Most inspirational moment meeting locals

This past May I traveled to Spain to meet someone I have known online for about eight years. I stayed at a hotel, but was welcomed into their home. My friend and I spent the days driving around to all of his favorite local places, and then returned to their home to spend the evening and have dinner. His family (wife, daughter, mother-in-law) was anxious to see that I got sense of what daily life was like where they live, and they introduced me to at least a half dozen other family members along the way. Their 3 yr old daughter and I got along famously except when I used "her" computer to check email. My Spanish was sufficient to play "making breakfast" and to make jewelry out of clay, so we had a great time.

They made sure that I tasted the local specialties and tried sidra, the local cider with its special pouring technique and drinking ritual. And every night they would send me off to my hotel with a little package of churros or cookies just in case I got hungry during the night. It was a wonderful introduction to northern Spain, and I'll be going back again next September.

We were in Lyon France. On a Sunday we went to the printing museum at about noon when it just opened. An elderly French couple were running it. They did not speak any English. However, there was a young graduate school woman also there who spoke passable English as well as Spanish. As my wife spoke Spanish also, there was communication and the woman took us around the place. We were the only ones there. If there were words she or phrases in English she did not understand, she would ask my wife in Spanish who would tell her the equivalent English. After 2 a hour tour, we went off on our own around the place. At about 4, we were ready to leave but my wife wanted to go back and thank the woman. When she returned to where I was, my wife said the woman had invited us to dinner and would meet us back at the museum. We found stores open and bought flowers and wine and met her there. She took us by Metro to her place and proceeded to cook us a fabulous duck dinner. [more follows]

[French woman in Lyon]

The woman told us she was working on her PhD on Religious Art and showed us some of her work. She was studying how the scene of Jesus with the Apostles had been portrayed over the centuries and how much it had changed and what the meaning of the changes reflected the times. I had never even thought about such things and was fascinated by her explanations. We had a wonderful time with a stranger who we only met because the elderly couple at the museum didn't speak English.

Back in 1975 I was in the Army and was stationed in Miesau, Germany. I rented an apartment with a guy who later became my best friend. Without my knowledge he signed me up in a special program the army was offering to spend Christmas with a German family. At first I was mad at him and didn't want to do it, but my 1st ST. let me know that if I didn't do it he would make my life a living hell, seeing as how there was a family waiting for me. When I got to their house I found out the man had served in WWII for the Germans and was captured by the allies. He told me how he was sent back to the U.S. on a ship and how there were stories floating about how they were going to be tortured. He said everyone on the ship was scared to death, that he knew these were his last days, and they were going to be filled with pain. They soon realized that the stories of torture were untrue when getting off the bus to go to the prison camp he saw a prisoner playing ping-pong with a guard.

He told me he was amazed at the freedoms the prisoners were allowed to have. He bragged that he gained weight while at the prison camp, getting more food than he had while fighting the war. In fact I still remember his words today, "You Americans serve potatoes with every meal". He told me when the war was over he had seriously thought about staying in America and bringing his wife over. But, he loved Germany and wanted to help rebuild it.

I'd have to say that was the most amazing night I had ever had during my stay in Germany, and my biggest regret is not staying in touch with him.

His wife was an incredible cook and they had such love for each other. Coming from a broken home, it was the most amazing Christmas I had ever enjoyed.

I could write many stories about my time with the German people and what fun they were, but I still get choked up when I think of that night.

Merry Christmas to all of you and as Rick says, "Get out there and travel".

P.S. Sorry...this is from Susan's husband, Monte, not Susan!

It was 1997, the second to the last night of Rick's tour "Slow Dance in France" with Serge and Deanna. Our group was finishing an early dinner at a lovely restuarant in Semur-en-Auxois. We thought we were the only ones in the place, we knew our remaining time in France was short, and we were a little tipsy. So we burst into a rousing "La Marseillaise," which we'd been practicing on the bus for almost 3 weeks! As we finished, an elderly French gentleman and his wife approached us with tears in his eyes. He had been a teenager when the Americans had liberated his country from the Nazis and he wanted us to know how grateful he was and how moved he had been to see a bunch of Americans singing HIS national anthem. He shook each of our hands as we left the restaurant and most of us had tears in our eyes as well. I'll never forget it.