NoleNomad

Many here extoll the virtues of knowing at least a smattering of the local language when traveling to Europe. I certainly believe this but would appreciate hearing specific examples of how it enhanced your travel experience. Thanks to all.

Fodorite018

I took a Franch for Travelers course before our trip. It helped at the train station, and then was a huge help at the pharmacie when I was sick. I was so thankful to be able to explain my symptoms and to be able to understand the pharmacist. Right there, it was worth it! I will take another course before we head back next year.

Fodorite018

Maybe I should have taken a spelling course instead French,french, french...LOL!

GSteed

Easy! I used my limited Polish to woe and wed my Polish wife.

Therese

I think it helps a lot. Just being able to say things like hello, good evening, please, thank you, and excuse me is enough to make people smile and make every effort to help you. They'll hear your accent immediately and appreciate your taking the trouble to learn some simple words. I always make a point of learning to say "Do you speak English?"

bob_brown

I have used some knowledge of German to read signs and menus. Also, in situations where non one speaks English, knowing a little German is very helpful.

I remember in the Ötztal of Austria, no one at the local grocery store seemed to speak English. We had a week's rental at an apartment and I was able to order meat at the grocery store and get what my wife wanted.

Oddly enough the most use I have made of my little bit of German was in the French speaking part of Switzerland.

The people in the tourist bureau in Zinal spoke less English than I did German. Because the Swiss speakers of French usually learn high German, understanding the answers was easy.

Also our waitress in the hotel spoke no English, but she was very fluent in German. She could help me say what I needed to say.

suze

Local people are more receptive to you when you make the effort. People smile at you when you try.

Cowboy1968

It helps a lot, though I would not say that you cannot enjoy a foreign country without any knowledge of their language.

Last spring in Madrid, the Royal Palace was closed during regular opening hours due to some ceremony. The couple in front of us who asked the guard left with the impression that the palace would be closed all day since they did not speak (almost) any Spanish, while I could understand that it was only for a few hours, so we would be able to visit bit later in the afternoon.

No big thing, but it helped.

Usually we rent homes in areas in Southern Europe (Spain, France, or Portugal) that do not get much mass tourism, so getting around, asking for directions, even shopping, does require some understanding of the language.

French was not only a great help in France - but also in Quebec ;-)

In Scandinavia, I did not care to learn more than Hello or Thanks in the foreign language as their excellent command of English would make any conversation in Swedish or Danish a total waste of time - for them.

Portugal was a bit tricky, but thank heavens for centuries of British tourists.

I have to admit that I feel most comfortable in those countries where I have at least a basic command of the language. But I do not limit my travels to those countries. Hungary is always quite an adventure... lol

tomassocroccante

Absolutely - especially the advice: saying "Do you speak English?" in the local language is a great wheel-greaser. Along with please and thank you, as any 5-year old knows!

If I have a little of the language I also carry a small dictionary so I can find words when needed - some fellow Americans asked (later when they discovered I was not Italian) where I learned to speak Italian, after I asked the man in front of them on the bus to please close the window. (Piacere, e possibile a chiusare il finestrino?) Now that I havew a little more Italian, I'm impressed that I got the window closed.

Also, working on the basic pronunciation will help you get where you want to go in a taxi, rather than some similar-sounding place. This can save both time and money - and prevent being stranded in the wrong neighborhood.

Maybe the most useful thing about having a few phrases and knowing a little about pronunciation is the confidence it gives you. Reading signs becomes a little easier, asking for help becomes MUCH easier. Even if all you know is "Excuse me" and "do you speak English?" plus the other basics, you go out in the world feeling less like a freak. You can open the door, and that means everything.

seetheworld

Before our trip to Portugal, I listened to language CDs and read a phrase book. Portuguese is difficult to learn! However, we used greetings and simple common phrases and people were extremely receptive.

I'll never forget asking a woman, who was sitting on her front stoop, where the "Frango" (chicken) shop was located while flapping my arms like a bird,lol. That was all it took as she locked arms with me and led us to the storefront. What a sweet and helpful woman.

Fodorite018

STW--That is hilarious! We only had a weeks notice for our Portugal trip, so I didn't know a thing before we arrived. DH gave me a little flip phrase booklet, which gave us the basics, but I do wish I knew more at the time. I am still laughing at the flapping of the arms

Pegontheroad

I think I'll approach this question first from the negative sign. If we had known the French for "Rental car return," we wouldn't have driven around Charles DeGaulle Airport for an hour hunting for the voiture du location so we could get rid of our Peugeot.

We would also have known that the road we were entering was a toll road.

On the positive side, I think it probably does something to diminish Europen stereotypes about others (such as Americans) when you can speak at least some of the language. I think you have more personal experiences, too. I was sitting in a sidewalk cafe in Heidelberg when a lady next to me commented that the waitress had ignored me and had taken her order first. As soon as I spoke, she knew by my accent that I was American, but we had quite a nice long chat, though I didn't understand absolutely everything she said. It was fun.

Another time I ordered breakfast in a cafe in Schwäbisch Hall. I used my best German, asking for "ein weich gekochtes ei." (A soft-boiled egg.) A woman at the next table gave me a big smile and said, "Gut gemacht!" (Well done!) I loved it!

I like to think that speaking at least some of another language brings us closer.

kenderina

Sometimes gestures language is more useful ! I like to learn languages, I don't do it because of travels but yes, it's great when you visit not heavy tourist areas where it's less common to find people who speaks a foreign language.
It's very nice to learn at least to say "thank you" and "good morning", though.

hausfrau

Where to begin? I studied French in school and learned German during my 2.5 years there; both have done wonders for my travel experiences. Being able to understand a little of the world around you is just the beginning. There's nothing so rewarding as being able to strike up a conversation with a local (and even better, having them compliment you on your skills, even if they are just being polite!). Demonstrating that you care enough to learn some of the language is a meaningful gesture that will almost always be appreciated, and it makes getting around and dealing with daily tasks much easier. You might even get better service if you make an effort to speak the language. (Although I should add, all of this can sometimes backfire if your accent is particularly bad, so don't just read books - listen to tapes and practice that accent!)

The vast majority of Europeans I have encountered are warm and welcoming to Americans, but I can't blame them for being frustrated and a bit put-off by Americans who assume that everyone else on the planet should speak English. Even learning an apologetic, "I'm sorry I don't speak XX, do you speak English?" in the local language can do wonders.

On the other hand, I have gotten by with only a handful of Italian in Italy and never had a problem. In some countries at least, a smile can get you a long ways!

seetheworld

mmms, it was the BEST chicken on the face of this earth! If necessary I would have also clucked like a chicken just to find the place!

Now, we made a day-trip to Spain, Seville to be exact. I didn't think about taking a phrase book with me and that was a hoot. We ended up in the Jewish Quarter for Tapas and our waiter did not understand English, only Basque and boy did we fumble. He smiled a lot; we smiled a lot...the Tapas was delicious, but a total surprise since we hadn't a clue what we ordered. It was fantastic and quite the adventure!!

Sassafrass

In a small rural town in Germany, years ago, we got lodging with a local family because we were able to ask about rooms in German.

More recently, in a small town in Italy, I was able to get directions to a little store that sold art supplies, and buy paint I had forgotten to bring.

A gentleman in Seville saw me looking at a map, stopped to offer help and then took my DH and me on a wonderful evening walk. His English was as limited as my Spanish, but together we managed enough to discover that he was a High School Art Teacher, as was I.

The best, however, was helping some German tourists buy train tickets in France.

Fodorite018

STW--Doesn't surprise me as we had excellent chicken there too! One of the first days in Portugal, we went to lunch. Of course we had no idea what we were ordering, but it turned out that DS (who was 4) ordered grilled calamari. We were lucky...he LOVED it and it was his favorite food for years after that. So for once, not knowing the language actually helped, lol!

LAwoman

If you are interested enough in a place to go there, seems like you'd have some curiosity about the language too. It's as much a part of the culture as its architecture, art, food, music etc.

bettyk

We took German lessons when we lived in Vienna over 20 yrs ago, then we didn't use it again until our first trip back in 1999. Of course, we had forgotten so much but were still able to get by much better than if we hadn't known any German.

We've made 4 more trips back to Germany, Austria and Switzerland since then and each time we are a little more confident about our German skills.

As people have said, the locals appreciate your attempt and will sometimes engage you in conversation so they can practice their English!

Coquelicot

I once saved my husband from ordering a small crushed car when what he really wanted was a lemonade.

We've had some stimulating discussions when our French was almost good enough to meet halfway the English of French people we encountered. We and they both learned some things about each others' lives that surprised us. To me, that's the best part, connecting with people.