People Share 23 Things You Should Never Do In Their Country
#1
Germany: Asking about someone's well being just for small talk is rude. When you ask how people feel, be willing to listen.
#3
Don't say that Ukraine is part of Russia. Don't call us russians when you hear our language or see Cyrillic.
#5
Denmark: Not a **huge** no, but please don't call people Mr/Ms [LastName] unless they're old enough to have experienced the Napoleonic wars. Practically everyone in Denmark is on a first name basis, up to and including the prime minister. Different rules for the Queen, but if you chance upon the Crown Prince in an informal setting, he prefers the informal tone, too.
#7
Sweden: Go into someone’s house with your outdoor footwear on.
#9
Italy: Please don't sing Bella Ciao in a joking way. It's a serious song about Resistence against the fascists. La Casa de Papel did a disaster with that song. Please don't call us mafiosi, even if you're joking, much less if you use the Godfather as a major source of info about italians. Italians are very talkative people so if you're not used to strangers approaching you it may shock you a little. Don't be scared tho, many italians are just curious about tourists and would be pretty offended if you just ignored them! This is what comes to my mind at least
#11
In France: not saying hello to the shopkeeper/ the other clients in small shops. This is particularly true in smaller cities. I've seen many tourists forget to do this and they usually end up receiving poor customer service.
#13
Spain: do not assume that flamenco is the national culture. IT IS A SOUTHERN THING. In absolutely every TV show in the UK that takes place in Spain (and there are many) they insist on playing flamenco sounding music even when the show is about Catalonia, Galicia or the Basque Country, for example. It is infuriating.
#15
Most countries are: do not mistake us for a different nationality, do not mention bad parts of our history Italians: DO NOT PUT THE WRONG STUFF ON TOP OF OUR FOOD
#17
Wearing your outside shoes indoors, seriously who does that? Calling the icelandic horse a pony just because it's small, that might not be true for everyone though just people that are into horses. Jokes about accidentally sleeping with your cousin, we have a small population but we know our cousins. Edit to add: Off-road driving is illegal and people have been fined and made to fix what they ruined. The landscape is delicate and there's been a lot of work in the last few decades to grow the areas that are full of sand. When icelandic people talk about off-road driving it's not off-road driving, we follow paths that should be visible to just about anyone.
#19
Saying Holland is the same as the Netherlands Saying the Netherlands are the same or somehow linked to Belgium
#21
Doing the "Italian accent" like Super Mario. It doesn't sound like an Italian trying to speak english, it sounds like a very very dumb Italian trying to speak English. It amazes me how much Americans love to mock Italians. Also pineapple on pizza.
