When Julie San Vaux took her son to his first day of school in Burgundy, the greeting she got wasn't quite what she expected.

The first day of school in France I took him to kindergarten and they took him by the hand and pulled him in the classroom and shut the door.

Hi, I'm Rick Steeves.

Our panel of European moms are back

with a look at the ways Europeans educate their kids.

In Sweden, it starts with a very generous paid parental leave.

We stay at home with our own children for four hundred and

day to days. We'll also see how European traditions translate into local

comfort foods in the American Midwest with Jane and Michael Stern.

Because there's so many really good German butchers. American Midwest with Jane and Michael Stern.

Because there's so many really good German butcher's

in and around Cincinnati, and believe me,

if you like hot dog type foods,

this is like the Uber hot dog.

Or check out a neighborhood Polish restaurant in Chicago.

They will serve you what they call funeral lunch, which is duck soup and Spetzl and, oh my gosh, it was absolutely

incredible goulash.

That end more is just ahead on Travel with Rick Steves.

Back to school time can also mean back to debating education policies where you live time.

Coming up today on Travel with Rick Steeves, we've invited back our panel of European moms who've joined us just a few weeks ago.

They're here today to talk about the education system and how it works in their country,

what they like, and what they don't.

...