> It's sort of like a modern anthropological exhibit in more ways than any other single city structure.
I seem to mainly recall the negative experiences.
In Rome, on vacation, I remember a grocery store where there were only two cashier lanes open, and long lines, and the two cashiers were facing each other, just havin' a five-minute chat about something unrelated to their work. This might have been an unusual event, since I've never lived in Italy.
In Portugal, where I lived several years, you're just out of luck. The cashiers are as slow as molasses. Also, one particular major chain seemed to have this weird occurrence of always looking ransacked and constantly being restocked during every one of their opening hours. And the "we're opening a new lane" thing wasn't "next person in current line is first in the new line". It would be a free-for-all, especially for newcomers.
In Netherlands, a major chain in Amsterdam would only take cash or a Dutch credit card. Visa/Mastercard from elsewhere were not accepted forms of payment.
> In Netherlands, a major chain in Amsterdam would only take cash or a Dutch credit card. Visa/Mastercard from elsewhere were not accepted forms of payment.
Same experience just recently -- Albert Heijn. You'll find this grocery story every 50 meters in a major city like Amsterdam. No credit cards. It was pretty odd to me as a Canadian.
Yep. I had to leave everything I had just gone through the store to pick out. I prefer Albert Heijn for their selection but shopped at Lidl cause they'd take my cards.
I seem to mainly recall the negative experiences.
In Rome, on vacation, I remember a grocery store where there were only two cashier lanes open, and long lines, and the two cashiers were facing each other, just havin' a five-minute chat about something unrelated to their work. This might have been an unusual event, since I've never lived in Italy.
In Portugal, where I lived several years, you're just out of luck. The cashiers are as slow as molasses. Also, one particular major chain seemed to have this weird occurrence of always looking ransacked and constantly being restocked during every one of their opening hours. And the "we're opening a new lane" thing wasn't "next person in current line is first in the new line". It would be a free-for-all, especially for newcomers.
In Netherlands, a major chain in Amsterdam would only take cash or a Dutch credit card. Visa/Mastercard from elsewhere were not accepted forms of payment.