Europe seems to be more practical about many things.
There are so many little things - and large ones - that distinguish Europe from America. You don't realize how much of a cash-grab the USA has become over the years, in the name of "free-dum." Time was, you could buy a house and raise a family on the salary of a milkman, mailman, or policeman (as the Up With People! idolize). Today, only the policeman is making out financially, thanks to a strong union. But who knows? Maybe that will be privatized next.
I mentioned the ice before - it comes in small bags of enormous cubes - so large that a typical glass holds only one. Perfect for a sipping drink like bourbon or scotch. In the US, commercial ice machines (and I do own one) make tiny cubes - perfect for shaking a martini, but also perfect for making a "fountain drink" 70% ice and 30% drink. I'll miss the ice.
Plastic bottles have a cap that is retained by a ring, so when you open a bottled water or soft drink, the cap stays attached. No loose caps littering the ground and recycling is easier. Speaking of which, recycling is much easier, as is garbage disposal. Huge recycling bins, each the size of a small car, are placed on nearly every block. One for glass, one for plastic, and another for general trash. It is never hard to find a garbage can in Spain, and as a result, the streets are cleaner. Well, that and an army of street cleaners - both the machine kind and human kind, wash the roads and sidewalks daily instead of annually. And the guys on the highway picking up trash? They are paid employees, not convicted criminals doing "community service."
There are, of course, some downsides. The fascination with diesel engines, for example. More efficient, I guess (slightly, compared to hybrids), but also more polluting. And diesel is not more expensive than gasoline (or not much more) so I guess that drives the narrative. Yes, fuel is expensive. We paid anywhere from $1.25 to $1.80 a liter for diesel (about $5 to $7 a gallon) which is a lot more than we pay in the States. Smaller cars are the norm, and yea, it takes some getting used to, to see a BMW 5-series "M" model with a diesel engine.
But I am not sure that "cheap gas" is worth all the other hassles we have in America. The delta in the cost of fuel is far outweighed by the expense of student loans or health care. We cheer for a our cheap gas, and then blow the advantage by purchasing fuel-hog vehicles. I never measured the gas mileage on the Fiat (Ram Workmaster) van we rented, but it never seemed like a lot of money to fill it up. And since everything else was much cheaper than in America, it was a wash.
As a result of expensive fuel, people buy more fuel-efficient vehicles, which can be quite roomy, like our Kia Hamster is. Plus, the level of public transportation blows America out of the water. Even when the trainmen go on strike (because they actually have unions here) there is luxury bus service from competing companies to take you almost anywhere in the country,
Bike lanes are the norm everywhere and people seem to respect bicyclists, even on narrow country lanes. And pedestrian crosswalks are as wide as a car lane and controlled by leisurely traffic lights. In uncontrolled crosswalks, the default is the pedestrian has the right of way over any car. Walking in any city is a treat, not an obstacle course. And people walk everywhere, sometimes just to walk or paseo. Europeans think nothing of walking a kilometer or two, whereas Americans would reach for the car keys.
Like I said, bike lanes - everywhere. Of course, the e-bike (and the e-scooter) rules the road - or the bike lane, anyway. Meanwhile, in the US, we are told that wide sidewalks and bike lanes are impractical and should be sacrificed for yet another lane of traffic - to protect the auto industry, which today, comprises mostly foreign makes or foreign-owned US brands. There are other ways to live!
Of course, this is not to say it is a Shangri-La. Locals complain about the price of housing. A one-bedroom condo might cost you $150,000 in the big city! Not a lot of money, but then again, salaries are not very high. Many young people work two jobs to make ends meet. And the right wing complains about illegal immigrants. We are more alike than different.
I could go on - there are so many other little things, too, which seem, well, just practical. You see a parking space across the street? No need to do a U-turn, just park the "wrong" way. You won't be ticketed or towed (a handy feature when trying to wrestle a van down the side streets in the "old" town). In fact, the presence of police seems a lot more subdued, although in one city we visited, the police vans had fold down riot cages that slid over the windows. I guess they do expect trouble from time to time.
Anyway, we are on the Carnival Valor halfway across the Atlantic. What a change from the Holland America Oosterdam. No lectures to attend, or art classes to take, but two giant water slides and a huge (and well-attended) casino. Carnival touts itself as home of the "Fun Ships!" and the fun, I guess, comprises alcoholism and compulsive gambling. It is darker and louder than a Holland America ship, but at least we did get an upgrade to a balcony stateroom.
The entire ship is decorated in patriotic tchotchke. The Washington Dining Room, the Lincoln Lounge, the Eagle Bar (America Eagles dominate the ship - literally hundreds of them!). It is an interesting welcome home to America. And no, the "Hall of Presidents" bar and lounge doesn't have a bass relief of Trump - yet.
But maybe that is the one thing that distinguishes Europe from America. They've lived through wars and fascist dictatorships and don't want a repeat performance. Perhaps. Then again, the rise of far-right parties across the continent seems to indicate that the younger generation hasn't learned from history.
Oh, well.
