You Know You're in Budapest When...

These are some things that struck me as unusual and/or interesting when I first started living in Budapest:

You know you are in Budapest when...

You are served a wonderful fruit soup with whipped cream BEFORE your meal.

You have to weigh your own produce in the grocery store (usually).

English words adorn many t-shirts. Some make sense but you wonder if the wearer knows the meaning (like "porn star in training") and others don't make sense (like "live the magenta").

Public transportation is cheap and gets you everywhere you need to go.

Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi are named Coke Light and Pepsi Light.

90% of the music you hear in public places is English and many Hungarians can sing along whether they understand what they are singing or not.

Women wear high heels when they are out and comfortable shoes in the office. This tends to be opposite of American women who wear less comfortable shoes in the office and comfortable walking shoes on the street.

There are second-hand clothing shops throughout the city often marked by signs bearing British flags to advertise that the used clothing comes from Great Britain.

You often have to pay for plastic bags in grocery stores--which is one of the few "green" things about Budapest where recycling is virtually unknown.

You hear two foreigners speaking English with accents because it is the common language between them. English is fast becoming the second language of Europe which makes Americans and Brits even lazier about learning a second language themselves!

You have flushing choices on many toilets--one lever for a short flush and the other for a longer flush.

Everything is taxed 25% but it is included in the price. Europeans find the American method of taxing quite deceptive--adding it on when you make the purchase instead of telling you the full price up front.

Servers in a restaurant leave you pretty much alone after you get your food unless you request something more. Some Europeans find American servers annoying because of their frequent "interruptions" to ask if everything is OK.

Servers in a restaurant do not give you your check until you request it.

You can buy a good cappuccino in every restaurant--Subway, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, Mexican and Turkish restaurants as well as all the expected places.

The coffee is stronger than most Americans like it.

You often pay a "deposit" for a shopping cart by inserting a coin to release it from its connection to other carts.

Businesses (with the exception of large department stores) are closed by 3pm on Saturday (many close at 1pm) and earlier on Sunday.

Many businesses close for 2 weeks to a month during the height of tourist season so the owners can take their vacation. Usually vacations are taken in August.

People don't leave tips on the table, but add them on when paying the server. For example, if the bill is 3000 ft. they will tell the waiter to "Make it 3300 ft." which means he gets a 300 ft. tip. (Typically rounding off to approximately 10% more is expected, but you can give more if you like. In tourist areas, they expect Americans to be a bit more generous.)

There is a great deal of PDA (public display of affection) on the streets, especially by younger Hungarian couples. Most Americans find this a bit embarrassing as it comes close to foreplay at times and often looks as if the couple is mimicking a scene from the movies.

It's considered rude to use a toothpick in public without covering your mouth with your hand.

You rarely get refills on drinks and you never get refills on coffee. (This is quite unusual for Americans who have never paid for coffee refills at any American restaurant for the past 50 years except at specialty coffee shops).

Beer costs less per ounce in a restaurant than Coke.

You don't need to go somewhere to sight see because you are surrounded by breathtaking views of the Danube and historical buildings almost everywhere.