Safety in Europe

1. Nobody can tell you if a particular place will be safe 6 months from now. Nobody can ever guarantee you that you'll be safe anywhere at any time.
2. As long as you use normal common sense and stay aware of your surroundings, you're as safe in Europe as anywhere. Don't venture into unknown areas late at night, keep your valuables out of sight, be aware on public transportation, etc.
3. I'm also not being judgmental but only you can decide if you feel safe enough to be comfortable on your trip, if you're looking over your shoulder every minute you'll likely not have a fun relaxing time.

All of the places you're planning to visit have always been considered relatively safe and the risks are minimal in my opinion. There are likely few refugees in those towns so I wouldn't worry excessively about that.

What happened in Cologne was in very specific circumstances: a combination of night, crowds, alcohol, New Year's atmosphere. The majority of the suspects appeared to be local immigrants from North Africa, and not Syrian refugees. »Cologne« created a lot of fear in Germany, to the point of women arming themselves with pepper spray, but I haven't read or heard anything since which would be a base for such anxiety and drastic measures.
You worry about things you should not worry about.

PS. I found some documentation which might convince you more than some personal impressions: www.dw.com/en/report-refugees-have-not-increased-crime-rate-in-germany/a-18848890

Thank you so much for your input. It was helpful. I wish there was a more recent article, from 2016. I appreciate that I was not slammed for my question, as I was on another travel website.

I'm a small 64-year-old female. I traveled by myself for 4-1/2 months in Europe last year, more than half of it in Germany and the Balkans. Truly, you need only common-sense precautions to protect yourself--avoiding dark alleys, not getting drunk, etc. The biggest risk by far (and I was a victim myself last year--but for the first time in about 18 months of traveling in Europe) is being pickpocketed. Keep your purse across your body and zipped, don't carry more money or other valuables than you need for the day, be very alert in crowded conditions, and don't ever assume that you can be careless because you're not in a busy area.

The refugees are not noticeable at all. Many cities in Germany already had a large population of people with immigration backgrounds, some in the 2nd and 3rd generation. You can't tell them apart from newcomers except they speak perfect German. Frankfurt is close to 50% residents with some kind of immigration background.

The refugees aren't on trains unless they are going to work and those would be local trains not long distance trains. Actually the only problems are being caused by those on the far right. The racist, xenophobic, neo-nazi crowd.

I have never been fearful walking through any city in Europe at night and this includes the occasional walk through the RLD in Frankfurt. No one bothers you.

I think some of my comments were taken out of the intended context in subsequent posts so I added a little to this post as an edit to attempt some clarification. The edits, all adds, are in bold.

Okay, well, I hate to disagree; but I was in Bonn and Cologne a few months ago and the migrants were very noticeable. My daughter has been going to school there and she reports the same.

Cologne less so, but Bonn had groups of 20 to 30 year old men in the parks, street corners, etc. These gentlemen were identified as recent migrants by the residents our family was staying with and those we met while in town. Given the times of day I would guess unemployed, but they had cigarettes, nice coats and shoes and looked respectable. They used the ground for the trash can and the cities were filthy compared to say Paris or Prague. The cigarette issue may predate the migrants so as an aside note, in Cologne and Bonn the spent butts were absolutely everywhere and in ever crack and corner of every outdoor surface.

The migrants hung out at the train station and while waiting for a number of trains I didn’t notice too many migrants actually boarding trains, except for one situation in particular. We were waiting with my daughter for her train to arrive late one evening. Two of the young migrant males (or maybe they were Germans whose first language was Arabic?) who had been talking, stood up when a train arrived. Discussed things a little more than split up, with one getting in one car and the other in a car about two cars further up. The train was more than half empty and there are no reserved seats. Now I am sure it was innocent. Maybe they just like to sit in different cars, but it made me feel really, really uneasy; especially as my daughter had to ride this train every day and I am one of those fathers that worries a lot about his daughter. As this report suggests, most of the crimes being committed by the migrants is theft and there is very little violence involved: http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7470/germany-migrants-crime So I don't see safety as any particular issue.

On a recent overnight train from Germany to Switzerland my daughter was advised by the conductor that she should lock herself in her room as it wasn’t safe for her to be out and around at night. I have no idea the source of the threat and no reason to assume it has anything to do with migrants.

This is all pretty antidotal, but so are the stories to the opposite position. If there were something I wanted to see in Germany I wouldn’t hesitate to go. As Ms. Jo points out, there are extremists active in Germany so for the time being I would avoid places where the migrants are at their greatest number and I would be “aware” at Jewish points of interest as both are more likely to be points of friction.

If any of this bothers you, then that’s okay. Don’t let anyone judge you for your comfort levels.

Personally I am puzzled as to how James E. knows who is a new refugee and who is an immigrant that has lived here for 20 years? Do you think they just give up speaking their native language when they are with friends? I know I haven't and I immigrated here 29 years ago. Wondering how he would tell my Moroccan and Turkish friends from refugees. For all he knows, those young men might be on break from class.

Many refugees have nice clothing because people have been generous with their donations.

The cigarette butts are actually better than it used to be cause you can't smoke in the underground stations. Germans throw their butts on the ground just like every place else I have been in Europe. For some reason, they don't consider it littering.

Second guessing is never good.

Joy is asking about safety. Please don't let this thread deteriorate into another political bashing about who has the best information, second guessing about who is who passing you on the street and should you be afraid because they look middle Eastern or are speaking a language you don't know.

I am sorry you misunderstood me.
I edited and expand a little my post above to clear any confusion (in bold)A few are still not going to like it, but at least it will be for the right reasons and not my poor communication skills.

Where would I recommend she go? Germany, if what she is interested in is there. Someplace else if she isn’t going to be comfortable. It’s a big world.

What we need is a little more tolerance for differences and a little less insult and I bet the world will become a much better place.

MsJo, Kaeleku; I do wish you well..

James E, it is all very well to mention that you have edited a post that caused "confusion" but to be forthright you need to note on the edited post that it has been edited. If a reader doesn't read all the posts, he/she might wonder at the bold font of the edited insertions but not understand itheir meaning. Fair is fair.

Joy, come to our Saturday morning coffee meeting (May 21) and we can discuss this quietly.

"Joy, come to our Saturday morning coffee meeting (May 21) and we can discuss this quietly."

Haha, thataway Frank ;-) I'll be over on the coconut oil thread.

Norma, I have appreciated your efforts in reaching across to help me. As always, in such matters, you are absolutely correct.

Thank you.

Thanks James for your observations on Bonn and Cologne. When I am back over there in June after landing at FRA from SFO, I'll be able to see for myself, to spot out refugees, and will be at several train stations, Hbf., ...Düsseldorf, Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich, Halle, Minden, Kiel, Wiesbaden, Neustrelitz, Potsdam, Frankfurt an der Oder, Leipzig, Dresden, etc over the course of five weeks.

@ Joy...That you got slammed for asking perfectly logical sincere questions is a real pity. Inappropriate responses committed by some pathetic people. I want to say it's beyond me but it isn't because there are such people who wouldn't know any better anyway. You can also expect questions like yours will be asked over and over whether "they" like it or not.

Is it ok for the OP to ask her questions, these specific ones above, regarding traveling in Germany or any other place in Europe? Or, is it ok for certain questions to be asked provided they are not offensive? What about unintentionally offensive? I don't question the motives the OP has in asking or that of James, his rhetoric base, for voicing his opinion or views, whether one shares his concerns, let alone the views or not. That's a personal matter. Both are traveling/did travel there. Similar questions will continue to pop up here as to safety and the migrants.

As Frank said, come out to our May meeting and discuss this.

The situation with the migrants in Europe is what one might expect of any situation where so many desperate individuals are dumped in an inner city with no work skills, language skills or relevant cultural skills. If one sees this as a racial or religious issue I suggest some introspective reasoning is in order. Those that have reached out to assist the migrants have wonderful hearts and deserve our admiration and prayers; but that doesn't alleviate all of the issues of the situation. If we cant respect each other and discuss our differences on such a simple subject as tourism, the world is doomed.

I appreciate the webmaster for leaving this thread. It's healthy to talk it out. I've gained perspective from it and I hope others will also.