Aduchamp1

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?

wantgelato

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.

hpeabody

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.

Pegontheroad

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.

producerkoof

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.

Aduchamp1

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

Aduchamp1

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.

Dutch

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.)

TPAYT

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.

TAW

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!

wantgelato

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.

bratsandbeer

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.

Uma

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.

seetheworld

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.

chevre

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.

Sassafrass

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.

sheri_lp

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!

panecott

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.

Randy

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.

SemiMike

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.