I had all my shit stolen in Spain.
this post was submitted on 06 Jul 2025
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This couple that was in the same train as me, left their seats to change the diaper of their little baby.
Not only did they go away from their luggage, but they left two phones and a large tablet visible and unattended for quite some time!
Cant spell spain without Pain
EspaΓ±a
EthpaΓ±yuh
I know it must've sucked, but I laughed out loud at your comment.
It definitely sucked but oh well.
no one wants my shit, i have to flush it myself
Yeah, it's not the same there as in Scandinavia. My big sister lived in Spain for about 10 years and got robbed several times, while she has lived in Sweden the rest of her life and had never been robbed. I realise this can partially be because she didn't know what to do right in Spain to not get robbed, but the simple fact that it's something she (and mostly everyone else) in Scandinavia never need to learn or think about says something about the difference. I'm in no way saying Spain or anywhere else is a worse place or that the people there are worse, it's just a fact and there's no other meaning behind it.
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This is one of the fundamental things in danish society. We live in a society.
I love denmark π©π°
Plot twist: OP took this photo moments before he stole all their shit.
Extra plot twist: OP took the photo with the phone he stole from the seat before.
This thread is the perfect alibi for OP, AKA the mobile bandit, the name being a reference to the items they steal and the fact that they only steal items while travelling
when I went to Denmark this year, my train was full of my fellow Londoners.
Tip from me, don't leave anything unattended as long as you allow tourists.
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Itβs like this in (non-major city) Germany, with one exception: if you blink before locking your bike up, itβs gone. Iβve seen laptops in public areas sit undisturbed for hours, but almost everyone I know has had at least one bike stolen.
One lady saw me locking my bike up with 12mm thick chain and expressed sadness that we have to go to such lengths as a society just to keep others from touching things that aren't theirs. I sometimes think of her now when I'm locking up my bike.
Doubly sad too, since some people don't have cars, and bikes are their primary means of transit.
Same in Denmark, bikes are the one thing at risk. But that said, you just need to not be lazy/stupid and lock it to something solid, and bring it indoors overnight
That said, in rural Denmark, where I live, i have often forgotten my keys in my car and not even felt bad about it.
Actually my car door does not lock at all and hasn't done so for 3 years but leaving the key in the ignition could actually be illegal
Not uncommon here in Japan, either. People leave phones/handbags to reserve a table when they go to order at the counter (at a cafe etc). It's nice not to have to constantly worry about theft as much as other some countries. Not to say that there is no crime because that's not true.
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Denmark is an extremely high trust society. Babies left in the carriage outside a shop, let yourself into the library after hours with your card, often things on the street that are for sale you can just take and mobile pay (like Venmo ~~but from the government~~) someone on the honor policy.
It's nice
like Venmo but from the government
I don't think Mobilepay is from the goverment. It was originally created by a bank, and actually there were several competing options to start with. This one won out, and is indeed the dominant mobile payment option, but as far as i know, it still is a separate and private company https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MobilePay
Oh, duh, danske bank made it. Good call!
It's really pretty simple, happy people don't tend to be assholes. Politicians, if you want less crime don't build more prisons, make life better. I mean, that's your job isn't it?
Are you telling me that we should stop incorporating a police state, arresting homeless people for public loitering, putting bars on benches? Instead offer more public services and free healthcare to get them back on their feet and better yet, mitigate homelessness to people at risk of being homeless?
Nah, I think we should make it easier to put people in prison for misdemeanors instead.
Yes, but consider that too many people in power have no fucking clue how to run a country and they see public funds like a cookie jar.
They seem to have erected some crude red force fields around their belongings.
Yep. Just basic trust in human decency in action. This shouldn't be news worthy. It's theft that's unusual and immoral and should be the cause for concern.
I was studying abroad in a place where this kinda trust exists, while on my original country is not that kind of place you would leave a tablet or a phone visible (or anything alone at all). I decided to join the university gym during my studies. After the shower I go into the changing room and there were a couple of guys talking in my mother language, but you know, people get naked and it is not the kind of place to be making friends or start random conversations, so I mind my own business and I hear one of them say "hey man I got my laptop with me, where can I put it to keep it safe?" And the other answered "nah don't worry man, just leave it there no one will touch it or know it is there".
They proceded to go into the shower, I was left alone, of course no cameras, I could have taken a free laptop and leave. But I just thought how interesting that we are willing to trust others being abroad and in our own place we would never do that. Those guys never knew I understood all they said. But I rather not get the free laptop and feel like I can live in such a country where I can trust others to do the right thing.
I have a family in a village like that. But I don't know if that's still the case.
First it was uncle chuckling at my dad when he locked his car.
Then a neighbor came there telling my uncle his (uncle's) car was in front of his gate, and he wanted to leave with his car.
Uncle told him something along the lines of "Eh, sorry, just re-park it elsewhere."
After being asked by my father, yeah, the keys were "of course" inside.
Apparently nothing unusual.
But it's been years.
This post stress me the hell out.
Maybe the value of the digital stuff is nothing compared to the heroin being transported in the bags!
Trains are pretty safe but we're currently experiencing a bike crime epidemic. Which I suppose is itself very Danish.
ew! a reddit link!?
Steal everything, leave the electronics.
TBF on a train, there aren't a lot of places anything could disappear to unless there's a stop in between.
Sleep deprivation can make people do stupid things. Also a baby can sometimes demand all your attention so you forget everything else.
It's nice that this turned out to be a safe situation!
(And also that there wasn't a bomb in those bags, just possibly a used diaper.)
How chaotic are peoples lives in other countries. From a lot of these comments it sounds like there must be thieves and terrorists everywhere.
You get one experience getting something expensive/cared about stolen and it sticks with you. It's part of how our brains are wired.
Just a few thieves in one area can quickly change a culture.
When i was a kid no one in the neighborhood locked their house, garages would be left open. Then thefts started happening. Garages were closed, doors started being locked. The thieves were eventually caught (teenagers turned in by their parents) but the garages have stayed shut and houses locked and it's been a couple decades.
Kind of depends on where you are in other countries. If youβre in a crowded major metro area, stuff gets stolen. My office has three badged doors, and once a year someone ghosts in behind an employee and jacks a bunch of laptops.
The social safety net in many countries is shit, so people get desperate and try to make ends meet by selling your shit.
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Some parts of the US are like this, usually affluent cities where strangers are willing to yell at other strangers on your behalf / out of a sense of collective justice. But they were probably paying attention to your stuff already because they thought it was suspicious that someone got up and left behind a whole-ass bag.
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Same in Seoul. As a white guy from NYC it blew my fucking mind to see people just leave their stuff at cafes off busy streets. I don't leave my pockets unzipped yet alone leave anything I'm not actively trying to throw out unattended.
I've seen some videos of Russian tourists stealing stuff in Korea and it made national news. Here you can't get the police to file a report.
Visiting Korean friends and they do the same
It's funny how even in countries where people leave their expensive belongings unattended without worrying still sees bikes as acceptable targets as if it's like a global standard. I would also put umbrellas there too.
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Me, after my soul-sucking devices are stolen on vacation: βoh no. Iβm free.β
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