Myriam

This refers to the posting of La about "not looking like a tourist in Europe". <BR>I would really like to know what is wrong about looking like a tourist when you are one.

Jo

There is nothing wrong with looking like a tourist - in fact its usually the more comfortable way to look. After all, everyone will know you're a tourist the minute you open your mouth. But, it does put make you more of a target for the pickpocketers and other unwelcome attention. At the same time, when you're dressed like a tourist, people are more willing to offer assistance when you look lost.

Jo

There is nothing wrong with looking like a tourist - in fact its usually the more comfortable way to look. After all, everyone will know you're a tourist the minute you open your mouth. But, it does put make you more of a target for the pickpocketers and other unwelcome attention. At the same time, when you're dressed like a tourist, people are more willing to offer assistance when you look lost.

Kathleen

I was just thinking the exact same thing! I think that if you try to look or act European you will look quite foolish. I wear what I am most comfortable in and don't worry about it. However I do dress appropriately when attending a concert or a nice restaurant. But I dress the same way I would in Chicago.

s.fowler

Hi Kathleen! We're neighbors I guess <BR> <BR>We've been back and forth on this and a 'search' will find most of it. <BR> <BR>The one thing that has been pointed out to me again and again by my eastern european friends is how LOUD we Americans are. It isn't even a question of what we're loud about. We just talk louder and that draws attention. Even when I TRY to keep my voice down, I'm STILL loud by their cultural standards. <BR>

Cheryl Z.

<BR>Hello Myriam; <BR>I believe most well-experienced travelers who suggest trying not to look (or act) like a tourist (myself included) are also trying to keep a new traveler from being "easy pickins" for the gypsies, thieves, etc. <BR>

Bob Brown

I agree with the above veteran posters. <BR>There is no real way we can conceal our foreign identity. But the objective is to keep from looking like a dumb, vulnerable tourist ready to be fleeced, robbed, or swindled. Also, obnoxious foreign guests in restaurants can be dealt with effectively. <BR>To illustrate my point, I would like to tell two stories on myself. Once I arrived at the Hook of Holland after an overnight crossing from Harwich on my way back to Kiel, Germany. I was walking to the train for Hamburg from the boat. An official looking man, clad in a black uniform and white shirt, stopped me and ask to see my passport. After an all-night ride on which I had slept poorly, I was not too alert at 7 AM. (I had not had any coffee or strong tea to get me going.) So I put my suitcases down and reached for my passport without thinking. When I did, the guy instantly grabbed my suitcases and took off with them. Fortunately he was a porter and wasn't stealing them, but he did expect a tip. I was furious, but fleeced. I guess I could have refused to give him anything, but I was so surprised and slow to react that by the time I caught the guy he was half way to my train coach. Not wanting an argument, I gave him the minimum tip. At the time I had been living in Europe for almost 10 months, but I was still easy to spot as a foreign traveller. <BR>Another time, on the pier at Dover, two big, hostile English chaps cornered me at the end of the pier and wanted money. <BR>No one else was in sight and their manner was intimidating. So I paid my "fee" for using the pier. Part of that was my fault for getting cornered, but my readily-spotted identity as a tourist caused me to be taken advantage of. They saw me, an obvious foreigner, put myself in an isolated position, and they quickly took advantage of the situation. <BR>I don't know how to avoid looking foreign, but if you are alone, don't wander down blind alleys -- the pier being the logical equivalent of one. <BR>When I read questions from females wanting to travel alone, I think of incidents that vicitimized me and wish there was some way I could make them understand that alone, even a strong young man is at risk, and say what you will, single young females are even more at risk. We don't know the territory or the practices and a con artist or robber or worse can move quickly.

Myriam

Bob, <BR>The situations you describe could have happened to me also, and in my own country. These days you're never safe, tourist or not. <BR>What's "in" in Belgium is car jacking. They drag you out from your car and ride away with it before you realize what is going on. Home jacking (to get your carkeys) is another plague. <BR>So, tourist or not, we always TRY to be safe somewhere, for instance we will never go out on our own at night in a place we don't know, we lock the doors of the car when on the road, etc.

lisa

One good reason to avoid looking like a tourist is so that you will be treated fairly by local businesspeople. Taxi drivers are a good example. The more you can do to indicate that you are familiar with the place, the better the odds are that you won't be taken advantage of or overcharged. Even if you don't speak the language, if you do a little research in advance about how much a particular thing should cost and act like you know what you're doing, you're more likely to be treated fairly than if you have that "just got off the boat" look about you.

Leo

We just spent 17 days in Denmark, Hamburg, and Zurich - and with the exception of 4 days in a small town, we <BR>were centered around the train station. <BR> <BR>We wore the same clothes we would wear at home, and were treated fairly by all! <BR> <BR>The biggest problem was that the people in Hamburg had the most difficulty with English. (And Fodors was a great help in prep and ideas from everyone!)