Help us avoiding looking like tourists
Feb 14th, 2012, 05:28 AM
#61
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We're going over to Austria, Bavaria and Italy for our honeymoon in June and I'd like some suggestions on what to wear so we don't look like the typical tourist please. And no, we won't be wearing fanny packs or white tennis shoes>
well many locals will be wearing tennis shoes - this question is about as valid as me say wanting to pass for Afro-American when I am lilly white - cannot be done - a Quioxotic Quest IMO.
well many locals will be wearing tennis shoes - this question is about as valid as me say wanting to pass for Afro-American when I am lilly white - cannot be done - a Quioxotic Quest IMO.
Feb 14th, 2012, 07:08 AM
#62
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<"Hello, American dollar walking around!">
This brings to mind a couple things I heard in Turkey: "Come into my shop and buy something you don't need"; "Hey sir, you look just like my father, come into my carpet shop, no charge to look"
This is among the many reasons I love to travel.
This brings to mind a couple things I heard in Turkey: "Come into my shop and buy something you don't need"; "Hey sir, you look just like my father, come into my carpet shop, no charge to look"
This is among the many reasons I love to travel.
Feb 14th, 2012, 07:49 AM
#63
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Now that we are into storytelling ... In a market in Zian, China, I was carrying (but trying to hide) my first good coffee in three weeks (Starbucks) when a woman insisted I buy a t-shirt from her. I replied I had no money. She started guffawing and yelling at nearby merchants "Hey look at the big American (Canadian please) guy with the Starbucks and he says he has no money (laughter fills the market).
Feb 14th, 2012, 07:52 AM
#64
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And speaking of Turkey, in Istanbul in 2010 a man jumped in front of me on a sidewalk and asked "How long have you been here?" I relied four days. He said "Oh that's too bad then, you already have your carpet."
Feb 15th, 2012, 01:43 PM
#65
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"However. the police are required to check the identity cards of everyone wearing Birkenstocks in public.
If you don't have the proper papers, your shoes will be confiscated and you will have to pay a 100E fine on the spot.
If you can't pay the fine, you will be jailed until you come up with the cash.
Don't run the risk."
Yeah - this is why I make my husband leave his Birks at home - actually he is not allowed to go any farther than the front walk with them on. He wears them with sport socks, which is marginally better than black socks, but still an embarassment. He did sneak out the other day with his Birks on to return a Redbox movie - grrrrrr....
If you don't have the proper papers, your shoes will be confiscated and you will have to pay a 100E fine on the spot.
If you can't pay the fine, you will be jailed until you come up with the cash.
Don't run the risk."
Yeah - this is why I make my husband leave his Birks at home - actually he is not allowed to go any farther than the front walk with them on. He wears them with sport socks, which is marginally better than black socks, but still an embarassment. He did sneak out the other day with his Birks on to return a Redbox movie - grrrrrr....
Feb 15th, 2012, 01:51 PM
#66
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Back to the subject at hand - wear what you like, makes sense for what you are doing, and looks good on you. Chances are you'll do a lot more walking than in your normal life, so bring good shoes.
No matter what, you won't look like a local, which is fine. As
No matter what, you won't look like a local, which is fine. As
Feb 15th, 2012, 02:04 PM
#67
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Make sure you sign your passport; it's a favorite with the German authorties resulting in a 100 Euro fine if not signed. The last time we flew into the country the power-that-be was standing at the foot of the stair and checking everyone as they exited the plane, even those like us who were only transfering to another flight and not entering Germany.
Germany is a strict country; but I think you can wear any kind of shoes your spouse will allow.
Germany is a strict country; but I think you can wear any kind of shoes your spouse will allow.
Feb 18th, 2013, 01:34 PM
#69
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Two of my all-time favorite T-shirts were in Málaga, Spain, and Túbingen, Germany. The Málaga shirt said, "Blackfoot"--an Indian tribe in Montana, and the Tübingen shirt said, "Discount Acupuncture."
I'm pretty sure both T-shirts were worn by locals, but the wearers were both young. I remember shirts in London that said, "Mind the Gap." I didn't understand what that meant until I rode the tube.
I'm pretty sure both T-shirts were worn by locals, but the wearers were both young. I remember shirts in London that said, "Mind the Gap." I didn't understand what that meant until I rode the tube.
Feb 19th, 2013, 12:05 PM
#76
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I am bemused. No doubt most of us do look like tourists...when we are dressed in the usual Amercan garb, when we have a silly hat, when we meander around instead of purposefully, when we have a camera at the ready, when we get out our map, when we have that certain look of admiration...or confusion.
I sometimes chuckle when crossing Copley Square or walking through Harvard Yard. So many obvious tourists to step around!
I sometimes chuckle when crossing Copley Square or walking through Harvard Yard. So many obvious tourists to step around!
