives you money back 🤯
Honestly this needs to be more of things in the States. And the deposit cost needs to go up.
If companies were forced to retake their garbage, we'd see far less pollution.
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I've only been abroad one time, and there were little gecko/lizard things everywhere, climbing up walls and scurrying across roads, and nobody cared. I was constantly fascinated but to the locals they're just kinda there.
Bonus question to anyone who visited the UK - was there anything that fascinated you but I'd be taking for granted?
Pic unrelated.
A statue of a dog pissing into a girl's mouth. It's a fountain. Not kidding either.
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I've only been abroad one time, and there were little gecko/lizard things everywhere, climbing up walls and scurrying across roads, and nobody cared. I was constantly fascinated but to the locals they're just kinda there.
Bonus question to anyone who visited the UK - was there anything that fascinated you but I'd be taking for granted?
Pic unrelated.
All the castles and historical buildings. My city having a golden room. Old towns
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Depositing bottles.
Put them into a machine, and it gives you money back 🤯
Nun weiß ganz Deutschland, dass du hier bist
