Hi from Rick: Enjoy Getting Stuck
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| Make new friends and time flies by. |
Dear Traveler,
Some of my favorite travel moments come at times that are supposed to be boring — like when I'm "stuck" in a train compartment with strangers.
On a German train a while back, I sat across from a mom and her little blond pre-schooler. The boy kept staring at me like I was from another planet. It was kind of rude. After a while, the mom said, "Excuse my son, he stares at Americans."
I asked why, and she explained. "Last week we were at McDonalds. As he was eating his hamburger he asked, 'Mother, why do Americans have such soft bread?' I answered, 'because they have no teeth.' Now he stares at Americans."
Doing my best to dispel this little misunderstanding between nations, I showed him my teeth, we all had a good laugh, and the conversation spread from there to other cultural insights.
Traveling through Europe in a rental car — American-style — has its advantages. But it does seal you off (literally) from the kinds of unplanned encounters that make your trip…personal. Every hour I've spent on a train has added a new friend or memorable conversation to my mental scrapbook.
Today's European railpasses are easier than ever to tailor to fit your trip. And this month we're planning to raise $30,000 from our railpass sales to fight global hunger. For details, check out this month's Travel News, where you'll also learn about the upcoming World Cup games in Europe, cooking in Switzerland, strikes in France, the streets of Florence, our radio show's 1st birthday, and a wide array goodies in our online Travel Store.
We're here to help you put together the European adventure of a lifetime. Smiling will come easy…it might even surprise a few kids.
Happy travels,
Rick Steves