Nicest Things A Stranger Did For You While Traveling
 

Ireynold1 mentioned some very kind gestures by a pension owner in Madrid on the Europe board today, what are some of the kind gestures strangers did for you while traveling?

When we were in Dublin looking for the train station, a nice Irishman gave us directions on how to get there, and when he realized we were headed in the wrong direction, he caught up with us and walked us all the way to the station and even recommended a nice place for us to eat in Dublin. I thought that was really nice because the man was at work and actually left his place of work to help us out. He was so friendly and I'll never forget him.

This was not in europe .... But, once, just as I was getting seated in row 21, a man asked if I wouldn't mind trading seats. His was 5B in first class. His family was in the other 2 seats in row 21 and he wanted to sit with them. Of course I said yes. :)

This is probably not the nicest thing anyone has done, but it is the one that most readily comes to mind. My sister and I (a couple of old girls, me with white hair) were standing at the foot of a long flight of stairs in the Munich subway/train station.

We couldn't find an escalator and were dreading hefting out cases, however small, up those stairs. Suddenly a man in a business suit grabbed by sister's suitcase, and without a word, hauled it up to the top of the stairs, where he put it down and went on his way. A couple seconds later, a young woman in a business suit did the same for me.

Neither of them said a word.

My mom and I were in Dublin and had just rented a car. We were in the beginings of an argument over the stress of driving/directions/etc. on the other side of the road. The rental car guy hopped into his car and said to follow him. He drove us all the way out of the city where my nerves were much calmer without all the cars whizzing by.

I meant to put this on the Lounge where any world traveler could respond.

The very first country I visited was Iceland when I 22, and I did not have any Icelandic money. A stranger gave me some money. I sent him an envelope the next day and I think I forget to put the money in it, so I sent anotehr envelope with money.

Once we were in Portugal outside of Lisbon and we could not find our destiantion. Although our Spanish is serviceable, we do not udnerstand spoke Portuguese. The fellow drove in front of us so we could follow.

We were walking in Denmark, trying to find our way back to the train station on a Sunday. We asked another walking couple to point us in the right direction. About 10 minutes later, they found us in their car and drove us to our hotel in Copenhagen (roughly 25 miles away). They contacted us later at the hotel and offered to show us around and take us to dinner the next day. (We were leaving and couldn't take them up on their offer.)

Our first trip to Paris was right before the euro went in. We arrived from Italy at our hotel in Paris at 7pm with alot of lira but no francs(this was also before ATM's were popular). So we asked to cash a traveler's check at the desk, but the young lady was unable to do so.

Now we knew that we could charge dinner but needed money for a cab. The young lady proceeded to get out her purse, hand us some francs, and tell us to pay her back tomorrow.

What an introduction to Paris! We return for the 7th time in Sept.

We had been driving around for at least 3 hours trying to find our B&B in Umbria and were totally lost. We stopped at another B&B and asked for directions and the owner (angel that she was) actually got in her car and had us follow her to our B&B. We would still be looking for it if she hadn't taken us there!
And I'd like to add that on our entire trip of 23 days in Italy, Germany & Austria we met the most wonderful, helpful people!

I just thought of something else: When I was at Heathrow trying to catch my connecting flight to Dublin (of course the line was very, very long, and my British Air flight had arrived late which cut my connection time), I was in danger of missing my connecting flight. Seeing me in a panic state, the nice guy in security moved me up closer in the line. I told him he was an angel. If he hadn't of done that, I would have missed my flight. I was the last one to board that flight, with almost 5 minutes to take off! I've never sweated so much in my life.

We had just arrived in Paris on the train, went via the metro enroute to our hotel. Leaving the metro there was a flight of stairs and I was so tired I thought I'll never make it. A young woman picked up my suitcase and carried it to the top of the stairs. I thought to myself, if she leaves with my suitcase I don't think I care - but she left it at the top of the stairs and I thanked her. I will always remember her.

This incident happened on Martinique, but has a European
connection. My high school French wasn't serving me well
with a very nasty worker at the post office and time was ticking. Luckily, an older couple in line behind us, who were
Parisians, very kindly stepped in to assist. We had to dash
several blocks to our cruise ship, with minutes to spare
before it left the island. In London, at The Goring Hotel,
instead of giving directions to a currency exchange to cash in our euros for pounds, the bellman escorted us there and back.

I booked a direct trip from Paris to Gent - or so I thought. The train stopped in Brussels-Zuid and we all had to get off and switch trains. We were faced with trying to get our over-loaded suitcases down those stairs. DH was doing fine, but I was struggling. All of a sudden a worker jumped off his cart and grabbed my suitcase and carried it the rest of the way for me. I was ever so thankful. We experienced kindness from many on our trip.

I love this thread! It is these type of stories that make travel such an addiciton for me. Once I landed at the Malpensa airport at 11:00 at night. I thought I'd arranged for my hotel to pick me up via shuttle. When I called the hotel the desk man did not speak English, I didn't speak italian and so no shuttle. I asked cab drivers to take me to my destination and they all (I thought) refused. I realize now I was pronouncing the city so wrong they couldn't figure out where I wanted to go. I was tired, alone and a bit scared thinking I'd have to spend the night in the airport. I asked a security guard if he spoke English which he did. I told him my dilemma and he said, "I live there and I'm off work I can take you." Sensing my hesitation he then said, "My father was a policeman too.", thinking I'd trust him more. Desperate I decided to take the risk and take him up on his offer. He was delightful, talking all the way in with tips about this and that. When he dropped me at the doorstep of my hotel he said "This hotel is very safe and nice but the area is not, do not wander." I was too tired to wander but appreciated his advice. When I tried to pay him he refused. I will always remember his helpfulness. To this day it is the most helpful thing a stranger has ever done for me.

Well, there are so, so many that come to mind, I'm sorry, I can't do only one.

On the Circumvesuviana train from Pompeii to Sorrento, a lady sitting across from us had a paper bag filled with those huge lemons from the area. They were so beautiful, I whispered to my husband that they would be lovely to paint. The lady got off the train before we did. When she got up, she took a cluster of three of the lemons with their leaves, and gently placed it in my lap. I did a painting of the lemons. Wish I could have sent it to her.

In Naples, after taking the tour of the underground, I told the guide I had seen the program on PBS about the excavations and had been really excited about seeing it in person. She asked me to wait a minute. She returned with an archeologist who wrote a book about it. He brought a copy of his book and signed it and gave it to me. I was stunned.

DH & I once ended up in a small town B&B in England with no train or bus service for 24 hours. As we wandered around, we were stopped by a very old man who asked who we were and what we were doing in his town. We explained. He took us to his home (a huge manor house with acres of garden) and announced to his wife that he had "found some Americans and brought them home to tea." He made it seem like we were a gift for her. Four generations had been born and died in his house. He was trying to choose which room he would like to die in someday. It was very funny and we had a lovely hour with them. Priceless experience.

Once, in Frankfurt, I was shopping and lost all my money; didn't even have enough for a ticket on the U-bahn back to my apartment. A storekeeper saw my distress and handed me ten marks. I returned and payed him back the next day.

In Seville, DH & I were looking at a map and starting a self-guided walking tour of Seville. A gentleman stopped and asked if we needed help. We said we were fine, just trying to figure out the best walk. He took over and insisted on showing us around. It was incredible. Turned out he was a high school Art History teacher. I was a high school Art teacher at the time.

I also have received nice help from folks with luggage - on trains and stairs.

Maybe the nicest was in Ireland. I met a local man named John at a pub, we struck up a conversation, we enjoyed the music and talked, he bought me a drink and at the end of the evening, walked me out and gave me a kiss as we said good night and goodbye. It was a perfectly sweet ending to my trip!

On a trip to the Soviet Union in 1987 we arrived in Moscow at around 11 p.m. Our hotel was on the outskirts of the city but I couldn't go to sleep without first seeing Red Square. So I rounded up 2 fellow travelers,got a subway map and directions from our Intourist guide and we set out.

On the train an old lady who looked about 110 years old was sitting next to me and I pointed to the map and gestured to inquire if we were on the right train.

She started talking to me a mile a minute in Russian - of which I did not understand a single syllable. After a few stops, she gestured for us to follow her. She got off and led us up stairs, through tunnels, on to another train for a few stops, off the train, thru' more tunnels and stairs, and left us at the foot of an escalator and pointed out that Red Square was at the top.

She smiled, turned around and walked back into the subway station to continue on her way.

On my first trip to France in 1995 I was taking the train from the area of Chablis to Gare de Lyon in Paris. I was in a small compartment on the train with a young French man and we had a great conversation on the way to Paris. I told him I was meeting a friend at the train station and that my friend would be giving me a three day tour of the fantastic city. The young man I had met on the train got off the train with me and walked with me to the station and offered to wait with me until my friend arrived. My friend was late and he waited over a half hour.

The next year I was taking the RER from Paris to Versailles. I got on the wrong train, there are two that say Versailles. When the train came to a stop I know that I was on the wrong train because I had been there the year before with my friend. Everyone got off the train and so did I. But I knew that if I went through the turnstile I would have to buy a new ticket. Along came another young man and I ask him if he spoke English and he did. I told him my problem and he said that he was heading back to Paris and if I went with him he would show me where to get off and told me about the correct train to catch to get me the Chateau de Versailles. We also had a great conversation the whole time.

In the days before GPS, we were terribly lost trying to find our rental car drop-off lot in Nanterre, near Paris. I ended up on a side street, trying to make sense of my map, and asked (in my middling French) a local workman where we were at that moment.

His immediate response was "suivez-moi!" ("follow me!”). He hopped in his card, drove carefully so we could follow, pointed at the rental car lot through his window, and then waved after making a U-turn as we pulled into the lot. Just another example of the Parisian (and all French) sense of kindness and helpfulness which we have come to know so well.

Similar story.
Another time, on my first day driving in Ireland, I almost drove onto a highway in the wrong lane (it took me about a full day to get used to driving on the left).

A man waved me over and got out of his car and asked me where I was going. He said I'd never find it and told me to follow him and he led me through the city of Limerick for about 10 minutes and got me right to the road I was looking for.

But I always thought he was more interested in public safety than in helping a lost tourist. LOL.

Two stories, both of which I have told on this Forum -- but old guys tend to repeat stories, so suck it up.

First was in the Algarve years ago when my eight year old Son wandered off and fell off a low bridge into a nearby creek head first. He stuck to his shoulders in the sticky blue mud of the bottom. He would have drowned had not an eel fisherman plucked him out and carried him back to us at the villa. At first sight he appeared dead; all covered with blue clay. When the fisherman refused any reward, we took that gentleman, his wife and children to dinner at the nicest restaurant we could find. A bit awkward, not knowing each others' language, but with his kids and ours, lots of wine, a waiter that spoke some English, and lots of laughter, I think we conveyed our gratitude.

The second story is set in Gruz, the commercial port for Dubrovnik. One of my twin daughters, then five, fell off the guai into the filthy harbor. In a flash, a fully clothed Croatian, (I think; it was Yugoslavia, then.) dove in, scooped her up, climbed out, and deposited the squalling kid in the stunned arms of my Wife. While she was calming the girl the rescuer left -- without so much as a thank you. I was in town, so missed all the excitement and the opportunity to give the guy a big kiss, or anything else he would have asked for.

I still owe some anonymous fellow a big debt. I guess I will just have to keep going back to Croatia in hopes our paths cross.

:-)

I took two couples on a 4+ week trip -- 1 week in London and 3+ in Scotland for golf and sightseeing. They were OK-ish traveling companions but there were little or big "issues" many days. They just didn't want to do anything adventurous or fun and kept comparing everything to back home.

We checked into the most amazing B&B in Duns in the Scottish Borders - a real mansion w/ huge bedrooms w/ balconies and bathrooms the size of my bedroom back home. Billiard room, oak paneling, beautiful garden - just amazing. My companions were not the least impressed and were just sort of grumpy in general. After settling in, we chatted w/ the host couple and my friends were grumpy w/ them too (so I know it wasn't just me ;) )

The landlady pulled me aside and quietly asked me if I was up to a nice dinner out w/ them. I literally jumped at the suggestion -- the 3 of us went out to their favorite pub a few miles away and then on to dinner at their golf club. Had the most fun meeting their friends - and they wouldn't let me pay a cent for anything. They just could sense I was stuck w/ some sticks-in-the-mud and could use a "get out of jail free" night. They were so nice - and soooo perceptive. (And they spent more on me than I paid for my room!)

We stayed in communication for several years but they eventually sold up and moved to Ireland and I've lost contact. But that was a special evening . . . .

I had a prescription for an antibiotic from a doctor at a hospital clinic in Lisbon. I went to an ATM to try to get cash but it wouldn't accept my ATM card. I had a new debit card I had never used, but it was back in my hotel safe across town. I went to the pharmacy near the hospital and they would not accept my credit card. Apparently there was a law that pharmacies can only accept debit cards. Once again, I had one, but it was in a safe across town.

I was ready to leave, but the woman at the pharmacy said she'd get the pharmacist. He came out and said, "Come with me". He had called the hotel next door and asked if they would give me cash from my credit card. He walked me over to the hotel and waited while I got thirty euros from the desk clerk, and walked me back to the pharmacy. "You need the medicine, right?" he said.

I had trouble picturing this scenario at my local CVS.

DH and i were walking towards the line for the london eye. the price at the time was (maybe still is?) 15 pounds per person ... which is a whopping $30 canadian! two locals in business suits walked up to DH and offered us two free tickets. i'm naturally wary and told DH to keep walking and ignore the 'strangers' ... i barrelled ahead towards the line but DH started talking to the locals. turns out, they pre-purchased tickets online for a group of four and two of their friends cancelled at the last minute. turns out, the tickets were legit and the locals wouldn't even take money for them. talk about generous!

Last year in St. Petersburg, Russia, I decided to purchase my train ticket in the country to avoid the middle man fees. Stopping into a little ticket shop, I realized I didn't have my Russian cheat sheet to buy my ticket. Thankfully, someone happened to come in who knew a bit of English and helped me purchase my tickets. English speakers in Russia are far and few in between so this was such a welcome rescue.

In November 2007, we met up with a friend in Lyon for 2 days. After our visit, our plans included taking the train to Paris because our flight home left from Paris. Unfortunately, the French train system went on strike the day we were to leave Lyon for Paris. We were stuck. All the flights from Lyon to Paris were booked and we were unable to rent a car. A business aquaintance of our friend,who was also in Lyon and lived outside of Paris, offered to drive us to Paris. He not only drove us to Paris, he took us to the front door of our hotel on Blvd St. Germaine. We have noticed that there is a trend for people in France to go on strike in November. Travellors be warned.

I've posted this a few times I think. My husband and I were on the Rte De Napoleon on the way to our Gouge de Loup hotel
when the car died just before this stone archway where only one side of traffic could pass through. A very dangerous sopt.
A lovely lady from Paris stopped and stayed with us almost two hours. She had a cell phone, called our car rental, the tow truck and our hotel to know we would not be able to make our 8:30pm dinner. Many other French stopped to see if they
could help . Even a couple on a motorcycle. We knew we loved the French but this enhanced it!

Almost 20 years ago in Zurich, I was walking in a park near the Bahnhofstrasse. My 2-year-old daughter was walking behind me. No one else was in sight and it was very quiet. I became aware of a man's voice calling out faintly. I looked around but didn't see anyone. I continued walking ahead of my daughter and pushing her stroller. A few minutes later an out-of-breath, youngish man came up behind us and started talking to me and pointing to her and to the ground around us. He was telling me that there could be used syringes lying around, discarded by drug users, and that I should be more vigilant. It was he who had been calling out to me but I hadn't seen him because he was a construction worker high up on scaffolding at the edge of the park. He had climbed down and hurried over just to give me that warning--and kindness I'll never forget.

I love these stories. And I hope I have not told mine too often yet, but here are a few things that spring to mind. They are all old stories - not because I haven't run into nice people more recently, but I think my earliest trips are more vivid, even now.

On a ferry crossing from Italy to Greece where I had misunderstood the ticket pricing and ended up with a ticket just for the outer deck (and no sleeping bag), a very nice young Italian woman talked the crew into letting me sneak inside, and then checked on me when we disembarked in the morning.

On my first morning ever in Paris, oh so many years ago, when a friend and I were exhausted and confused after the overnight ferry trip from London on a slow, swaying boat, a nice man helped us navigate the Metro and pointed us towards our destination. I still remember that his name was Michel and he lived out near Versailles - my friend ended up having dinner with his family once. Of course, he helped us by grabbing our bags, throwing them over the turnstiles, and motioning for us to follow. So I suppose I am confessing to some misconduct here. But he was very sweet.

After spending time in Greece with some friends of my parents, they reluctantly put me on a train by myself - but scouted out a location near an older couple, who then kept an eye on me (and fed me! This was Greece, after all) until I reached my destination. I was in my 20s...but my parents' friends were very protective. The older couple did not speak English and my Greek is limited to hello, goodbye, thank you, and "stini yassou." But there was lots of smiling and pointing.

I had just bought a train ticket at the trainstation in Vicenza, northeasten Italy. After having walked about 40 yards I feel someone tapping my shoulder. Turning around I see this young man, holding my wallet and informing me "Lei ha dimenticato il suo portafoglio". I shudder just thinking what would have happened if he had simply stuck it in his pocket.

Less than 60 days ago, a similar situation occurred, this time in a supermarket in Cairo.

Another situation happened in a hotel in Tel Aviv on the 30th June this year. We had just checked out of the hotel at about 12:00 and were sitting on the lobby waiting for about an hour prior to heading to the Ben Gurion airport.

After about 10 minutes we were sitting in the lobby, the clerk comes to us and says:

- You left something important in the room, and handed over to my wife her wedding ring, and two other gold rings.

After all, there are honest and nice people around us.

In 1998 DH and I made a 10-day budget trip to Paris, our second visit there together. Impulsively just before leaving the U.S. we decided to travel to Normandy for 2 days to visit some of the D-Day sites. We booked a car and hotel by fax and phone. In Paris we went to the train station to purchase tickets. The ticket seller spoke only as much English as I spoke French so communication was a faltering combination of speaking and writing. A man in the line next to us finished his ticket purchase and offered to translate. We quickly had our 2 round trip tickets to Tours.

Last year a friend and I were traveling from Mt. St. Michel toward our B & B near Rouen and stopped for fuel. Our car was a diesel and the station was not manned. Of course our credit and debit cards wouldn't work (no chip) and we couldn't tell which pumps were diesel. A man stopped at the next pump and he showed us which pump was diesel, used his card in exchange for euros and even pumped the diesel for us.

Later my co-pilot and I were having trouble finding the B & B and she called the owner (Stephanie at Manoir Du Roques) who came to where we were and led us to our temporary home. She also took my friend to the post office the next morning to add some time to her phone. I'll never rent a car in Europe without GPS again! And never forget the kindness of Stephanie and that nice man.

Many kind deeds from so many Europeans- it's hard to know where to start.

Several years ago the first day I arrived in Rome, I sprained my back and was in great pain. We were staying at at the convent Fraterna Domus for the second visit in a year, so we knew the sisters pretty well. The director drove me and my husband to the hospital and stayed with me to translate for the doctor. Then she drove me back to the convent and went to the pharmacy to get my prescription for pain medicine. After several days she brought to my room a doctor who was also staying at the convent to make sure I was recovering properly. She arranged for my meals to be brought to me. Several of the sisters came to my room every day to check on me and when the day came that I could walk downstairs again to the dining room, all the sisters clapped and cheered for me. It was a painful experience, but I couldn't have had better care anywhere.

Another time when we were going from Florence to Rome by train, my husband absentmindedly took off his money belt and left it in the train bathroom. Thirty minutes later, the conductor came to our compartment and said , "Is this yours?"
My husband was astonished because he had not even noticed that he did not have his moneybelt. The other Italians sharing our compartment all clapped and congratulated my husband for the return of his wallet and asked us to share their picnic lunch. So we happily continued on our train ride, eating wonderful grapes, cheese, bread and wine, and thanking our lucky stars that we had not lost the money, credit cards and airplane tickets that had all been in his money belt! And for all future trips, I carry the train tickets, etc.!

Nukesafe, OMG, you had two of your children almost drown. You are so lucky they were both rescued.

Great stories! Nice to hear so many uplifting tales.

we were eating in a cafe in st petes russia
listening to some toe- tapping music
i asked what it was when i went to pay
the girl asked if i liked it
and then just on impulse said, ' i would like to give the disc to you as a present'
i thought she meant she could copy it or something but she simply got the cover slipped it in and that was it
her name is victoria and she works in piroghof - small chain of pirog cafes
geez she was nice
we listened to that disc all through norway when we got our car - sometimes we couldnt get radio and had no other music with us

A couple that come readily to mind:

- I board a flight and see someone in my seat in coach. He turns around and asks if I will take his seat in first class. Too bad it was only a domestic flight. The funny part is that it was my boss's boss. He had no idea that it would be me - my seat just happened to be the one in front of his wife and kids. Not sure, though, that things like that really count - I mean, the motive is to sit with the family, not help me out.

- At the Tsukiji fish market, we are struggling to figure out where a recommended sushi restaurant is on our map. Some old guy stops his cart, takes a look at the map, tries to give us directions, but then quickly gives up and gives us a ride on his cart. Had to sit on top of some boxes of fish, but that only made it more fun.

I've also had two separate instances where airline employees have run me down to give me things I had left on the plane.

Hi; So many. But driving into Rothenburg with wall to wall people. One way streets. A postman sees our plight and has us follow him to our hotel. Then in Ghent. Driving down a dead end street. A policeman has us follow him to our hotel. Then our first time to Paris in the subway system. People helping us get to the right 'train'. But when we were lost getting to an abbay a bit south of Paris, a 'garbage man' tried to help, but spoke no english. He then rang a bell on a fence and the people who responded spoke perfect english. We too love the French and the Germans and the Italians and ect. Dick