The Kindness of Strangers

The little Scottish lady who walked us to the correct bus stop, and told us to wait to cross the street until we saw the "wee green man" in the traffic signal.

The older French woman in Montmartre who walked us around the corner to show us her favorite view.

The taxi driver in New Orleans who drove around the block to come back for us because he realized we were not where we should be. (He was right.)

The fashionably-dressed older lady in Milan who tapped my teenage daughter on the shoulder and reminded her to keep her shoulder bag zipped.

The kind lady on a bus in Barcelona who, seeing that my husband was nervous about being on the right bus, whispered to me in Spanish that we were on the right bus. When my husband expressed doubt about knowing where to get off for Parc Guell, she said she would tell me ( and she did). I think she whispered just to me as she wanted to help me feel empowered in front of my husband. She knew I understood Spanish as she had seen me offer my seat on the bus in proper Spanish to another older woman who walked with a cane.

We had landed in Franfkfurt from the West Coast, pretty jet-lagged, and were heading to Bacharach. When we switched trains in Mainz, a wonderful local lady asked where we were headed. When we told her, she said that part of the train wasn't going to Bacharach, and told us the proper cars to be in. Don't know where we would have ended up without that incredibly helpful advice.

When I was struggling to get off the train in Munich after suffering a broken ankle the day before, a beautiful observant Muslim woman asked me in German if she could help me. As the DB staff was less than helpful (nearly forgot to help me get on the train in the first place), I said yes, and she carried my bags all the way to the taxi stand. I offered to pay her and she refused.

On a train outside Haarlem a pa came across that I couldn't understand. A local woman seated next to my wife and I must have heard us talking and said in English what the announcement was (a diversion because of a suicide) and where we had to go.

So many over the years.

A long time ago in Verona, when you could drive through the historic center at will, a kind man walked my family though the one-way grid of streets that we were trapped in, just walked along beside the car, tellng us about his beautiful city.

The beautiful elderly woman who saw me walking slowly up one of the dozens of stair-streets in Piazza Armerina and shouted "Corraggio!" as she passed me, then waited for me at the top to make sure I knew where I was going.

Davide, also in Piazza, who gave me a ride to the bus stop when I was lost (after a brief stop to pick up his fiance on his way to work. Lengthy and entertaining explanation about why he had a passenger first thing in the morning.

New stories will take place tomorrow.

On our first trip to Europe last year, we went from Cork to Florence, arriving after dark. Going from California to Ireland was a change, to be sure, but coming into Florence was kind of surreal. We got through the airport and found the taxi stand out front-this was the part of the day I was still apprehensive about. Then Graziano pulled up and welcomed us into his cab; he was so happy to talk to us and tell us, in our short time together, a little about his city. When we arrived on the Piazza where our B & B was, he made a couple of laps around trying to find it, I told him he could just drop us, that I was sure it was here and we'd be okay. He was having none of that, and spent another few minutes finding exactly where we needed to be, smiling all the while. Welcome to Florence.

The family that ran a coffee shop in Rome where I was on September 11. They had a tv with BBC they left on so we were able to understand the news. They stayed open well past closing, worked their butts off and did not take a single break, were crying as much as we were, and offered the use of their phone to a person in our group who had family in Manhattan.

The taxi driver in Rome who correctly warned me about the shady hostel I had booked and helped me find another one...and then wouldn't accept my tip.

The group of university students in Barcelona who took pity on us after we got caught in a down pour and were lost. We stepped into a bar to dry off and they insisted on buying us a round of beers.

The stranger who shared his food with us after we were stuck in Chiasso for several hours because of a train strike.

We ran into the University of Warsaw choir practising and stopped for a listen. They invited us to their end-of-school year barbeque/picnic that night. We stayed for several hours while they overfed us with their beautiful Polish food. They were falling over each other to talk to us and invited us to their dorm for an end of school year party the next night!! - Sadly we didn't go. That would have been a blast.

Scary looking young guy who carried my luggage down some stairs without me asking at Paddington station (before I learned how to pack light).

The waiter who served us in Liverpool and offered to answer questions about the city - then we ran into him on the street three more times over the next few days and he stopped each time to ask us if we had any questions or concerns.

In 2008 I was waiting on the platform at Frankfurt to change trains when someone bumped into me and I fell over my suitcase. I was holding the extended handle and when I fell, the handle became twisted somehow and wouldn't slide into the suitcase. When the train came I tried to pull the bag up the steps to board but it was awkward because of the broken handle. The man behind me pushed my bag up the steps. It was such a simple gesture, perhaps hardly memorable, but I've thought kindly of him ever since.

The ticket salesman in Paris. I missed my train, the Eurostar to London, and he changed my ticket for the next depature for no additional cost.

So, so many. It'll be hard to choose just a few.

The gentlemen I met in London on a snowy Christmas Day and invited me to his Christmas party that night (great party!).

A young woman in Austria that interpreted the announcements in German on why our train was stopped and why we had to disembark (then reboard, then catch a different train...) This was after I had helped her with her luggage (karma).

Countless people that have given me directions or assistance when I couldn't figure out where I was or what I was doing.

The street beggar at Termini that "helped" me buy a train ticket from a machine. I knew who he was and what he wanted but I didn't overreact. I gave him a euro for his "help."

A fellow hotel guest (complete stranger) that let me into my hotel in Marseilles after I had locked myself out late at night.

The owner of a B&B in Greece that helped me understand the Greek bus system when we had an issue with a rental car.

The many people I have met professionally that have spent hours, even entire days with me to show me around their city, invite me to their home for dinner or even to their private Finnish sauna club.

When I was staying at the RS recommended Chez Leslie in Colmar, the owner had to be away and left a friend in charge. She didn't speak much English but was so friendly and helpful with everything. When I was leaving to go pick up the rental car she tried calling a taxi for me but there was no answer. I could have walked over (about 1/2 mile) but it was raining and she took the time to drive me over to the garage where I picked up the rental car.

I seem to have issues with rental car places but have run into the nicest people there. After turning in another rental car at the Hertz office in Chartres I needed to get to the station to catch the train to Paris and was planning on taking a bus. It was just at the time they were closing up for the afternoon lunch time so the girl at the counter offered to drop me off since she was going home for lunch and had to go right by the station anyway. I offered to pay her something but she wouldn't hear of it. Who knows how long I would have had to wait for a bus or even if they were running (i never saw one).

And, like Douglas said - countless kind people in many countries that have helped me with directions when I was lost or couldn't find my hotel, etc.

This thread was a great idea.

After 20+ years travelling to Europe, countless kindnesses come to mind.

The young man in Edinburgh last year who put himself between us and a belligerent drunk looking forAmericans to pick a fight with at a bus stop. That young man risked his own safety.
The lady in Chinon, France who ran across the street from the cafe to stop us from putting money in a parking meter because it was Sunday and parking was free.
The quintessential English country gentleman (wearing tweed and walking his old English sheepdog) who gave us detailed directions to our b&b.
The restaurateur in Amalfi who gave us bottled water when we stopped for directions and wouldn't take a cent for the water.
The waiter in Madrid who brought us dessert on the house.
The London cabbie who delivered my forgotten backpack to our hotel and wouldn't take the offered tip.
The British expat who took us on a tapas crawl in Ronda, Spain.
Europeans have constantly stepped into the breach without being asked when it appeared we needed help. Too many others to list here.

We have had many instances over the years of Europeans who went out of their way to help us. We have found these events to be more frequent than negative events. The most recent was last fall on a train from Nevers to Provence in France. We had reserved seats however there was no car with the number on our tickets. While searching through the cars for our seat, a young lady (we are senior citizens) assured us that we could sit opposite her as our seats were not available. We speak some French and she spoke some English so we spent a very pleasant trip talking to her. We exchanged email addresses and upon discovering that we share a birthday, we even wished each other a happy birthday by email last December! This is just one of many small kindnesses that have made our travels so memorable.

And then there was...
The woman at the stand in Monterosso, who tried to help me make a call from a payphone, then pulled her cell phone out and dialed the Vernazza number for me after we got on the express and it blew right past Vernazza. We were late for our massages, but we got there!

The B & B owner in Muswell Hill, London who, on our arrival, asked us to hop in his car and proceeded to give us a one-hour tour of his little town, as well as the Alexandra Palace.

The B & B owner in Dublin, who when I asked late one evening how the Troubles had affected his family told me a touching story of many past family trips to a particular hotel in Northern Ireland and how one day the proprietor there was just different to him and his family, gave them a terrible room and a meal fit for a dog. I still tear up when I think of what he shared with me.

These are wonderful!

The absolutely darling old Scottish gentleman in St. Giles's Cathedral in Edinburgh who, upon learning my Scottish surname, led me to a beautiful stained-glass window and told me the story of how it related to my clan, and gave me a little history lesson as well.

When in Munich on the GAS tour, several of us returned simultaneously to the hotel after 9:00 p.m. and couldn't get in the door. There had been nothing mentioned during the check-in process about needing a code to enter the hotel after a certain time. No one had a phone, and there wasn't even anyone in view at the front desk who could respond to a knock. Fortunately, a young German man happened to walk by and asked what we were doing. When we told him that we couldn't get in, he pulled out his cell and called the owner, who was a friend of his. The owner gave him the code, and we were able to get in. We thanked him profusely, and he blushed.

• The Cypriot angel who drove his own car and led us to our friend's house in Paphos. We couldn't understand the directions we had been given and were sitting in our car on the roadside trying to figure them out when he came along.

• The stylish Parisienne who left her dress shop to lead a couple of young guys to the nearby little street we were looking for. That was my very first day on the European continent. Her kindness made an indelible impression on us. Whatever concerns we may have had about French attitudes toward Americans evaporated.

All I can say, is the Greeks. When I was 19 and in Greece I missed the connection with my friends and was trying to find the people at the emergency address that my dad had given me. The concierge in the apartment building found me on the stairs trying to hold back tears and figure out what was next. He couldn't speak English or German or French, so he called his daughter, who told called me, Luv and said all would be fine. They found me a room. They fed me dinner. They took me to see the Acropolis by night. They took me to the tourist police to search for my friends. They bought me my first souvlaki. They connected me with the son of the emergency people. He loaned me his apartment and stayed at his parents. He bought me lunch the first day. He took me to dinner. He helped me realize I could go on to Italy alone. It was a truly wonderful experience and I have never ever forgotten their kindness.

Pam

A German couple who we talked to over dinner gave us their umbrella since they knew we had to walk back to the train station in a downpour. Their kind gesture was so appreciated.

When taking the train to the Munich airport, the line we needed was closed for maintenance. Several people told us exactly what stops/lines to use to get us quickly to the airport.

We enjoyed talking to a local in Venice while watching Euro Cup soccer and he treated us to our first "Aperol spritz" drink.

Finally, the Swiss train conductor who held the train for 20 extra seconds while my husband stood at the train door to stall while I caught up after sprinting through the Milan train station.

I am loving all these stories of kindness!

• the village office worker in Kleinheubach who unlocked the Town office after hours and led us upstairs so we could find out more information on my Mothers ancestors.
• the Naples shopkeeper who grabbed me by the collar and dragged me outside to wildly point and wave his arms to make sure I knew how to get to my hotel.
• the Police and Customs folks at CDG who patiently and respectfully helped us fill out some forms for the camera missing from our checked bag. Turns out it was stuffed into a sock and buried deep. Will never get that four hours back!
• the friendly guy at a cafe/hotel in some forgotten Black Forest village that didn't have any Black Forest Cake but was happy to bring us an excellent onion loaf instead. It was so good we bought the whole loaf and snacked on it for a couple days.
• the lady on the train in the Cinque Terre that came after us when we had already left the car and were walking away, to let us know we left our daypack (id, cash) on the floor by our seat.

I remember one after reading all the great stories.

Corniglia, Cinque Terre, 2008. Didn't realize that some of the shops rotated when they opened so we were standing there looking a smidge lost when we went back to the same place to get our breakfast and it was closed. A super-friendly Aussie lady invited us back to her room where she was making breakfast for her hubby and child. We didn't take her up on the offer...but we should have. You always kinda think...maybe something shady is happening, and we didn't want to be a bother...but there she was on the bus down to the train stn with her hubby and child when we were heading out...kinda kicking ourselves for not meeting some new travel friends...

In Salzburg, the bus driver that stepped out of the bus to help us find the way to our hotel. Best start to a wonderful vacation.

While boarding my train from London to Paris, I was waiting for my husband to load his bag then take mine. While standing on the platform, a sweet older lady asked if she could help me carry my bag onto the train. I kindly thanked her but explained the situation. My bag probably weighed more than she, so it was a very sweet gesture.

I just posted mine in the Euroblunder thread!

On the May 1st holiday, on the island of Crete, just outside of Mires, a little over a week ago:

Our rental car was t-boned and witnesses immediately came to our assistance. I was taken to the local hospital and my friend Ann remained with the damaged car and in shock. The police and everyone were very kind to her and the witnesses gave an accurate account of the accident. One man, George Vafas, did not leave Ann's side until I came back, and he stayed over 4 hours with us total, from the time of the accident until we were safely on our way again. The family in front of whose house the accident occurred, offered us chairs and did not leave us until the driver sent to retrieve us arrived. Both George and this family significantly delayed joining their own families' holiday gathering until after they were assured that we had been transferred into good hands. In the following days, George has kept in touch, monitoring our progress.

When we arrived at a small family run hotel later that night, where we were scheduled to spend our last week in Crete, they made sure we that got to the larger hospital for further evaluation. Then we were treated to the wonderful care of a 'Greek mamma' for the first couple of days, when we were the sorest and moved the slowest. Over the course of the last week, we finished every evening in the company of this wonderful family - being introduced to the medicinal properties of raki ;-)

When the bruises are long gone and the minor hurt bits healed, the friendships that ensued with George, Katarina, Maria, Matt, Kanakis and Kostas will remain.

Paris, a trip with two small children (1 and 3). Stuck in a very, very heavy downpour in the 7th Arrondisment at 7 or 8PM, (dark at that time of year), walking back to our hotel in the Rue Cler area from…somewhere. I forgot where. Anyway, the rain started suddenly and soaked through our map in pretty much no time. Street signs were unreadable due to the rain. Stopped in the doorway of a random building to try to figure out where to go when our younger son fell and scraped his knee pretty badly (Your basic childhood skinned knee, but he was understandably wailing). Turns out the random building was a health clinic, and the nurse (?) came out, let us in, gave him some bandages and found a map so we knew where to go. Yay! THEN, a doctor came down, he didn't speak much English and we spoke even less French, but he offered to drive us back to the hotel. About 5-10 blocks, but in that rain it was exceedingly helpful. So we got a ride back to the hotel from an very helpful Parisian doctor who we couldn't really communicate with.

Hi Zoe, Are you here? Good flights? Have you had gelato yet?

The two stories that come to mind immediately. . .

On my first visit to Paris (1980), of course I'd been told countless times how rude and unfriendly the French in general and Parisians in particular, were, and that they refused to speak English even when they knew it well. All the French I knew was a few words remembered from high school. I had a minor, but irritating and painful medical problem and had no idea where to turn. I walked into a small neighborhood pharmacy, and a kind woman who must have been in her 60's, spoke to me in excellent English. She phoned a doctor who agreed to see me immediately, knew some English and said his wife was available if needed since her English was much better. The pharmacist explained to me very carefully how to find the doctor (about 150 meters away, around the corner) and apologized profusely for not being able to walk me there, but her husband hadn't arrived yet and she couldn't close the shop. When I returned shortly thereafter with a prescription, she apologized again after making sure that all had gone well. I ahve never understood why the French have this bad reputation with Americans. I love the French.

I was in Sicily, staying for one night in Piazza Armerina (10 days ago!!) to see the superb mosaics at the Villa Romana. I thought it was a tiny town and I'd have no trouble finding my hotel (I was driving). It's a big place and I didn't have a clue where to go, it was after 8 p.m. and dark. I finally pulled into a gas station with signs of life. There were 4 customers, 3 men having a drink and a woman paying for gas. She spoke a little French so I managed to explain my dilemma. She asked if the men knew either the street or the hotel. One of them pulled out his phone, called the hotel and got directions. Then the other 2 got in a car and drove to the hotel - with me following behind them. I would never ever have found the hotel otherwise.

In L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue (in Provence), we were in a small shop that sold soaps and we were using our dictionary to try to translate the label on a particular soap. There was a word we weren't able to find in our dictionary so we asked the proprietor what the mystery ingredient was. She did not know the English word, so she went to the shop next to her and brought the woman from that shop over to help us. She didn't know either, so she telephoned her daughter and asked her daughter if she knew. These women were so sweet. The mystery ingredient turned out to be Bay.

In a small town in the French pyrenees, in a rental car, we stopped and asked a young man for directions, as we were hopelessly lost. He spoke no English and with out limited French, we were having trouble understanding him. All of the sudden he took off running. We weren't sure what we had done to scare him off like that, and continued trying to figure out the map. After a couple of minutes, a car pulled up with the young man in the passenger seat and his friend, who spoke perfect English, driving the car. He lead us to where we needed to go.

It must be a crazy French thing..( and so nice ). I, too, was hopelessly lost trying to find my hotel in Arles when I finally just stopped into another hotel to see if they had a room...I did not care if I had to pay for 2, I was just tired. Upon learning my dilemma (big language barrier) the proprietor of the hotel motioned for me to follow him, he also jumped in his car and led me to my hotel...when he saw me pull in he gave a quick wave and was off before I could properly thank him:))

Another time in Italy I was at a self-serve gas station and could not figure out how to pay and get the gas. There happened to be a traffic jam so there were lots of cars on the road right next to us. Sensing our dilemma a nice Italian pulled into the gas station to help us. He was very well dressed in suit and proceeded to show me how to pay and he pumped our gas for us. He did not speak English and we did not speak Italian but he know how grateful we were. As soon as the tank was full a whole bunch of gas came back out of the tank and went all over his nice suit and shoes. We were horrified, but he just kept smiling and motioning that it was OK... we felt terrible but he just jumped in his car and left....

Every trip I have ever taken I have been helped in so many ways, both large and small by other travelers, but most often by the locals. Zoe... I think that is one reason it is good to counter so many of the 'scare stories' with the reality of what most of us encounter while traveling Europe:))

So, so many over the years...

My friend insisted on driving in Paris from the rental place by Invalides, she drove into a residential area and down a narrow street that turned out to be a dead end. Cars were parked bumper to bumper on both sides of the road and she couldn't turn the car around and couldn't manage to back out.... A man watched us struggling to get out and came out of his house, got in our car and backed it out for us. He was so kind and gracious.

The Metro Ticket woman who was on a break in the ticket booth talking with the person who was working and selling tickets... we were told we could rent bikes from that particular Metro stop but couldn't find anything out on the street about it... both the woman on her break and the one working spent a good amount of time trying to find out for us and finally were given an address to give us... instead of just telling us where to go, the woman who was on her break told us to follow her and took us up to the street and walked a block with us to show us exactly where to go.

The Paris cop who was standing at an intersection directing traffic... there wasn't much traffic and he struck up a conversation with us as we were waiting to cross the street... we ended up standing there and talking for over an hour. He was so friendly and so interested in hearing all about where we were from, what the US was like, American politics, etc. Such a nice man.

The very well dressed, older woman standing at the end of a very, very long line at the post office on Blvd. St. Germain in Paris... I didn't know which of the 8 slots inside the PO to put my stack of postcards in for the US... I kept trying to figure it out and couldn't... No one in line looked friendly and I didn't want to bother anyone for help... finally I had no choice, so I approached this one particular woman at the end of the line and asked her, in French, if she could help me... I expected her to yell at me to leave her alone... instead, she responded with the kindest and warmest smile, got out of line to try to figure it out for me, then had to go outside to look at the 8 slots outside and finally figured out which one went to the US. By this time she had lost her place in that long line but she didn't care, she was so nice and so wonderful... I'll never forget her.

The wonderful, friendly waiters at our favorite cafe in Paris that made us feel like family every time we came in for lunch or dinner. And always remembering us when we returned after a year or two since the previous trip with a warm and friendly "Welcome Back!"

The woman at the bakery on Ile St. Louis who, after a month of stopping in every morning, filled a large paper bag with pastries and gave them to us for free when we told her it was our last day in Paris and we were headed to the airport... she said goodbye to us like we were long time friends.

The lovely French woman and her husband that we started talking to while watching the Tour de France on the Champs Elysees and spent hours talking with... we exchanged emails and stayed in touch... on a subsequent trip to Paris, she and her husband drove over two hrs to come to Paris and take us out to dinner.

When I was a child and living in Paris, my parents rented a villa in Sorrento for a vacation... we met another family there staying next door who were French and lived in Versailles... we became friends and eventually such good friends that they became family to us. After moving back to the US, they would come to SF just to visit us and we always visit them when we're in France.

The Italian shopkeeper in Sorrento who was so friendly we talked for over an hour... she invited me to come back after she closed to have coffee with her.

Continued...

The wonderful man that worked at Hotel La Tonnarella in Sorrento who greeted us warmly when we saw him in town on his day off and who bought us a gift (a music box) after our 3rd stay at La Tonnarella as a goodbye gift.

The private driver in Sorrento that we hired for our 3 visits there who lent us over 100 euros cash (plus what we owed him) on our 3rd visit when he picked us up at the airport because our debit card wouldn't work in the ATM... it was a Sunday and couldn't call our bank until the next day... and he wasn't the least bit concerned about getting paid back.

The wonderful women working at Vaux-le-Vicomte when my 11 yo son fell badly and both his knees were very bloody... they took us to a back room in the chateau and bandaged him up.

Two wonderful British couples we met on the ferry from France to Portsmouth in 1989... they insisted we spend the night at their house (long story as to why) and the next day made us a wonderful breakfast... we've stayed friends all these years and they are family to us now... they've been here to visit and we visit them.

The wonderful British couple we met in Sorrento and became friends with... and are good friends with to this day.

I could go on and on... we've met SO many wonderful people everywhere we've been throughout Europe...

So many nice people over the years have advised us and chatted with us.

One story which stuck with me is from my parents in September 11th. They were at a small inn in Slovenia and retuned from a hike to find what happened. My sister worked at 7 World Trade and I work on 57th Street. The inn keepers have them their phone and helped them track us down (my sister has been on a cross country flight which had to make an emergency landing stranding her in Cleveland). They said everyone was so nice and helpful.

Our first trip to Europe was 25 years ago on an emotional trip to see my father's grave in the Lorraine Cemetery in France. I never knew him. Anyway, we were in a pastry shop in Paris and the nastiest person behind the counter started screaming at us, Americans, out, I hate them and you and she went on and on. I instantly became more than the poster child for the ugly American to the point my sons had to drag me out of there for fear I would be arrested,and I didn't care if I was and I am sure she understood the words I hurled at her! I wasn't sure if I would ever go to Europe again after that. Fast forward ten years later on business trip to France and three pleasure trips there and although I never forgot her, the people we met on our next trips were friendly and helpful. My sister and I came off metro totally lost,tired and a lovely French woman in a beautiful mink coat saw our problem. she spoke no English and we spoke no French. Through sign language and a half hour of her time she got us to,our hotel. Stopped at gas station, again lost,and the attendant called a,friend and between them and drawing a map on a napkin got us to our hotel. Waiter in Strasburg spoke and acted out the menu for us, oink for pig, moo for beef, etc. a UPS driver in Paris got us to our hotel. Totally lost in Ennis, Ireland and pulled over to side of road to ask for directions. Lovely woman was walking to her daughter's house but got in car with us to show us to our B&B and then called her daughter to pick her up. In Bath, well before GPS, our B&B owner loaned us his Michelin Guide and made arrangements for us to stay with his sister who had a B&B across from Princess Anne's estate if we just promised to leave the guide with her, of course we did. I guess my bottom line is that the woman in the pastry shop made me realize one nasty person could not and will not keep us from traveling.

Chani, was the hotel you couldn't find the one I told you about? Oh, no! I'm in Venezia now, next stop Ravenna!

Terry, that was the idea for this thread, it's great to read everyone's stories; some of them bring tears to my eyes.

We were on our way from Paris to Bayeux and we did not have a great deal of experience with trains in Europe but I could see we didn't have reserved seats on our tickets. We sat down in empty seats but at the next stop a couple boarded and told us we were in their seats so we moved. This kept happening at every stop and we couldnt figure out where to sit and we had too much luggage with us (of course). Finally a man got up and pointed out the little card holders above each seat that held reservation cards. He told us we could sit wherever there were no cards in the holders. Wonderful! So we sat down in two seats facing each other by the aisle, the other two held a woman and a little girl. Well she started yelling at us to move. I understand French a little better than I speak it. I was so frustrated and then a woman next to us told her to leave us alone and that she knew we could sit there and that she was treating us badly because we were Americans. She proceeded to tell her that it was no wonder the French had this reputation with people like her around! Then the helpful lady patted my hand and told us not to move, just enjoy our trip. The lady with the problem apologized and fell asleep for the rest of the trip!

I have found so many kind people on our travels!

So many people will be kind if given the opportunity. We have found that people are anxious to be helpful and show you the best side of their country. There was a man in the Paris metro who pointed out which train we needed on the map, walked us to the ticket window, told the attendant what we needed, and directed us to the correct platform. When France was still using the franc, the clerk in the Louvre laughed, picked through the handful of money I had given him to purchase a postcard, took what he needed and gave me back the rest. In Greece, when I had left my bag in a cafe, the waiter chased me down the street to give it back to me. When I fell getting off a train in the Netherlands, people helped me to a pharmacy and the English speaking clerk fixed me up with an ace bandage and painkillers for my sprained ankle. There was a lady on a train in Scotland, who, when hearing our accents, said, "Pardon me, but I'd like to point out a few sights you should see." Then explained some of the countryside that was whizzing by the window.

In our backpacking days, long, long ago, we were staying near Avignon and had selected a campground out of our "Let's Go" travel book. We got there and soon realized it was the nearest thing to a hippie commune you could ever find. We spent the night listening to drum circles, smelling all kinds of medicinal herbs in the air, and shoving drunk people off of our tent who fell onto it every few minutes...it was miserable. Next morning we packed up as fast as we could, stumbled out of the campground over the empty bottles and alive (and maybe dead) bodies, and drove to a nearby campground that was also in the guidebook. Even though the sign said it was full, we went in anyway. The nice lady behind the desk confirmed this and, when we looked at each other with desperate faces, she asked where we had stayed the night before. "Bagatelle" we said. "BAGATELLE??!!!" she exclaimed and immediately led us to her caretakers house, into her backyard, and insisted we set up there to stay. She was wonderful! I don't know what we would have done otherwise...

When I arrived in Dublin on my first trip to Europe, it was pouring rain when I was leaving the hotel and I forgotten my umbrella in my suitcase. My suite case was already taken to the storage room. The hotel desk clerk gave me his umbrella to use while I walked off my jet lag just walking the city. That was my first impression of Dublin. The second time to Ireland, the B&B owner where I was staying found out my native Irish surname and said she would take me down to the local pub where the distant relatives I still have in the area spend weeknights playing music in the pub. It was so thoughtful of her to offer, even though she was going through chemo treatments for cancer. What an experience.

On our 2006 Germany-Austria trip, my wife and I visited the Dachau concentration camp and were dropping the rental car in town. Our plan was to walk to the train station and head into Munich, but it turned out the train station was a lot longer walk than we thought, well beyond easy walking distance. A middle-aged local woman who spoke perfect English stopped and gave us a ride in her minivan. We got the feeling that she had done this many times for similar travelers, the train station was much farther away from things than the guidebooks implied. She was a pastor in one church or another, and you could tell from her conversation that she was very self conscious about Germany's 20th century past and wanted people to understand that Germans were friendly. A very poignant episode, it was just one of those authentic travel moments that still resonates with me years later.

The grandmother in Scotland who was traveling on the train to visit her grandchildren. She fed us shortbread cookies that she had made to take to her grandchildren. I'm sure they were disappointed when she arrived with half a tin of cookies and let me tell you, they were the best cookies I have ever eaten!

Zoe, thank you for starting this thread. I think it should get a sticky so that people can continue to contribute and so that it would be highly visible to people who are considering foreign travel but have heard all too many negative stories.

I'll second that, Zoe. It's been really nice to read everyone's stories, and to remember a few too.

Thanks, Dave

Rome. We were looking for a restaurant I had read about in some of the RS feedback, Trattoria der Pallaro, advertised to have great dishes served family style. We started walking in the direction we thought it might be, not far from Piazza Navona. We went into a gift shop and asked the young sales clerk about the restaurant. She knew where it was, but rather than try to explain to us how to get there, she took us there! It was only a few blocks away, but it was off the beaten path. Very gracious. Was worth the search. Very simple place, no menu, food great, different pastas, veggie dishes, whatever they have made for the evening.

A small village in Greece.
I stopped in the village church the day before I was leaving town. I was there only a few moments before they announced that they were closing for the day. And the following day the church would be closed. I mentioned to a priest near me that I was so sorry I hadn't gotten to the church sooner and that I was leaving the next day. He went and found a woman who lived next door to the church and who spoke good English to come and interpret for him.
When he found out that I was leaving the next day in the afternoon, he said he would come to the church and open the door in the morning so I could take a look around at my leisure. Just for me! I was blown away because he followed through on his word and I got to have the church all to myself the next morning. Incredible!

I've been sitting here racking my brains trying to think of an example of a stranger helping me out, and I can only come up with one.

I woke up with a horrific nosebleed the day after arriving in Germany, while staying in a hostel. There was a hospital with an ENT department half a mile away, and I went there with only a small bag containing my wallet and my passport, expecting to be cauterized and discharged. I ended up being hospitalized for four days - with all my stuff back at the hostel. I called the night manager, and not only did she agree to log onto my twitter account and post a notice (there were several people traveling from the Netherlands to come see me whom I could not contact), she gathered up all of my belongings that she could find and brought them to me at the hospital after her shift ended the following morning. A few things that she had not found the first time were neatly folded in a bag when I came back a few days later.

I suppose we could count the tram driver at Amsterdam Centraal, who motioned for me to get on without payment when I asked him which train I needed to get to the Vondelpark (I'd found the trams but not the ticket machines), but two stops later he completely ignored a woman who needed to get on even when she thumped the doors a couple times...

And that's all I've got. My friends have gone above and beyond the call of duty more times than I can count, but that was the only stranger who went out of her way to save my bacon. Of course, that was really the only time I ever found myself in a bad situation, either; I haven't really needed anyone's assistance other than "pardon me, where do I find X?"

The two ladies in Amsterdam who helped my husband figure out what hotel we were in and took him to it after we got separated getting off the tram. They put his backback and my small wheeled bag on the back of their bikes and took him almost to the door of the hotel. He got off the tram first, I handed him the bags, the doors closed and off I went to the next stop! My poor husband had forgotten, I always pack an itinerary and plane receipt in each backpack, just in case of this exact situation.. . It was pretty scary for both of us actually.. We found Amsterdam residents to be some of the most sincerely friendliest people.

A few years ago in Sicily our errant GPS headed me down a narrow one-way street that soon became as tight as a hallway. No way to turn around, and I am not gifted at backing up. A kind gentleman saw my predicament, stood in front of my car and helped me back up blocks of narrow roadway while looking straight forward at his hand signals. Forever grateful!

And on my first night in Turin for the Paralympics, I had a map with the location of my apartment, but in the dark recognized no familiar landmarks from my bus window and didn't know where to get off. Everyone I showed the map to, including the driver, was friendly and smiling but spoke no English. When I eventually made my best guess and got off the bus, I had not walked ten steps when all the windows on the sidewalk side of the bus opened, and multiple voices called out "No, no!" gesturing for me to get back on the bus! Two stops later the driver and many of the passengers signaled that this was my stop. As I walked down the sidewalk, again the bus windows opened and there were waves and "Ciao's" from all the windows. Bella Italia!

I dropped my camera in the vatican museum. it was at the tail end of my trip which meant if I lost that camera all the pictures from London, Paris, the Alps would've been lost. but another tourist told me that i dropped my camera and i managed to retrieve it.

Several years ago we vacationed in LaPaz Mexico. We rented a house right in town from parents of a friend of my husband. One day we took the local bus to a beach, about 15 miles from town. Based on our interpretation of the bus schedule, we thought the last bus back to town was around 4:00pm. So just so we didn't miss the bus, we were waiting at 3:30. Well at 5:00 still no bus, and the parking lot was starting to empty out. We asked a tour bus if we could catch a ride into town but no luck. Then we started asking people leaving if we could catch a ride. Success- a man and his daughter, from Germany, were happy to give us a lift. We had an interesting conversation about American politics the whole ride back (This was after the hanging chad election between Gore and Bush). I was actually very surprised at how much they had heard about that election in Germany. We never did find out if the bus was very late, or if we just couldn't read the schedule.

When my friend and I were in Sicily, one of the days we went downtown, we decided to experience the local bus. My friend, who is Italian and speaks fluently of course, asked the girl at the cafe we frequented. She wrote down "directions toward" and a bus number. We were still sort of unsure though.

As we headed down the street, my friend stopped some business men asking them about the bus. They pointed us in the direction of a self-service kiosk for the tickets. We thanked them.

But a minute or so later, they called out to us. They "walked us across the street to the kiosk and helped my friend purchase the tickets" and so on. The kiosk has the options of buying bus tickets as well as buying street-side parking tickets. They wanted to make sure we got the right ones. They went the "extra" without really being obligated to.

The Sicilian woman/shopkeeper we met while browsing who walked us across the huge piazza downtown, to a little side street, to introduce us to her friend who had a small, cookie bakery. The bakery had maybe two, bistro-style tables (no cafe or drinks sold), a glass case with a selection of maybe 4 or 5 different cookies/biscuits - baked fresh. We taste-tested a few before settling on a purchase. We had a lovely, 1/2 hour chat with the baker and the woman shopkeeper. The woman then walked us back into the right direction to head for "our temporary home." :)

When I was traveling on a train from Milan, a young Italian woman offered to help me down the train stairs with one of my bags - It did not even enter my mind that she expected any Euro (nor did she ask or demand.) We sat across from each other on the train - it was not crowded. When my friend's and my stop came up, the young Italian woman got up and went ahead of me down the stairs and said, "Signora, allow me to help." I thanked her sincerely.

There are kind people in all countries - locals or not. Kindness and sincerity are built in.

The DB Regional (Bavaria) bus driver who kindly directed my son and I to the correct bus to get back to Oberammergau from Neuschwanstein, and she gave me a schedule book to help us on the rest of our trip. Our airbnb hosts in Oberammergau who invited us to have coffee and cake with them and friends the night before we left. It was King Ludwig's birthday celebration and capped off a wonderful time in that town. All of the wonderful people across Bavaria who kindly listened to me try to get my requests out in my poor German. Not one of them laughed and they all were very helpful. The DB conductor who told us that we were on the wrong train from Chiemsee to Munich and then told us that we needed to get off at the next stop and what train we needed to catch. Turns out our Bavaria pass did not cover the superfast trains! The gentleman on the path along the Salzach river in Salzburg, who when I asked how much longer we had to walk to get into town informed us that we were going the wrong direction and that we needed to turn around and go back the way we had come. He told us where we could get off the path and get on another path to the Salzburg Sud bus stop/commuter station. I think we had walked almost to Hallein before we found out we were going the wrong way. I had blisters that day! Then the ladies at the Salzburg Sud bus stop who sold us our Salzburg passes and told us how to get back to our local apartment and things to see in Salzburg. All in all everyone we met in Germany and Austria were very nice and friendly. I am saving my money so that I can go back in few years and see the things I didn't see before. I have found that if you are nice to people, smile, and ask your questions nicely that most people will go out of their way to help you. This also works in the US too. I remember my first trip to NYC, when I was trying to find the Empire State building after getting off the subway. Numerous strangers went out of their way to help me and I did finally reach my destination.

Our son graduated from college in England. While there for the graduation, I was struck with pancreatitis. I was hospitalized for three days. One day I looked up to see a very smartly dressed couple coming to my bedside. I had no idea who they were. Turns out they were the Dean of Students at the college and his wife. They didn't know me at all, but they took time out of their busy schedule to visit the American mother of one of their (many) American students. I'll never forget that.

I'll also never forget the two teenage girls in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. My husband and I were trying to call home to tell everyone that "hey, guess where we are--we're actually standing in front of the Eiffel Tower". We couldn't figure that payphone out to save our lives. Suddenly these two young girls stopped, in broken English said, "No, you are doing it wrong," and showed us how to make a phone call. Yep, those French people are just so rude--especially in Paris. Not!

I too have had many instances of kindness while in Europe. But, the one that I will always be so appreciative of is when my husband by hospitalized in Honfleur France. He spoke some French, I spoke none. He was in the hospital for 3.5 days so I had to change many of our arrangements (e.g. Eurostar reservations, cancel hotels, arrange new ones). Even getting money from the cash machine was a challenge for me. The woman at the hotel in Honfleur handled all for me. They even took me to the hospital one day when a taxi was not available. Her husband came to the hotel on the last day, carried our luggage to the rental car, drove the car to the train station for us, got us onto the train and returned the rental car for us. I will never forget their kindness.

Kristin-your story about the kindness shown to you on 9/11 made me cry.....all these stories are wonderful, thank you!

I just arrived in Paris for 2 weeks, retirement present to myself. Since I have been planning this trip for over a year, I was very excited and left my carryon bag in the airport taxi. It contained all my necessities: prescription meds, passport, credit cards, cash, camera, ipad, etc. As I was about to go into total meltdown, the hotel got a phone call from the taxi driver. He verified that I was the owner of the bag and said he would deliver it after his next fare. 30 minutes later I had the bag with all possessions in tact. I gave the driver a good tip and a bear hug for his kindness. The ladies in the hotel lobby chuckled at that. He said that he remembered my excitement and didn't want my trip to be ruined. No matter what else happens on this trip, I will always remeber the disheveled, but jovial French cab driver.

Decades ago....many decades ago....in Huntsville, Alabama when our tiny little compact car got caught in traffic and a quick flash flood. A tow truck pulled us out, took us to his garage....dried out our engine parts and would NOT (and we tried very hard) take a cent from us. I will NEVER, EVER forget his kindness.

Then recently, in New Zealand, a dear older lady we chatted with as we waited for the cable car, insisted on going two stops past hers, so we would be sure to take the best route through the botanical garden. She not only got off to show us the way, but then decided to walk us through part of the garden, then pointed out her home as we walked down the side of the hills thru the garden. I'm almost positive she would have invited us in for tea, but when we first met her, her phone rang and she took a call from a friend who was requesting a pick-up at the airport (and she told them she would call them right back, after she helped us). We read New Zealanders were oh so kind (and we experienced that kindness repeatedly), but this lady was extra special.

In Italy, we thought we were getting on the fast train from Rome to Florence (and we even reaffirmed with the the local rail staff multiple times that we were in the right Bin, showing our tickets), but it turned out we got on the regional train instead. When I discovered the train didn't stop where we needed to stop, I asked several people if they spoke English (most didn't), and Italian gentleman overhead me, and asked how he could help. He not only explained which stop (past Florence ) I wanted to get off, but walked us to where we needed to be to catch the train back to our correct stop (with just minutes to spare), before he left the station to go on his way home. We were so very grateful.

We try to return the kindness to others, either here at home or when we travel. Whenever I see individuals from other countries with that totally puzzled look, trying to navigate the Kennedy airport, O'Hare, or Atlanta, we offer to help or at least connect them with a gate agent, and we explain quickly in English the special help they need. We know from experience how confusing it can be navigating places in other countries, must less when one is not 100% fluent in the local language.