Go Back  Fodor's Travel Talk Forums > Destinations > Europe
Reload this Page >

Nicest Things A Stranger Did For You While Traveling

Nicest Things A Stranger Did For You While Traveling

Old Jul 26th, 2009, 04:00 PM
  #21  
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 19,228
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
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.
panecott is offline  
Old Jul 26th, 2009, 04:33 PM
  #22  
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 4,849
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
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.

nukesafe is offline  
Old Jul 26th, 2009, 04:51 PM
  #23  
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 72,629
Likes: 0
Received 50 Likes on 7 Posts
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 . . . .
janisj is online now  
Old Jul 26th, 2009, 05:23 PM
  #24  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 15,395
Likes: 0
Received 11 Likes on 4 Posts
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.
Nikki is online now  
Old Jul 26th, 2009, 05:44 PM
  #25  
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 651
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
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!
lilaki is offline  
Old Jul 26th, 2009, 05:48 PM
  #26  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 184
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
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.
trsny is offline  
Old Jul 26th, 2009, 05:51 PM
  #27  
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 436
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
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.
leuk2 is offline  
Old Jul 26th, 2009, 05:53 PM
  #28  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 43,534
Likes: 0
Received 4 Likes on 1 Post
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!
cigalechanta is offline  
Old Jul 26th, 2009, 06:42 PM
  #29  
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 135
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
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.
EastBayer is offline  
Old Jul 26th, 2009, 07:02 PM
  #30  
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,656
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
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.
Barbara_in_FL is offline  
Old Jul 26th, 2009, 07:20 PM
  #31  
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 145
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
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.
jfcarli is offline  
Old Jul 26th, 2009, 08:10 PM
  #32  
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,300
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
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.
Scootoir is offline  
Old Jul 26th, 2009, 08:39 PM
  #33  
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,400
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
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.
bluzmama is offline  
Old Jul 26th, 2009, 09:01 PM
  #34  
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 5,124
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
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.!
Saraho is offline  
Old Jul 26th, 2009, 10:46 PM
  #35  
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 11,991
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Nukesafe, OMG, you had two of your children almost drown. You are so lucky they were both rescued.
Sassafrass is online now  
Old Jul 27th, 2009, 12:37 AM
  #36  
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 12,492
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Great stories! Nice to hear so many uplifting tales.
lincasanova is offline  
Old Jul 27th, 2009, 01:38 AM
  #37  
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 1,407
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
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
lanejohann is offline  
Old Jul 27th, 2009, 01:44 AM
  #38  
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 26,778
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
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.
travelgourmet is offline  
Old Jul 27th, 2009, 04:57 AM
  #39  
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 17,471
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes on 1 Post
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
iris1745 is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
linda8
Europe
8
Sep 21st, 2013 04:34 AM
VHolly
Europe
5
Aug 23rd, 2011 03:40 PM
NikkiH
Europe
11
Jan 26th, 2010 03:15 PM
daydreamer19
Europe
7
Apr 4th, 2007 05:57 PM
HappyCheesehead
Europe
20
Apr 23rd, 2004 05:20 AM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -