This post is really mainly for Americans who think that Europeans just sit around all the time and talk s**t on Americans. Although it is probably not true, sometimes it feels true. Because since Ive become an expat – and since I’ve moved to Europe, I have heard so many negative comments about Americans. So when I came across an article written to make Americans aware that Europeans talk s**t about each other too, it was funny to me. I thought I’d share some of what it said with you. Please forgive me in advance for anything politically incorrect and/or offensive.
What other Europeans have been heard to say about the French-
The Belgians agree that the French are very stuck-up, and people from Switzerland do not appreciate their attitude towards authority and the fact that they are unforgivably lazy. British are divided about their judgments of the French… it is half-half. Half love them, and the other half hate them. The funny thing (I thought) that the author of the article said that the half of the British that love the French tend to hate Americans and the half that hate the French tend to love Americans. But in England they are consistently thought of as rude and stinky. And many Spaniards do not like the French, especially the Catalonians.
What other Europeans have been heard to say about Italians-
Italy seems to be a country which is more often than not, loved by most. It was said that this might only be because of their food, but of course, this is only speculation 
But there are a few not-so-positive thoughts from their fellow Europeans as well. Those from the more Northern part of Europe have a general consensus that Italians are flaky, lazy and cannot possibly figure out any way to organize or manage anything correctly. It is said that one heard a Dutchman say about an Italian that, “All the Italians care about are pasta and mama.”. Something interesting about Italian judgment is that they really don’t think/care much about judging other Europeans. But they do judge themselves. They have very strong feelings about the difference between Northern Italy and Southern Italy. The Southerners always talk about how those from the North lack culture, and in the North they always say that those in the south are unproductive and lazy.
What other Europeans have been heard to say about Germans-
Most of Europe has generally similar thoughts regarding Germans. And ironically even though the Germans tend to like most of their neighbors, most of their neighbors do not seem to return the friendly feelings. The Although they are economically strong, most Europeans have no desire what-so-ever to go there or even send their children to study there. Most Europeans seem to agree that German food is “uninspired”, the people are humorless and are truly uptight. French never have much to say about the Germans. But the Dutch and the Danish still seem to be truly bitter towards Germans (mostly for just invading their countries so much).
What other Europeans have been heard to say about Scandinavian countries-
Most of Europe admire and respect the Scandinavian countries because of their good looks and high standards of living. So the judgments and stereotypes that tend to happen about the Scandinavian countries happen between them. So, I will break “Scandinavia” into the countries to show what they think of each other.
- Norwegians- Danish, Finnish and Swedish all consider Norwegians racist.
- Finnish- The rest of the Scandinavian countries all seem to think that Finns are a little too anti-social (even by the not-to-friendly/social Scandinavian standards!).
- Danish- Danes are considered to be annoyingly grumpy and too blunt by their Northern neighbors.
- Swedish- Finns, Danes and Norwegians all agree that Swedes are uptight and that they are not the brightest crayons in the box – if you know what I mean.
But all in all, the Scandinavian countries do not seem to have any bad feelings towards other Europeans, just among themselves.
What other Europeans have been heard to say about Belgians-
The French usually think that Belgians are stupid (isn’t that sweet? j/k) – and so do the Dutch.
What other Europeans have been heard to say about the Dutch-
The Belgians are happy to call the Dutch a bunch of cranky a**holes. The Dutch, in particular, have made quite a good name for themselves among Europeans for being uptight, holier-than-thou know-it-all’s. The Dutch are unanimously considered to be the stingiest, penny-pinching hoarders of the European community (and I’ll remind you, they are being called this BY Europeans)… nobody likes a smart-a**!
What other Europeans have been heard to say about the Swiss-
The Swiss are considered to be the most cold and unfriendly by the rest of Europe. But Switzerland is another country which is not thought of in the same way and is split up into the German speaking Swiss and the French speaking Swiss. They are thought of much differently by their European family when it comes to stereotypes. The German speaking Swiss are considered very similar to Germans but the rest of Europe consider them to be even more grumpy, uptight and stiff than the Germans. The French speaking Swiss are considered to be almost identical to the French, but with worse food and a better attitude towards authority. But all Swiss are thought of as extremely rigid (even by the Germans!) and actually quite rude.
What other Europeans have been heard to say about Spaniards-
Most of Europe seems to have very little to say about Spaniards (and vise verse).
What other Europeans have been heard to say about Greeks-
No one has much to say about the Greeks either, but much of Europe does not totally consider the Greeks European (which really pisses them off).
What other Europeans have been heard to say about Poles-
Germans look down on most of their Eastern neighbors, but in particular they dislike the Poles. The Germans think that Poland is just a country full of car thieves (someone said that the relationship between Poland and Germany is a lot like the relationship between Mexico and U.S.).
What other Europeans have been heard to say about the Czech-
Germans do not necesarly like or dislike the Czech. They have mixed feelings concerning respect towards the Czech. The Czech, though, are thought of a lot like Germans as far as being rigid, uptight and rude. But among Western Europeans the Czech are considered to be a “bright spot” in Eastern Europe (probably only because of the tourist success and beauty of Prague). In particular, the Poles are quite negative about them.
What other Europeans have been heard to say about Austrians-
Europe as a whole sees Austrians as racist but still relaxed. So that makes for a mixed opinion of this country by their fellow Europeans. Germans tend to dislike Austrians, Eastern Europeans tend to admire them a little, while Western Europe does not think much about them at all.
What other Europeans have been heard to say about the British-
Europe considers the British to be backstabbing and snobbish. They have made a bad name for themselves by touring around the rest of Europe and getting obnoxiously drunk and running their mouths about how much they hate everyone else and how bad the place they are is (whichever European country that happens to be at the time). And still, even when sober, it is hard to find someone from England who even has as good as neutral judgments of their fellow Europeans. This never makes anyone popular! And, of course, the French as a general rule do not like the British.
What other Europeans have been heard to say about the Irish-
Ireland seems to come up as a very neutral player in the “European Judgment Drama”!
Well, I hope I haven’t offended anyone too much. I know this is not an all inclusive list either, but it was what I found in some articles. I was just curious though, does anyone agree or disagree about any of these thoughts?? Let me know!
21 responses so far ↓
1 Sharon // Jun 15, 2008 at 3:58 am
It is interesting to me that Spain is fairly neutral in this game and I wonder why that is. When we visited Barcelona (which hates being considered part of Spain; it’s Catalonia
) the natives described themselves as rather cold, unfriendly and very direct. Most of the time my non-Spanish speaking husband was on his own in the city taking in the sights. He did note that the people were not overly friendly, but if you cracked a smile when their glance met yours you would almost always get one back. The only truly unfavorable experience we had in Barcelona was when my boss’ wallet was stolen in the subway. That could have happened anywhere. I think it’s all a matter of perspective and if we give people a chance we’ll find quite a few good nuts.
2 Leena // Jun 15, 2008 at 10:15 am
The analysis of the Finns is totally accurate. We are anti-social!
Actually I don’t think that Scandinavians have really bad feelings towards each other, but we have very many jokes involving a Finn, a Swede and a Norwegian…
The same jokes circle around also in the form where the participants are from the major cities of Finland
3 My Bug Life // Jun 15, 2008 at 5:24 pm
I think we all judge each other across the board and I believe it’s only fair to give others a chance and who knows what you may find in each individual regardless of nationality.
4 Bingolady // Jun 15, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Wow, this was a great reading!
I think all of us have some preconceptions towards other nations (for example I have heard lots of times that Germans on holidays are awful, always drunk, British are the loudest folks on any beach, Italians are famous about being not so “loyal” to their girlfriends). But I think these judgements only show the surface of some individuals we meet, and I think when we meet someone we shouldn’t take these clichés too seriously.
5 Marcea // Jun 16, 2008 at 10:28 am
Haha, this made me laugh. Thank you!
As an American about to move to Norway, I’ve been semi dreading dealing with American remarks…This makes me feel a little better
6 Geoff // Jun 16, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Great Post!
Don’t know where to start – as a Brit (Englishman) living in Switzerland for 20 years, I’ve travelled quite a bit in mainland Europe. One of the funniest things I’ve seen in a while was a t-shirt saying “I support two countries: Switzerland and anyone who beats the Germans”. You can pretty much replace the word Swiss with any country there, nobody loves the Germans, and the French come in for a lot of stick too. Especially from the British. But the funny thing is that we really don’t mean. We dislike the nation, but love the individuals, and I don’t think that’s unhealthy, just as long as the politically correct police don’t come knocking.
And Americans? Like all countries the residents are varied, and it’s best to form individual judgements. I’ve worked with a lot, made friends with them and have been glad they came.
What we don’t like are tourists that expect everything to be the same as it is at home, no matter where they come from! Rejoice in diversity…
And PS Thanks for not mentioning the Italian part of Switzerland – I?m trying to keep it a secret
7 Kristie // Jun 16, 2008 at 3:47 pm
@Geoff: I totally agree about the important thing being that we get to know individuals. But I just thought it was a little funny because since I moved to Norway, I have heard a lot of ‘comments’ about Americans.
8 Doru // Jun 16, 2008 at 9:43 pm
I agree with all these fine observations, they are real. Europe is so small, we had wars here, and this left some traces in judging others.
9 Kristie // Jun 16, 2008 at 11:17 pm
@Doru: I totally understand! And in the US, we have not had as many wars, but still have just as much judgment towards each other. But its (unfortunately) natural.
10 Mats // Jun 17, 2008 at 4:09 am
The first thing I thought when I started reading the first paragraph was “you think we Norwegians talk sh*t about Americans? You should hear what we say about the Swedes!”. But that got resolved
Great post!
I’m surprised that people don’t have more opinions about the Spanish. I can think of a lot of Spanish stereotypes, like Manuel the waitor in Fawlty Towers.
11 Elisa // Jun 17, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Interesting post! I do think some of the portayals from fellow Europeans are pretty far from what my experience is (Italian, lived in Switzerland, Denmark and Italy and travelled around).
I totally disagree with the portayal of the Dutch, I think they are really fun people!
The Swiss are actually not rude, but they are very grumpy, especially in the German part of Switzerland – but that mainly goes for Zurich and the area around it. They have very poor dressing sense. Also, you forgot the Italian part of Switzerland, which is absolutely wonderful.
I don’t think it’s true that “Europe considers the British to be backstabbing and snobbish.”
Though those who are all into the whole ECC are pissed off that the UK won’t replace the Pound with the Euro.
The Irish in Europe are still remembered for the IRA terrorist acts and their football fans are feared by European authorities because they can get quite… wild.
Finland is not technically part of Scandinavia.
I think Switzerland is the best place in Europe to live
12 Sepp // Jun 17, 2008 at 7:58 pm
What a funny List. Thanks for sharing.
greetings from Switzerland (german part)
Oh yes. I have to add something, my opinion about the dutch had changed dramaticaly this summer.
I thought, all they could do is block every campingsite with the’re motorhomes. But I live in Bern where the dutch national soccer team plays their matches during the UEFA EM.
And now I know that they are very funny and friendly whyle blocking the whole city with they’re motorhomes.
13 Executive Leadership Training // Jun 19, 2008 at 2:12 am
Those were so funny. I am sure that no matter where you are or what country you are from that there will always be someone who doesn’t like someone else. Americans hate Canada and France and they hate back. I am just going to move somewhere and live in a neutral country and love everyone, that way I won’t have to deal with other countries.
Nice post, thanks for sharing.
14 Louise Pool // Jun 19, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Very funny! I lived in Switzerland for most of my life and know how much the Swiss hate Germans and Austrians.
It’s the way of nations to hate their neighbors. I now live in the Seychelles and the Seychellois hate the Mauritians (they are all thieves) and vice versa (they are all savages).
Luckily, when it comes to individuals, all this nonsense seems to fall by the wayside.
15 Kirsten // Jun 20, 2008 at 3:42 am
I am so sick of traveling in Europe and getting critiqued by everyone as if I am the sole representative of the US and everything our country has done to piss them off was somehow approved by me.
I love your post!
16 Kristie // Jun 20, 2008 at 9:57 am
@Kirsten: I know exactly what you mean which is why I wrote this post… If you want to read how I feel about that you can read my post Proud To Be An American!
17 mary (quickcutters) // Jul 12, 2008 at 1:33 pm
I found this to be very interesting since i had no idea about half of this.
So It was a learning read for me.
And quit good at that. Thanks
18 Katherine // Jul 12, 2008 at 6:54 pm
I think your post is just worthless. All you’re doing here is propogating myths and broad based stereotypes for a (mostly) American audience. Just what American needs in it’s people, more biggots and predisposition travelers unwilling to visit places because “other european countries don’t think well of them”
What a waste of what could have been a great post.
19 Kristie // Jul 13, 2008 at 3:57 pm
@Katherine: Sorry to have offended you. I prefaced the post with a warning so as not to offend others. I just think it is underestimating the masses (and Americans in particular) to think that this post alone will prevent visitors to any of these countries mentioned because “other European countries dont think well of them”.
Anyways, as I said in the beginning of the post, I do not intend to offend anyone, and hope you can see it in the light-hearted way it was intended.
Just curious, you said “What a waste of what could have been a great post”. How could this have been a great post in your opinion? I really would like to know. I look forward to hearing your response.
20 Geoff // Jul 14, 2008 at 11:52 am
Katherine: the words “missing” and “point” spring to mind here
We Europeans are glad to have visitors from anywhere, provided they are open, and don’t take themselves too seriously. We also like laughing at ourselves.
21 Kristie // Jul 14, 2008 at 12:28 pm
@Geoff: I agree Geoff. It is all just about taking things lightly and being able to laugh at oneself.
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