Europeans figured out long ago that they didn’t need to work harder or pay more for security. They know America will sacrifice their futures blood and treasure for them. The suckers are Americans, while Europeans vacation and drink coffee.
The other thing I noticed in Europe was that everything shuts down in the middle of the day for luncheon. Not for just an hour. Everyday several hours during the middle of the day.
This is how in Italy you separate the “authentic” restaurants from the “tourist” restaurants. The tourist ones are open for lunch.
In addition, do not visit Europe in August. Almost everyone takes the entire month off. So, every beach is packed. Every spot frequented by European tourists is jammed.