American Food Chains in Europe
-Leslie Gonzalez
Traveling through Europe - Amsterdam, Netherlands, Berlin, Germany, and Prague, Czech Republic - during our independent week travels definitely held a different experience at each of the three locations. However, the one thing I noticed was the same in all three countries was that American food chains had found their way into these old cities. Before coming to Europe for the first time, I knew American food chains were very large so they could be found internationally but I never really acknowledged this fact because it wasn't visible to me, but when I saw it, it really changed the way I saw Europe. I always had in mind that since Europe was a place with such a deep history and culture, there would be no correlation in the businesses that originated in the United States and their food.
I was very mistaken to think this way because I probably ran across a Dunkin' Donut, Taco Bell, McDonald's and Burger King, in every city my group and I visited. I was disappointed to think that beautiful, old, architecturally and culturally rich cities like these had American food chains instead of having more businesses that accentuated their culture and foods. I even had trouble figuring out which foods originated in the cities we visited and finding places that sold these authentic foods.
I attempted rationalizing why Europeans would allow this on happening. I then understood that with the large amounts of tourism and popular businesses, people are attracted to these sort of places and this creates profit for the food chains but also the cities. This made me ask myself: is the culture still preserved in these cities with the incorporation of American businesses, and not only with the food businesses but also with clothing stores? How do these stores affect the evolution of these cities?
I feel as if it isn't the same as it used to be in these European cities, everything is becoming more about tourism and not so much about the culture of places anymore, but there needs to be a way to integrate both the original culture and the culture that is becoming because change is inevitable and American chains are bound to continue spreading.
-Leslie Gonzalez
Traveling through Europe - Amsterdam, Netherlands, Berlin, Germany, and Prague, Czech Republic - during our independent week travels definitely held a different experience at each of the three locations. However, the one thing I noticed was the same in all three countries was that American food chains had found their way into these old cities. Before coming to Europe for the first time, I knew American food chains were very large so they could be found internationally but I never really acknowledged this fact because it wasn't visible to me, but when I saw it, it really changed the way I saw Europe. I always had in mind that since Europe was a place with such a deep history and culture, there would be no correlation in the businesses that originated in the United States and their food.
I was very mistaken to think this way because I probably ran across a Dunkin' Donut, Taco Bell, McDonald's and Burger King, in every city my group and I visited. I was disappointed to think that beautiful, old, architecturally and culturally rich cities like these had American food chains instead of having more businesses that accentuated their culture and foods. I even had trouble figuring out which foods originated in the cities we visited and finding places that sold these authentic foods.
I attempted rationalizing why Europeans would allow this on happening. I then understood that with the large amounts of tourism and popular businesses, people are attracted to these sort of places and this creates profit for the food chains but also the cities. This made me ask myself: is the culture still preserved in these cities with the incorporation of American businesses, and not only with the food businesses but also with clothing stores? How do these stores affect the evolution of these cities?
I feel as if it isn't the same as it used to be in these European cities, everything is becoming more about tourism and not so much about the culture of places anymore, but there needs to be a way to integrate both the original culture and the culture that is becoming because change is inevitable and American chains are bound to continue spreading.
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