Safety for Americans traveling to Europe

The advice has consistently been to stay clear of any protests, no matter where - this is no different. Keeping a low profile can never be a bad thing, can it? There is no evidence as of today that Americans are in danger in Europe, so there is no reason to speculate on what the future will hold. Obviously, keep tabs on what's going on and act accordingly.

"...and we were told to not flash our passports around, wear anything with flags, keep voices down so as to not draw attention"

I think this is good advice for a tourist in the best of times.

Do some Americans still sew Canadian flag patches to their packback then say "please" and "eh" a lot? I kinda hope so in a way because 1. that'd be comedy gold watching someone try to pull it off and 2. only to watch them fail when they can't point to Toronto on a map. Or Canada in general.

(ProTip: it's the big land-massy thing to the north of Seattle. No, that's Bellingham; keep going . . .)

Mike Beebe is right. If you want to pretend you are Canadian, learn little bit about Canada. Europeans like to ask questions and they know geography much better than average American. So capitol - Ottawa, largest city Toronto, French speaking province - Quebec, all others - English speaking, the most popular sport ice hockey, the anthem - Oh Canada, try to learn at least the beginning. Read little bit about Canada so you are not caught using alternative facts when questioned by Europeans. :-)

Haha... we had Canadian friends while in Seoul who offered and actually gave us small Canadian flag pins to wear. But we never did. Being from Michigan, I do know the eastern geography of Canada (not so good with the Western geography)
Some of you older forum readers may remember when Hijacking was a form of terrorism and that hijackers would look at passports and treat Americans worse. I am NOT saying this will happen again.
Just because there hasn't been any incidents yet in Europe, doesn't mean that it can not happen in the future. I like to be proactive. May be if our government was more pro active in the year before 9/11 that may not have happen.. EVERYONE in the state department KNEW something was going to happen.
I did NOT vote for him so I will be telling the truth!

Mike, I'll confess I did that my first solo trip, to the UK during the Reagan administration. It fooled no one and no one cared except for the female American student I met on the ferry, after which I took it off. Yes there were many local people I met in B&Bs and hostels who had negative opinions of Pres Reagan, but also of PM Thatcher. But no discussion ever became personal, and most people were more informed and savvy than the average American.

There's such a thing as community karma so we reap what we sow. And we don't sow as much good as we claim to sow. That being said, I often surprise people that I am American as I do my best to learn some of the language; ie, complete sentences. (Although, I've been a bit lazy with Greek...) I am polite and interested in the other person. One needs to reduce one's American ego. I've seen so many American travelers who ask one question and then they repeat information/stories about themselves and where they are from, over and over to the same person. That person did not travel to see them, the American allegedly traveled to see something different, meet new people, experience new things, but it would be hard to tell by the way they speak with others. That being said, I've always said I'm from Massachusetts, I'm a New Englander, when they repeatedly react "You're an American?" because I don't act as they expect. People have always been nice to me abroad. I hope it is because I am nice to them. However, if I get caught in a terrorist event, well, I just have to chalk it up to community karma.

PS. That all being said, I apologize to you all and webmaster; I've had the worst cold I've had in 40 years for the past week, so that along with politics, I'm CRABBY. Best! Wray

What about to pretend you are a New Zealander or Australian? I am afraid accent would give us away.

I wouldn't be seriously worried. If a protester discovers you are a US citizen, they are more likely to ask you to join in or sign a petition.

As oft said, there is a difference between what people think of the US government and what they think of US citizens.

If you are an American citizen travelling outside the United States, you should just go about your business in a normal fashion. It is always prudent to avoid protest marches and other political gatherings, as a matter of course.

There is no need to hide your place of origin - as soon as you open your mouth to speak, everyone will know where you come from. Mostly, all anyone will be concerned about is how much money you have to spend.

Chexbres "There is no need to hide your place of origin - as soon as you open your mouth to speak, everyone will know where you come from. Mostly, all anyone will be concerned about is how much money you have to spend."

First stop on our 2017 trip is Paris and planning on spending some Euro....