By Rick Steves
(Tribune Media Services) -- Many travelers tramp through Europe like they're visiting the cultural zoo. "Ooh, that guy in lederhosen yodeled! Excuse me, could you do that again so I can take a picture?" When I'm in Europe, I become the best German or Spaniard or Italian I can be.
I consume wine in France, beer in Germany, and small breakfasts in Italy. While I never drink tea at home, after a long day of sightseeing in England, "a spot of tea" really does feel right. So on your next trip across the pond, resist the urge to look at Europe through a lens, and find ways to really be there.
One of the best ways to connect to the culture is to play where the locals play. That means choosing destinations busy with local holiday-goers but not on the international tourist map. For instance, while tourists outnumber locals five to one at the world-famous Tivoli Gardens, Bakken, Copenhagen's other amusement park, is enjoyed purely by Danes.
Disneyland Paris is great. But Paris' Parc Asterix amusement park is more French. Hang out in a city's fairgrounds and parks, which are filled with local families, lovers, and old-timers enjoying a cheap afternoon or evening out. Or visit one of Europe's wonderful public swimming pools, called a "leisure center" in Britain.
Once you figure out where the locals hang, check out where they live. Ride a city bus or subway into the suburbs and then wander through some neighborhoods to see how residents live when they're not wearing lederhosen and yodeling. Visit a supermarket. Make friends at the launderette. Or mill around area schools and universities, checking out the announcement boards and eating at the cafeteria.
Be alert and a little bit snoopy. If you stumble onto a grade-school talent show, sit down and watch it. You can even visit a university's English-language department and ask about hiring a student (who's learning English) as a private guide.
Even if you're not a regular churchgoer, consider attending a European worship service. An hour in a small-town church provides an unbeatable peek into the community, especially if you join them for coffee and cookies afterward.
I'll never forget going to a little church on the south coast of Portugal one Easter. A tourist stood at the door videotaping the "colorful natives" (including me) shaking hands with the priest after the service. You can experience St. Peter's by taking photographs, or you can do it by taking a seat at Mass.
Walking is big in Europe. Across the south, in countries such as Italy and Spain, communities have a paseo, or stroll, in the early evening. Stroll along. Join a Volksmarch in Bavaria to spend a day on the trails with people singing, "I love to go a-wandering" in its original language. Visit a hiking center. Many areas have alpine clubs that welcome foreigners and offer organized hikes. Hikers enjoying staying at the many mountain huts and "nature's friends" huts across Europe, which are filled mostly with locals.
Keep indulging your interests and hobbies while you're abroad. If you belong to a service club, bridge club, professional association, or international organization at home, make a point to look up your foreign mates. If you like games or sports, seek out locals for a battle of brawn -- or brains.
Campgrounds are filled with Europeans in the mood to toss a Frisbee with a new American friend (pack along a lightweight nylon version). In Greece or Turkey, drop into a local teahouse or taverna and challenge someone to a game of backgammon. Watch as the gang gathers around, and what starts out as a simple game becomes a fun duel of international significance. You'll instantly become the star of the local cafe or bar scene.
Wherever you go, don't just be a spectator. Join in. When you go to the town market in the morning, don't just browse -- pick up some daily produce for breakfast or lunch. You can stand by and watch the pilgrims drinking the healing water at Lourdes -- or you can volunteer to help wheel the chairs of those who've come in hope of a cure.
If you're traveling through the wine country of France during harvest time, offer to pitch in and become a local grape-picker. Get more than a photo op. Get dirty. That night at the festival, it's just grape-pickers dancing -- and you're one of the gang.
If you're hunting cultural peacocks, remember they spread their tails best for people, not cameras. Once you take Europe out of your viewfinder, you're more likely to find it in your lap.
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Friday, May 29, 2009
Friday, August 8, 2008
Quelle Horreur! Europeans Skipping Vacations!!!
Money Woes Force Europeans to Skip Vacations
PARIS, France (AP) -- It's the Paris version of the "staycation": Marc des Bouillons lounged in a beach chair with a book, surrounded by women in bikinis, ice cream stands, a DJ spinning summer tunes and kids running amok.
Sounds like vacation, but it was just an evening after work at a makeshift beach on the banks of the Seine. It's a pale substitute for a real beach holiday, but it's the best many Parisians can do in these troubled economic times.
The European summer vacation just isn't what it used to be. With economies stagnating and inflation in the euro zone about 4 percent, people are cutting the length of their trips, vacationing close by and in some cases just staying home.
Des Bouillons, a 43-year-old accountant, is forgoing one of France's sacrosanct rituals: The great August lull in which the country shuts down for the entire month, turning cities into ghost towns as the masses hit the beaches or country retreats.
Not only is des Bouillons staying in Paris, he intends to (quelle horreur!) work through August so he can go away off-season once prices drop. "I have to be careful about my budget," des Bouillons said.
Across the continent, Europeans are sharing des Bouillons' pain.
The deepening economic malaise has made many wary of splurging on expensive breaks. And would-be travelers have been hit by soaring costs in Europe for food, road trips and air travel -- in short, just about everything needed for a successful vacation. Gasoline, for example, is the equivalent of $8 a gallon in France, and the fuel surcharge on a round-trip, long-haul Air France flight is as much as $418.
In Italy, even gelato, the typical vacation treat, is taking a hit. Rome vendor Giuseppe De Angelis says many customers have asked for smaller servings or family discounts since soaring milk and fruit costs forced him to raise prices by a $1.50 a cone.
In Spain, another country that traditionally shuts down in August, travel agency Marsans has been luring customers by giving away flat-screen TVs with travel packages costing more than $2,320.
Some European leaders have shown restraint so as not to shock their countrymen with scenes of living it up during the economic downturn. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown opted for a quiet trip to the countryside. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, nicknamed the "bling-bling president" for his penchant for borrowing private jets and yachts, took an ordinary airline flight to wife Carla's Mediterranean villa.
France's main hospitality and catering union said in a report last week that hotel occupancy was holding steady. But it said there was a 20 percent to 30 percent drop in customers at cafes and restaurants.
Another survey indicated that more French people were skipping vacations altogether.
A poll by the IFOP agency for L'Humanite newspaper said 42 percent of French people planned to stay home this summer, 3 points higher than last year and 10 points more than in 2005, suggesting that the decline this year may be part of a longer-term trend.
Britons are also altering their habits. A survey for the Times of London reported that 58 percent of Britons were changing their vacation plans because of the economic downturn. Just less than 19 percent said they were canceling their plans completely, and 34 percent of the respondents said they canceled plans to travel abroad in favor of a cheaper trip within Britain.
"We have found that more customers than ever before want to jump in a car with the family and avoid the hassle and increased costs of an overseas break," said Richard Carrick, chief executive of Hoseasons, a British travel company.
Germany seems to be an exception. Its tourism industry remains stable, although experts are keeping an eye on the international economy. German plane travel, tour operations and hotel reservations continued in an upward trend in the early summer months, according to industry reports.
Meanwhile, some European travelers have taken advantage of the weak dollar and headed to the United States.
In the Netherlands as of early July, trips within Europe and to Asia were slightly down, but bookings to the United States were up 49 percent from a year ago, said AVNR, a travel agencies industry group. The theory is that even if plane tickets are more expensive, people can stock up on cheap consumer goods once they arrive in the United States.
Although the economic downturn has put a crimp in Europeans' style, continental vacations are even tougher on visitors from North America.
Kayla Bowman, a 23-year-old from Vancouver, Canada, in Germany on the last leg of her round-the-world trip, says her journey has become increasingly tough as her currency weakens.
"It's pretty much doubling the cost of everything," said Bowman, who was saving money by couch-surfing, buying food at grocery stores and looking for work at bars or restaurants. Her dad bailed her out financially a few times, too.
PARIS, France (AP) -- It's the Paris version of the "staycation": Marc des Bouillons lounged in a beach chair with a book, surrounded by women in bikinis, ice cream stands, a DJ spinning summer tunes and kids running amok.
Sounds like vacation, but it was just an evening after work at a makeshift beach on the banks of the Seine. It's a pale substitute for a real beach holiday, but it's the best many Parisians can do in these troubled economic times.
The European summer vacation just isn't what it used to be. With economies stagnating and inflation in the euro zone about 4 percent, people are cutting the length of their trips, vacationing close by and in some cases just staying home.
Des Bouillons, a 43-year-old accountant, is forgoing one of France's sacrosanct rituals: The great August lull in which the country shuts down for the entire month, turning cities into ghost towns as the masses hit the beaches or country retreats.
Not only is des Bouillons staying in Paris, he intends to (quelle horreur!) work through August so he can go away off-season once prices drop. "I have to be careful about my budget," des Bouillons said.
Across the continent, Europeans are sharing des Bouillons' pain.
The deepening economic malaise has made many wary of splurging on expensive breaks. And would-be travelers have been hit by soaring costs in Europe for food, road trips and air travel -- in short, just about everything needed for a successful vacation. Gasoline, for example, is the equivalent of $8 a gallon in France, and the fuel surcharge on a round-trip, long-haul Air France flight is as much as $418.
In Italy, even gelato, the typical vacation treat, is taking a hit. Rome vendor Giuseppe De Angelis says many customers have asked for smaller servings or family discounts since soaring milk and fruit costs forced him to raise prices by a $1.50 a cone.
In Spain, another country that traditionally shuts down in August, travel agency Marsans has been luring customers by giving away flat-screen TVs with travel packages costing more than $2,320.
Some European leaders have shown restraint so as not to shock their countrymen with scenes of living it up during the economic downturn. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown opted for a quiet trip to the countryside. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, nicknamed the "bling-bling president" for his penchant for borrowing private jets and yachts, took an ordinary airline flight to wife Carla's Mediterranean villa.
France's main hospitality and catering union said in a report last week that hotel occupancy was holding steady. But it said there was a 20 percent to 30 percent drop in customers at cafes and restaurants.
Another survey indicated that more French people were skipping vacations altogether.
A poll by the IFOP agency for L'Humanite newspaper said 42 percent of French people planned to stay home this summer, 3 points higher than last year and 10 points more than in 2005, suggesting that the decline this year may be part of a longer-term trend.
Britons are also altering their habits. A survey for the Times of London reported that 58 percent of Britons were changing their vacation plans because of the economic downturn. Just less than 19 percent said they were canceling their plans completely, and 34 percent of the respondents said they canceled plans to travel abroad in favor of a cheaper trip within Britain.
"We have found that more customers than ever before want to jump in a car with the family and avoid the hassle and increased costs of an overseas break," said Richard Carrick, chief executive of Hoseasons, a British travel company.
Germany seems to be an exception. Its tourism industry remains stable, although experts are keeping an eye on the international economy. German plane travel, tour operations and hotel reservations continued in an upward trend in the early summer months, according to industry reports.
Meanwhile, some European travelers have taken advantage of the weak dollar and headed to the United States.
In the Netherlands as of early July, trips within Europe and to Asia were slightly down, but bookings to the United States were up 49 percent from a year ago, said AVNR, a travel agencies industry group. The theory is that even if plane tickets are more expensive, people can stock up on cheap consumer goods once they arrive in the United States.
Although the economic downturn has put a crimp in Europeans' style, continental vacations are even tougher on visitors from North America.
Kayla Bowman, a 23-year-old from Vancouver, Canada, in Germany on the last leg of her round-the-world trip, says her journey has become increasingly tough as her currency weakens.
"It's pretty much doubling the cost of everything," said Bowman, who was saving money by couch-surfing, buying food at grocery stores and looking for work at bars or restaurants. Her dad bailed her out financially a few times, too.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Move Over "Ugly Americans"
Remember the tightwad tourist whose baggy shorts, frequent complaining and shouted questions about why none of the locals spoke any English made the ugly American the world's Visitor From Hell?
Well, it's time for Archie Bunker to move over and make way for Petulant Pierre.
According to a recent international survey, the French are now considered the most obnoxious tourists from European nations, and behind only Indians and the last-place Chinese as the worst among all countries worldwide. And it's not only the rest of the world that have a gripe with the Gallic attitude: the French also finished second to last among nations ranking the popularity of its own tourists who vacation at home.
But it's the unflattering image being reflected from abroad that may give pause to the millions of French travelers now heading off to summer vacation destinations across the globe. Will that move them to improve behavior the poll characterized as impolite, prone to loud carping and inattentive to local customs?
If so, that's just the start: the study also describes the voyageur français as often unwilling or unable to communicate in foreign languages, and particularly disinclined to spending money when they don't have to — including on those non compris tips. Over all, French travelers landed 19th out of 21 nations worldwide, far behind the first-place Japanese, considered most polite, quiet and tidy. Following the Japanese as most-liked tourists were the Germans, British and Canadians. Americans finished in 11th place alongside the Thais.
The survey was carried out among employees in 4,000 hotels in Germany, the U.K., Italy, France, Canada and the U.S. for the French travel website Expedia.fr. The study asked respondents to rank clients by nationality on criteria of general attitude, politeness, tendency to complain, willingness to speak local languages, interest in sampling local cuisine, readiness to spend money, generosity, cleanliness, discretion and elegance. Many replies simply conformed to long-established reputations: Italians, for example, were deemed most style-conscious, and the French the best-dressed tourists.
American tourists fared well in some surprising ways: despite being notoriously language-limited, for example, they top the list of tourists credited with trying to speak local languages the most, with the French, Chinese, Japanese, Italians and Russians coming in last in the local language rankings. Does that mean Americans are the most polyglot tourists on the planet?
Maybe not, says Expedia's marketing director for Europe, Timothée de Roux, who notes the poll's focus on hotel operators may explain the counter-intuitive outcome.
"Most hotel staffs around the world speak English, meaning they'll communicate far more easily with native English-speaking American or British clients than with French or Italians who — it's true — are pretty bad with foreign languages," de Roux says.
De Roux explains how external factors similarly account for why Americans wind up as the biggest-spending and best-tipping tourists, while Germans and the French are among the worst penny-pinchers. "Our findings show the average French employee will get 37 vacation days spread over seven trips in 2008, versus 14 for an American — who won't even take them all," de Roux believes. "That means the French tourist will more tightly budget his or her spending over more trips, while the American spends freely on the one or two vacations taken all year."
By contrast, poll finds the French and Americans similar in being perceived as critical and rude when they travel — though for different reasons. The same local attractions that make France the world's top destination for 92 million foreign visitors each year, says de Roux, also explains why over 85% of French vacation in-country — and wind up spoiled by it when they leave.
"When they go abroad, French travellers demand the same quality they'd get at home, de Roux says. "Americans, by contrast, demand the same exceptional service they are used to at home, which is why they rank as the loudest, most inclined to complain, and among the least polite."
Well, it's time for Archie Bunker to move over and make way for Petulant Pierre.
According to a recent international survey, the French are now considered the most obnoxious tourists from European nations, and behind only Indians and the last-place Chinese as the worst among all countries worldwide. And it's not only the rest of the world that have a gripe with the Gallic attitude: the French also finished second to last among nations ranking the popularity of its own tourists who vacation at home.
But it's the unflattering image being reflected from abroad that may give pause to the millions of French travelers now heading off to summer vacation destinations across the globe. Will that move them to improve behavior the poll characterized as impolite, prone to loud carping and inattentive to local customs?
If so, that's just the start: the study also describes the voyageur français as often unwilling or unable to communicate in foreign languages, and particularly disinclined to spending money when they don't have to — including on those non compris tips. Over all, French travelers landed 19th out of 21 nations worldwide, far behind the first-place Japanese, considered most polite, quiet and tidy. Following the Japanese as most-liked tourists were the Germans, British and Canadians. Americans finished in 11th place alongside the Thais.
The survey was carried out among employees in 4,000 hotels in Germany, the U.K., Italy, France, Canada and the U.S. for the French travel website Expedia.fr. The study asked respondents to rank clients by nationality on criteria of general attitude, politeness, tendency to complain, willingness to speak local languages, interest in sampling local cuisine, readiness to spend money, generosity, cleanliness, discretion and elegance. Many replies simply conformed to long-established reputations: Italians, for example, were deemed most style-conscious, and the French the best-dressed tourists.
American tourists fared well in some surprising ways: despite being notoriously language-limited, for example, they top the list of tourists credited with trying to speak local languages the most, with the French, Chinese, Japanese, Italians and Russians coming in last in the local language rankings. Does that mean Americans are the most polyglot tourists on the planet?
Maybe not, says Expedia's marketing director for Europe, Timothée de Roux, who notes the poll's focus on hotel operators may explain the counter-intuitive outcome.
"Most hotel staffs around the world speak English, meaning they'll communicate far more easily with native English-speaking American or British clients than with French or Italians who — it's true — are pretty bad with foreign languages," de Roux says.
De Roux explains how external factors similarly account for why Americans wind up as the biggest-spending and best-tipping tourists, while Germans and the French are among the worst penny-pinchers. "Our findings show the average French employee will get 37 vacation days spread over seven trips in 2008, versus 14 for an American — who won't even take them all," de Roux believes. "That means the French tourist will more tightly budget his or her spending over more trips, while the American spends freely on the one or two vacations taken all year."
By contrast, poll finds the French and Americans similar in being perceived as critical and rude when they travel — though for different reasons. The same local attractions that make France the world's top destination for 92 million foreign visitors each year, says de Roux, also explains why over 85% of French vacation in-country — and wind up spoiled by it when they leave.
"When they go abroad, French travellers demand the same quality they'd get at home, de Roux says. "Americans, by contrast, demand the same exceptional service they are used to at home, which is why they rank as the loudest, most inclined to complain, and among the least polite."
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