Wednesday, June 11, 2008

On Getting Ripped Off in Europe

We were ripped off three times to our knowledge. €4, 150 kč and €7.65; or, in English, a little less than $30 in 49 days.

And it kills me. We should be grateful to be taken for such small sums, but in truth, it grates all the more. I can respect you if you rack up a great big fraud; a pittance of a fraud, however, is just that: pitiful. It was mean, in every sense of the word.

Luckily for us, these incidents were rare. Due to my anal nature, I'll never forget them, of course (as I don't forget that night in Mexico, winter of 2004, when Jorge wrote himself a 25% tip on 32 beers. Fie on you, sir!)

But I'll also never forget the Bad Homburger cyclist who not only took the initiative to ask us if we were lost, but also rode with us until we reached a main road and sent us on our way. Nor will we forget the Czech ticket-taker who winked at us and gave us early-bird discounts for the symphony for no good reason. There are numerous other examples, worth far more than $30 in money, and incalculably spirit-lifting when in a foreign country.

Fine, for you bottom-feeders who want the details on our dupings. The 4€ "swindle" was in Marseilles. Somehow, 3 serving staff were involved in our 8€ meal, which we paid for with a 20. Through malice or purple-monkey-dishwasher, we got 8€ back instead of 12. New to the money and with a train to catch, we were on our way to Avignon before we realized the error.

The 150kč swindle was at a place with two dishes identical in name, contents: everything but price. Screw you, sir. Or, said with the accent of someone with too-dry goulash in his mouth: Skrw u sr. Which I think is also an insult on his mother in his native tongue.

The 7.65€ swindle...well, hey, maybe it wasn't a swindle. Maybe we honestly were in the only bar in the world where a cocktail is cheaper than a beer. A domestic beer. Maybe the posted prices really were for a thimbleful of ale; not the manly pint-sized drinks that we enjoyed! Which cost almost 8€. Each. For domestic beer.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What? We gave Jorge a 25% tip????? That wassooooooooooooooooooo fun I don't even care. Now good sir, do update your seattle blog. Enquiring sibs want to know.