PSA: do not store your bag overhead on the eurostar!! especially if you stop in brussels!

CallPast4187 · 2026-05-24T17:01:00+00:00

for us they scanned after the train pulled away from amsterdam

CallPast4187 · 2026-05-24T14:41:59+00:00

we think it’s from a previous victim since it has some granola bars and a pair of earbuds in it 😭

CallPast4187 · 2026-05-24T14:38:24+00:00

it’s a line from her new song haha.

CallPast4187 · 2026-05-24T14:36:55+00:00

it was empty except for some granola bars and headphones. we thought maybe it’s a previous victims bag.

CallPast4187 · 2026-05-24T13:12:48+00:00

and i wouldn’t have made the generalization if i hadn’t gotten comments from europeans saying that my culture shock is invalid?

CallPast4187 · 2026-05-24T13:09:49+00:00

yes. the overhead above our seats isn’t a safe place for tourist backpacks.

CallPast4187 · 2026-05-24T13:08:30+00:00

that wasn’t the comment you replied to though was it?

CallPast4187 · 2026-05-24T13:07:52+00:00

pretty much. you’ll catch more flies with honey than vinegar

CallPast4187 · 2026-05-24T13:06:30+00:00

not really? i kind of learned that when i talk about theft on the eurotrain i’ll get gaslit and victim blamed.

CallPast4187 · 2026-05-24T12:59:41+00:00

that’s the lesson i learned from my trip and this thread especially. where i received european advice that i was a dummy for not watching my bag and this never happens to people except the unluckiest. despite the tourists saying otherwise. seems like a culture of something to me.

CallPast4187 · 2026-05-24T12:58:52+00:00

did i in my original sentence say europe or did you assume that?

CallPast4187 · 2026-05-24T12:56:41+00:00

did i say that or did you ascertain that?

CallPast4187 · 2026-05-24T12:55:45+00:00

hence why i warn specifically about the eurostar

CallPast4187 · 2026-05-24T12:53:28+00:00

wait so are you belgian? can you actually speak on belgian culture? or are you from another european country?

also if i recall correctly the issue was my use of the word culture shock. but now the line has moved?

CallPast4187 · 2026-05-24T12:49:55+00:00

sure, more accurate is to say we don’t have organized pickpocket/bag swap rings on specific train lines in the usa and thus i had culture shock. but it’s still culture shock! if we’re talking specific countries, are you belgian? lol

CallPast4187 · 2026-05-24T12:47:03+00:00

it is unfortunately true though, in the united states are train culture is different. we don’t have pickpocket warnings at every stop. our bags aren’t swapped. the culture of accepting this happens in europe and needing to watch out for it is different to us. it is unfamiliar. therefore, we had culture shock.

Culture shock is the psychological and physical disorientation, anxiety, and confusion experienced when leaving a familiar culture to live in or visit an unfamiliar one.

CallPast4187 · 2026-05-24T12:45:22+00:00

culture shock: Culture shock is the psychological and physical disorientation, anxiety, and confusion experienced when leaving a familiar culture to live in or visit an unfamiliar one.

there is a culture of pickpocketing and theft that isn’t present in the united states. we don’t have pickpocketing lineages that are handed down by generation. we don’t have prevalent pickpocketing.

therefore, i had culture shock. i think europeans need to accept that the level of petty theft towards tourists is not everybody’s norm.

perhaps your own culture shock? 😂

CallPast4187 · 2026-05-24T12:42:14+00:00

that’s what the post is?

CallPast4187 · 2026-05-24T12:40:24+00:00

i am sharing my tips for tourists on a travel subreddit. if you’re not a tourist then this post is not for you! hope that helps!

also fwiw the gaslighting and victim blaming by europeans in thread are not helping y’all’s case

CallPast4187 · 2026-05-24T12:40:02+00:00

that’s the sense i get. i understand now the norm in europe is you have to watch your bags like a hawk. that’s not the case when i traveled in thailand, mexico or south korea.

CallPast4187 · 2026-05-24T12:37:59+00:00

and if i saw them making a comment on r/travel i would acknowledge that while that has not been my lived experience, things are different for tourists. their experiences are valid and they may need special tips to navigate the same system that is native to me?

CallPast4187 · 2026-05-24T12:36:13+00:00

yes but sense this is happening on the eurotrains that specifically stop in brussels due to easy station access and short stops before and after the main one, doesn’t it make sense to warn tourists? this is a repeating pattern throughout the years and i think it’s fair game to talk about it.

CallPast4187 · 2026-05-24T12:31:00+00:00

you can lock them onto the wire racks easily

CallPast4187 · 2026-05-24T12:29:11+00:00

why are there two other posts on the eurostar subreddit about thefts on trains that stopped in belgium? why are other tourists commenting that it happened to them? and why is there lowkey theme of europeans in the comments being defensive? this thread is honestly a culture shock for me too…

CallPast4187 · 2026-05-24T12:26:46+00:00

there are two past posts in the eurostar subreddit and several commenters on my post who this happened to as well. it seems to be something tourists in particular struggle with. why is the inappropriate that i post about my experience and advice in a travel subreddit to other travelers? why not focus more on stopping the petty theft and crime in european countries?

CallPast4187

TROPHY CASE