Europeans are kind and helpful when a foreigner/tourist needs help, an observation derived from first hand experiences while we we RVing this year in Europe.
The first time we were helped was in Austria when we were out of LPG and our GPS led us to a place where no LPG station existed as confirmed by a man whom my husband approached to ask. He told us to follow him in his car which we did and he brought us to the right place which unfortunately is out of a proper gasket to make the LPG tank work so he called another shop to confirm we can be helped there. He gave us the adress and so we went and finally we were able to buy an LPG tank and a fitting.
The next was when we were out again of LPG in France. We went to a lot of shops and gasoline stations but they would not accept our tank from Italy and Austria. So we were ready to again put a deposit on a new tank to be able to have LPG. Now, the problem is communication. The lady cashier does not speak nor understand English. A gentleman behind my husband helped with the translation and offered to take us to where we can buy LPG and make a deposit on a tank/bottle. We drove not quite a short distance, he even got out of his car to talk to the cashier to discuss our requirement. He left only when he was sure we were fine with the purchase.
The third time was when I needed a pharmacy to buy something for my painful arm but it was a Sunday and the pharmacy was closed. A gentleman noticed we were having a problem and approached us in our camper. We told him what we needed and he told us where to go to buy the med which was a gasoline station which he said sells paracetamol. He changed his mind later, got into his car and asked us to follow him. Once we were at the gasoline station, he even got out of his car to accompany my husband inside to make sure the shop has the med, only then he left.
We have good experiences aside from the above examples like people smiling at us, talking to us, waving at us which are small things but means a lot when one is a stranger in Europe.
The first time we were helped was in Austria when we were out of LPG and our GPS led us to a place where no LPG station existed as confirmed by a man whom my husband approached to ask. He told us to follow him in his car which we did and he brought us to the right place which unfortunately is out of a proper gasket to make the LPG tank work so he called another shop to confirm we can be helped there. He gave us the adress and so we went and finally we were able to buy an LPG tank and a fitting.
The next was when we were out again of LPG in France. We went to a lot of shops and gasoline stations but they would not accept our tank from Italy and Austria. So we were ready to again put a deposit on a new tank to be able to have LPG. Now, the problem is communication. The lady cashier does not speak nor understand English. A gentleman behind my husband helped with the translation and offered to take us to where we can buy LPG and make a deposit on a tank/bottle. We drove not quite a short distance, he even got out of his car to talk to the cashier to discuss our requirement. He left only when he was sure we were fine with the purchase.
The third time was when I needed a pharmacy to buy something for my painful arm but it was a Sunday and the pharmacy was closed. A gentleman noticed we were having a problem and approached us in our camper. We told him what we needed and he told us where to go to buy the med which was a gasoline station which he said sells paracetamol. He changed his mind later, got into his car and asked us to follow him. Once we were at the gasoline station, he even got out of his car to accompany my husband inside to make sure the shop has the med, only then he left.
We have good experiences aside from the above examples like people smiling at us, talking to us, waving at us which are small things but means a lot when one is a stranger in Europe.
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