Travel moments to give thanks for

Far too many to count thankfully. Am amazed at the kindness of.strangers. Our most recent trip ended with a week in France so.I will concentrate on that part. A woman at Paris train station asked to share our table at Burger King and I asked for bathroom and since I was still recovering from fractured back can't walk an excessive distance. She walked all over until she found it but then she had to leave but not before finding a young woman to take me there and giving me a euro as I had no coins to pay for bathroom.. Then in St. Avold.we had to walk down. Stairs under train. Track and up the other side using that darn walker. A woman who had gotten off the train and was on the other side came back picked up our bags and walked us to the other side. We looked around for a cab stand and there was no one in sight. She spoke.minimal amount of English but we were able to tell her what we needed.. She called a cab and waited twenty minutes for the cab and then. Called for her ride. So.many more times we were helped on this journey I can't even begin. To list them.all. I was hesitant to take this trip ,a month in three countries, but my husband and physical therapist convinced.me.and it worked!!! Cobblestones and a walker at Tower of London was funny but we did it!!!!

During my college days took my first trip to Europe.

Was on a new and spiffy metro car trying to figure out where to get out in order to get to the famed Hofbrau House in Munich. This was a month before the 72 Olympics.

Looking at the map and chatting with my boyfriend it became obvious we had no clue. A woman on the tram walked over, smiled and somehow we knew she was there to help. She spoke no English. We didn’t speak German. My high school French worthless.

Two stops later we 3 got off. She walked us to the entrance. We asked and gestured for her to come in. She smiled, shook her head “ no “ and walked away.

Her simple gesture of kindness had an impact.

A moment not worthy of a hall mark movie, but worthy of a fast food commercial:

We had two chartered busses of Youth from st louis enroute to an event in Dallas, had been on bus all night. We pulled into a burger king parking lot around 9 am moments after shift change and were greeted with the sight of the manager bursting out of the back door chasing her departing employees across the parking lot and convincing them to come back inside. There were probably 100 of us, and it was the most efficient meal of the entire trip

So many that it overwhelms me to start.

There’s a story for every day of my trip to Albania. I spent a few days in Korće in a large guesthouse slightly off season - and was the only guest. One of my two hostesses, who spoke no English, made me feel completely at home when it could have been awkward. We chatted away with Google Translate, played with dogs, and drank coffee. The day I was to leave, she insisted on driving me herself to the bus station at 6:30am and wouldn’t hear of a taxi. When we discovered the bus wouldn’t leave till 6 hours later, she wanted to stay with me till it arrived. I did manage to convince her I would be alright - I had the breakfast she had gotten up and made me before leaving!

In Girokaster, I stayed at another nice family owned hotel. One day I came back to the room mid-day and had a knock at the door. It was the grandfather of the family, 80 or 85, again with no English, standing there with an apple in one hand and a paring knife in the other. ❤️

The bus driver who made sure I found a taxi upon arrival.

The van driver who saw me looking at the water coming out of a plastic pipe out of the mountain rock and handed me a plastic bottle to fill with “clean water” they were proud of.

And so much more. Small simple kindnesses. A country I am truly grateful to have been to.

Wow, so many indeed. Here are just a few.

• The student who found my money belt on a London street in 1996 and turned it in to the police completely intact (money, credit cards, travelers' checks and passport).

• The man in Turkey who walked with me 3 blocks out of his way to make sure I got to the bus stop I needed.

• The owner of the B&B I stayed at in Lewis, Scotland, who insisted on packing me food because I had to leave before breakfast to get the ferry.

So many persons helped me on my last trip in October.

I am old and have a bad knee (need a new one). Last trip was more challenging than usual and there were so many people who helped.

Thank you all. You all made it so much better.

And Thank You to this forum. I am so Thankful and Grateful for all of you. This forum has been such a help even if I did not always take the advice.

And get ready. (Fair Warning). Am planning the next cruise. Looks like it may be a Mediterranean leaving from Barcelona October 2024. I was so tired when I came home from the last one that I thought i was through but I am thankful that my energy has returned along with Cruise Fever.

Like others, too many to list.

Just a few days ago though I had the nicest strangers help me when I was at a low point. I am 6 weeks out from a knee replacement and had an emergency trip to mom's. On the flight home, I was flying by myself and my bag had mom's special stuff as we just placed her in hospice. So I was not going to check that bag for anything! It was a small bag, 20 inches and smaller than most that size. Because of all of mom's stuff in my bag, my laptop was in my purse so it was heavy. I was sitting at the gate in a handicapped seat right next to boarding and had my cane with me. Three agents had been chatting while the plane approached from the flight before. One of them saw my cane, etc and came over and asked about my knee. She offered to check my bag, and I explained why I couldn't. She started crying and hugged me, the other ladies heard and started crying and gave me hugs, and then when it was time to board, they took my bag all the way onto the plane and put it up above for me. They also did not let anyone else go down the ramp until I was on the plane. I could have somehow managed it all, but it would have been difficult. But having so much grace shown to me during a very difficult time was really nice. Yes, Alaska Air is getting a letter from me this week.

Then upon landing at SEA, the plane did not park at the gate itself, so we had to go down a ramp then into the building and up a ramp. A lady sitting behind me insisted on taking my bag for me.

I could write a book. So many nice people in the world. I’ll just mention one from this year…

I am so thankful to the two fellow travelers who offered me a scopolamine patch for our trip back through the Drake Passage after I got terribly sick the first time through. What a difference that patch made!

As others have said, there are so many moments of kindness that we have experienced while traveling that we are grateful for. One in particular sticks in my mind. My husband and I were at the bus stop in Edinburgh after the military tattoo making our way back to our b&b off Dalkeith Road. While we were waiting for the bus, a very large, menacing drunk accosted us. He had us with our backs against the wall. He apparently had a beef against Americans and we were a soft target being older. We were rendered speechless. A young man standing near us intervened and defused the situation and the drunk moved on. The young man got on the bus with us and stayed close by until we disembarked. We were too much in shock to say anything and sadly never thanked that young man for risking his own personal safety to help us. Without that young man’s help, the situation could have ended badly.

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate. 🇺🇸🇨🇦

When in Rome in 2019 with my bad knee…pre replacement…the two sisters who ran the tiny B and B we were in for 3 nights were so kind.
When we got back in after dinner the first night, one had gone out to get me a reusable ice pack for my knee.

The AirBNB owner in Venice who returned later with a small birthday present for me, when he noticed my birthdate on my passport while checking in on my birthday.

The five elderly men who walked us to where we wanted to go in Rome after we had asked for directions.
(After arguing amongst themselves for five minutes about the best way to go!)

The next door neighbour in the Airbnb in St. John’s Newfoundland who saw us checking in, and immediately came out and said come with me, I’ll drive you around town for a tour, which she did.

I could go on and on.
So many lovely people in the world.

I'm sure there is something personal in my travels that I'm forgetting and if I think of it I'll post later, but for now, what about those of you on this board that helped that woman recently who was hospitalized in Budapest. That's worthy of mentioning. We're on here for fun, but sometimes some of you can make a difference.

My husband garbaged his knee on the extra-wide stairs in Caltagirone, Sicily, and was limping around. We made it to Messina and onto the ferry for the mainland. I don't remember exactly what our plan was (we were traveling without reservations but pointed toward Naples). However, a kind young woman on the ferry told us what we were going to do. She had a friend in Scilla who ran a B&B, and that's where she was going to take us. This was a quite a few years ago, so I'm not sure how she even got in touch with him. But when we landed we went with her in her car to Scilla. It turned out that the "B&B" was the owner's house and, when someone was staying, he vacated his room and gave it to his guest. So he was scrambling to get the room ready for us. He was just thrilled to have Americans staying with him - such a kind man. He went out and got a special local Easter cake so we could try it.

I will never forget either of these people. Husband eventually had arthroscopic surgery on the knee.

The smile I received the week of February 5th.

These stories are all inspiring. I bought a few shirts when I traveled to Tokyo. As I made my exit from the shop, a sweet elderly man stopped me in the parking lot. With his limited English and my non-existent Japanese, it took me a minute to understand what he was trying to say, but then he held out my wallet! 😱 I must have made a typical tourist mistake and have forgotten my wallet after paying. I was blown away by his honesty. Later found out he rushed out of his store, without even grabbing his coat, just to return it to me before I got too far in the cold weather. 🥶 I was so relieved and thankful, kindness knows no bounds, not even age and weather can stop.

Many decades ago, on my first trip to Europe, I was seated in a compartment with four gentlemen all old enough to be my father. They spoke no English, and I hardly spoke their language. In our one brief "conversation", they ascertained my destination. When the arrival there was eminent, I misunderstood the announcement and just sat there like a bump on a log. They realized that I didn't understand and was about to travel beyond my destination. They all jumped up, shooed me out of the compartment, and even helped with my bags. If not for them, no telling where I'd have wound up.

This is a wonderful post, Nancy! There’s so many people who directly or indirectly enable us to have memorable trips! First, the forum participants who freely share such great advice. This past year, those from the UK and others who went on the RS Adriatic tour ahead of me provided ideas and transportation advice that saved us money & time - all greatly appreciated!

The first experiences for me that I am always very grateful for were the homestay families in several countries when I was on the People-to-People program in 1975. The daughter of one of the families has stayed with us a couple of times, too, and attended our oldest daughter’s wedding as a special guest of honor.

Another thanks goes to Rick Steves! My husband & I learned SO much from our first two tours! Although I prefer independent itineraries now, they certainly wouldn’t be the same without the foundation of Rick’s methods of travel! Very grateful for all of the learning during the tours and also from their free classes in Edmonds!

Each trip - the courteous & helpful small hotel owners, the B&B hosts who treat me as a home guest or friend, the random riders on city buses who have kindly share their knowledge…and don’t outwardly grimace at my pronunciations - even my French. The small businesses who provide cooking classes or bike tours, etc. And especially Martin Cambriglia in Bergamo! I’ve never met such a patient & kind instructor who spent extra time with me during some outdoor private sketch & painting classes - truly memorable!

And pre-trip, our local RS travel group is the best! Fellow travelers who willingly share technology, packing, gadgets, etc. advice along with fun stories & future plans. What an encouragement to keep on traveling, and I am so grateful for this group of friends!

And I should also mention my gratefulness to my husband. He knows how important European travel is to me - as much as he loves his golf, and he willingly keeps everything running at home smoothly while I’m away. That’s a huge comfort during my trips!

So many but:
One of my first trips to Europe, husband and I had 2 suitcases on the train from Devon to London. Thought there would be a luggage place at end of car .there wasn't and we got a lot of nasty looks as we struggled. One very kind man quietly got up and slid them between the seats where they belonged and gave us a smile as he saw the lightbuld go off. On this trip, the lovely waitress in Amsterdam who took her break to walk us the 2 blocks to the tram stop. In Naples, the 2 lovely young women who ,in midst of taxi strike, walked us across the street, called a different cab company for us and then gave us their phone number in case we had a problem. Angels among us

Wonderful stories, everyone! I am moved by the many acts of kindness you’ve shared.