One of my friends traveled by train to Prague recently. She had no idea where to look for a place to stay when she got off the train. It was getting late. A complete stranger took her and her friend to her house, fed them dinner and let them stay the night. She said the people in Prague were the friendliest people she'd ever met. Have you ever had an experience like this? Who are the friendliest people you've met on your travels in Europe?

About 12 years ago, my wife and I were staying in a small hotel in western France. At dinner, a man approached our table, saying, "I'm awfully sorry, but we heard you speaking English -- would you mind if we joined you?" I said we were delighted, but since we were Americans, he might find us hard to understand. With that, he roared with laughter, being very British. Well, we became fast friends, they have been here and we have been guests in their home. We have been adopted by their family. We correspond regularly, their children have become fast friends with ours, and so my vote has to be for the Brits -- so different from us and yet so much alike.

We were staying in a small hotel in Scotland. After dinner, it was still light, so we decided to go for a drive. We had to walk through the pub to go from the dining room to the parking lot, and a large family (all adults) were having a pub supper there. They hailed us as we passed through, inviting us to have a dring with them. We declined and went for our sunset drive around When we returned they were still there, and once again they invited us to join them for a drink. Well we did, and for the rest of the evening, they bought us drinks and we all did our best to tell each other all about our lives. These goood people were sheep farmers and my husband is a symphony musician, so you would think we would have nothing in common -- but we had a most delightful evening as their guests in that pub. Wonderful.

What a wonderful topic! When I was in Paris a friend and I were leaving the metro station and were confused about which direction the Notre Dame cathedral was in. Just before we went out, we asked an older French gentleman where it was, in our best French. Unbelievably, he motioned us to follow then turned around and walked back out the doors with his grand daughter in tow, up the metro steps and partially down the street, then stopped and pointed us in the right direction. We were so surprised and very worried that he had wasted a metro ticket, since he had already been through the turnstile. We tried to offer him 2 metro tickets, but he smiled and waved us away and showed us a metro card in his wallet. Even though he spoke no English and we very little French, this man went out of his way to help us, a real gentleman!

My Mother and I were in Paris October 1997 and several times women helped my Mother carry her suitcase up and down the metro stairs (I couldn't convince her to carry a smaller one!) Those of you who know the Paris metro system, there are plenty of stairs that go up and down all over the place! We mentioned to one of the women we were surprised with the friendliness of the French (not to sound rude about them) and her response was the French government was trying to "clean" up the relationships of the French people and the tourists coming into France; and one way was asking the younger people to be more courteous and helpful to tourists. We felt this is why this one particular woman helped, but we believed she and the others did this with their own heart!

I just want to add to Monica's comment above about how friendly the French were. I was in Paris 5-6 years ago, and found the French to be very rude and arrogant. When my husband and I went over at the end of last year, I was almost dreading Paris and dealing with the French. I couldn't have been more wrong. I found the French to be very polite and friendly. They helped us with our luggage on the Metro, put up with my atrocious non-existant French and helped us with directions. I was ordering breakfast in McDonalds one morning (not the best way to experience French culture I know - but it was convienent!!). I thought I was doing pretty good ordering with what I thought was the French pronunciations of the menu. The young man serving just looked at me and grinned and replied "Would that be all?" I had replied "Yes" before I realised that he had answered me in English! We actually had more trouble with the Germans when it came to rudeness.

My wife and I ride our bikes in Europe. In Como, Italy we were hopelessly lost, trying to find the place we could find a ferry to Bellagio, as we studied our map an older gentleman (for comparison, I'm 60) stopped on his bike. After a little discussion, we speak no Italian and he no English, he finally motioned to follow him. About a mile later he stopped and pointed, we thanked him "Grazie" and we parted. Five minutes later he was back again and we were still lost. He smiled and this time lead us directly to the dock. He went way out of his way and there was no way we could thank him enough. We have met friendly people in every country, maybe it's the image of seniors on bikes. We like to go to out-of-the-way places and usually it's "we never see Americans here, never on bikes, and never your age".

My friend and I were in Greece a couple of years ago and we found the Greek people very ffiendly and ready to help in anyway. They seem to genuinely like Americans.
Many Greeks initiated conversations with us. They speak surprisingly good English which was firtunate since we spoke no Greek. I also found the French very friendly and charming, and the English. Italy was not as friendly as I had anticipated, and a couple of my Italian-American friends had the same experience there. However, I am sure that there are many friendly Italians, and Italy is indeed lovely with some of the best historical sites.

Read your message as to your trip to Scotland. I am planning a trip next year, 1999. Have no clue where to start. Go with a group tour or work with a travel agent to plan my own itinerary? Thanks for any help!

Nancy, I can relate to your friend's experience. My husband & I were on main street Prague trying to find a place to stay when a young woman approached me with photocopied pictures of a house (bedroom, bathroom, etc). She didn't speak English so we gestured back and forth.

We finally understood each other and she rode with my husband on our motorbike to show him the way to her house, while I went way down into the subway with her mother. They got home ages before we did as we rode the subway, rode a bus and then walked for awhile.

When I look back now I think it was the stupidest thing we could have done, to split up like that but they were the most wonderful people and had a great place for us to stay!

Five years ago I was in Prague with three friends. We stayed with a mother of about 60 and her 25 year old son. He offered to wash our clothes for us. When the clothes were returned in the morning - - my sweatshirt and my fiend's jeans were sewn up. The mother had fixed the holes and never mentioned it. Very nice!!

Your question is interesting. I've had the opportunity to visit 28 countries and live for a few years in France. I can't think of an unfriendly country, but the friendliest was Egypt and I say that because we never encountered any Egyptian that was ready to go very much out of his/her way to help. The USA, although it's generally friendly, would have to be the unfriendliest country I've lived in. The most unfriendly (also childish and provincial) tourists are certainly Americans, but I'll allow as how, being an American myself, I may be critical of Americans.

I have met freindly people just about every where I have been in Eroupe, but the people that I most
took a shine to were in Oslo, Wales, & Scotland. On a train from London to Paris, I struck up a
conversation with a person from Edinburgh, & as I would be traveling there in about 4 days, I was
invited to stay overnight. I stayed with these friends for 3 nights in Edinburgh. They showed me the
sites & the nightlife, & when ever I tried to do something for them or pay for something, they said no
you are our guest.In Wales, everybody was friendly -- while in Caerphilly asking a train station attendant
for directions, an older gentleman overheard & gave us directions & also told us about some other things to
do & an excellent place to eat, a place, on his recommendation, we have been back to a few times. In Oslo,
all the people on the street seemed so happy & friendly & are always willing to join in a conversion.

I would have to vote for the Italians, but then part of our family is Italian and lives there. With a little effort inf their language they will give you their hearts and souls. We've had people lead us around towns to try to find our car, ride with us to show us how to locate a difficult hotel, run after us in the street to return a left guidebook, tell us in detail the whole history of Genoa, open their kitchens at off hours because we had forgotten that meals have specific hours in Italy--too many acts of kindness to list. We travel a lot and it's rare to find unfriendly people as long as we tourists behave respectfully and politely, and the attempt to speak the land of the country is always most appreciated, even though one usually ends up speaking English anyway. That said, many of our friends would vote for the Thai people--I'll look forward to visiting. A close friend of mine who is Argentine calls them "The Care Bears of Asia"!

I just thought of one more incident involving an Italian gentleman--this time it was a policeman on the Via Veneto in Rome in rush hour traffic. We were not good in those days at driving a manual transmission car. My husband stopped for a light halfway up the V. Veneto and when the light turned green, the inevitable stalling and rolling downhill began. The policeman first tried to pantomime how to use brakes, accelerator and clutch, but only more stalling on our part. Finally, he motioned my husband out of the car (oh no, Jail, we thought), got behind the wheel, drove the car to a more level part of the street, waited for my husband and then saluted and wished us "buona fortuna"! We were very young and very impressionable and will always remember this courteous gentleman wheneve we drive up the Via Veneto!

The friendliest people on earth have to be Kiwis. We had always thought Canadians were the nicest we had encountered on our travels. On the streets of Vancouver, trying desperately to read the map and determine how to get to our restaurant choice, Canadians would stop, without invitation, and tell us how to get there. We were so impressed until we arrived in Auckland. There, when a local sees you looking at a map, they TAKE you to the spot so you won't get lost. And, if they are especially charming Kiwis, they want to take you home with them and feed you and entertain you. We've been back to New Zealand and have dreams of living in a spot of unsurpassed beauty and with the friendliest people on earth.

I'll vote for the Turks of Istanbul. Yes, the "friendliness" of some of them is just trying to get your business, but, for the most part, we always felt we were honoring them by visiting their country. When I wrote a complaint letter about a tour guide I carbon-copied it to the Turkish Tourist Bureau to let them know of my problem -- they sent a personal letter back! I ask you, how many times do you get a personal reply to ANY complaint letter, let alone one that was only carboned?

I think it truly depends on the individual. I was in France in 1991 when I discovered that I had got on a train expecting my friend, who had the tickets, had gotten on the same train in another compartment. A woman from Metz helped my to straighten things out with the conductor and even offered to buy me a ticket back to Paris to meet my friend (the train station took my credit card so it wasn't necessary. I'll never forget her generousity. In 1996, I was in Russia, and had very good experiences with the Russian people I met. On the trans-siberian a woman we met taught us to play russian card games and when she got off the train in Perm gave us her hat, her necklace, and her earrings as friendship tokens after only knowing us a few hours. The other Russian people I met on a personal basis gave us the best they had to offer, often going without themselves. They made me proud and honored to know them. Both of these examples were strangers whom I had only known a few hours each time, yet gave all that they had to offer without a second thought. I often wonder when I have the chance to do for that others and don't....

I can't help but add a story about being in Ireland. I stopped into a Galway pub for a drink and to kill some time for the evening as I was travelling alone and staying at a B&B. I noticed a woman looking rather sad next to me, so I started a conversation with her. I commented that I would like to see more of the countryside as I was using public transport. As it turned out, she, her husband and son were going to a little town out in the country the next day to look at a shop she was thinking of buying and invited me to ride along. What a great day! A real Irish experience.

The friendliest people in Europe: The Irish and the Italian people. They are very polite, very friendly and you feel welcome in their country. Nils