I'm an American who spent 6 months moving around Europe. Here are the 5 things that surprised me most about the experience.

• As an American who spent six months moving around Europe, I encountered lots of surprises.

• I learned the hard way that not every country in the European Union uses euros.

• Not being able to understand background conversations was a bizarre feeling.

When I traveled around Europe, visiting places like France, Britain, and the Czech Republic, several things instantly stood out about how different living in Europe was from living in the US.

But there were also some "slow burn" realizations I discovered the longer I was immersed in different cultures. Though some of them were pleasant surprises, others were less-welcome eye-openers.

Here are the five things that surprised me most about life in Europe.

A close trip for me was considered exceptionally far by some locals.

Like many Americans, I'm used to taking long road trips. In my opinion, anything less than 12 hours is reasonable to drive in a day.

So, I applied this same mindset to traveling around Europe. Instead of driving, though, I enjoyed the passing hours on trains.

I noticed several times, however, that my travels shocked the locals. For example, my eight-hour train ride from Basel, Switzerland, to Amsterdam surprised one hotel worker, who couldn't believe I'd be traveling that far in a day.

When I tried to explain my experience with road trips in the States, I'd often receive blank looks in return. One woman was shocked when I told her you could drive for 12 hours in Texas and still be in the same state.

A Google search later, we realized she could drive for the same amount of time from her hometown of Brussels all the way to Milan.

I realized how much your perspective changes when traveling between countries, not states.

Not every country in the European Union takes euros.

I rarely carry cash anymore. I knew some remote areas I'd be visiting in the Czech Republic might not take credit cards, though, so I pulled out some euros.

But I received a bewildered look from a Czech takeout worker when I tried to pay with this currency.

I learned that while the Czech Republic is part of the European Union, it doesn't use the euro. In fact, of the 27 nations in the EU, seven countries don't use euros: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Sweden.

Though some of these countries may adopt the use of euros in the future, I'll double-check before traveling to these places.

Not being able to understand background conversations was a bizarre feeling.

I spent three months in areas where English wasn't the primary language. At first, it was exciting to try my hand at broken French or German to communicate with a shop owner.

I also met locals who spoke fluent English, allowing me to still have rich conversations in my native tongue.

But about two months in, I realized I was desperately missing something I'd never given much thought to: background conversations.

These are the discussions that you pass by, but you're not in: a couple figuring out dinner plans, a mom and child choosing which apples to buy, or a worker helping a customer find a certain size.

Though I was often surrounded by people, I didn't anticipate the loneliness that set in when I couldn't understand the everyday conversations happening around me.

I was impressed by how well-behaved the dogs were.

Living in Colorado, I'm used to dog-friendly shops and restaurants. But if I see a dog in public there, that pup is on a leash.

This wasn't the case for much of Europe. Whether in a quiet neighborhood, a park, or a busy city center, people would go about their business with their dogs next to them — without leashes.

Though the dog might straggle, one whistle and they'd promptly return to their owner's side.

I'm not sure what the Europeans are doing to train their pooches so well — but it's obviously working.

I couldn't get over the sheer age of everyday places.

Europe is known for its centuries-old churches and landmarks, but what I enjoyed most was finding history in ordinary properties. I'd wander into a deli or bookshop and spot a small sign revealing that the building was older than my home country.

My favorite instance of this was a pub in Edinburgh that I was told to check out. Before walking in, I did a double take when I saw the sign that said "est. 1360." As I sipped on my drink, I couldn't help wondering who else had enjoyed a pint in this same spot over the years.

But that was a discovery for another day. There are only so many surprises a gal can take.

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