Hi,
I am going international for the first time in my life and will mainly be in Munich for a week (Paris for 6 hours due to travel). I have heard that Europeans are not fond of Americans and that might be amplified lately. No politics involved here, but do I have to worry about being treated poorly or anything like that? I have heard that Munich is full of great people and are used to the tourism since so many people go there. Just a worry that I have. Thanks
Normally I would say you do not have to worry much at all in Germany or anywhere in Europe.
Today, I'm not so sure.
I am going to Berlin in a month, my fifth time there, and I will be interested for people who are there right now, or live there, to weigh in on the current mood.
I have heard that Europeans are not fond of Americans
There are 750 million people in Europe. I haven’t asked all of them for their views. But I did read somewhere that all Americans are anti Canadian. I don’t think it’s true though.
There are 200, 000 Americans living in the UK. I haven’t heard of mass demonstrations against any of them. Even my boss lives a happy life in Wales.
I had the same worry in 2004, the year after the invasion of Iraq. I went to Germany, which vociferously protested the U.S. action. Nobody said a thing.
One more tidbit: I have a lot of friends in the Philippines. I'm told everyone's talking about American politics with a lot worry. Everyone's watching the U.S., but I believe that people abroad distinguish American politics from people.
I have lived in Germany and France. My takeaway was they are not fond of our politics but have no issues with individuals.
I would guess that most daily interactions will go smoothly: ordering a meal, buying tickets, using public transportation. Employees are being paid to take your money, lead a tour, etc. after all. I'm not terribly outgoing and don't have many conversations with locals. I might occasionally chat with a bartender or while waiting to pick up take-out. It's those conversations that you could rehearse in advance if that would make you more comfortable.
I am an American living in Austria. Unless you are walking around with a MAGA hat on, I do not think you need to worry about anything.
Europeans are sophisticated enough to be able to separate their thoughts of a country’s leader from the people who are stuck with that leader.
They know the two are not the same.
I have heard that Munich is full of great people and are used to the tourism since so many people go there.
That's probably not wrong. OTOH there are great people all over Germany. Munich isn't special in this regard.
I'm sure the customer-service personnel that you will be in contact with as a tourist in Munich are plenty used to interacting with tourists. It's their job. And you will very likely be treated as a tourist. I'd expect them to speak English to you, just as they would to other foreign tourists who don't speak German (pretty much everyone.) They do tend to speak English well, as a rule, so they have the skills to speak to you unkindly if they wanted to, but that's very unlikely, IMO. As a tourist, however, you are not all that interesting to them, just part of their job, and they aren't likely to explore the political aspects of your home country or ask other probing questions.
I honestly don't know why people worry if some European clerk or waiter is less than polite. Service personnel can of course have moments when they might seem or might be impatient or impolite, whether that happens in New York or Munich. If that happens, don't jump to the shaky conclusion that you've been singled out for this treatment because you are American. More likely, you were just the nearest human target for the person's unhappy moment to be shared with.
