I have definitely not felt any negativity while in Europe. We did NOT talk politics with anyone, and we did not wear any shirts with any indication we were Americans on them.
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Amen. We’ve been to Europe half a dozen times since 2017, and I have a plain ball cap (we baldies need protection from the sun!) specifically for Europe. I don’t wear shirts with US sports teams or universities on them either. People have left us alone, and been friendly.
The whole “dress like a local, not like a tourist” only goes so far—you’re wandering around taking photos, you look like a tourist……just don’t be an ugly American.
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I am mostly there for business. It is not hard to guess that I’m American – I’ve found that flight attendants are about 50/50 on whether to speak to me in English or another language. I have not had any issues with people being rude. However, I don’t tell people that I’m Jewish. I fear that in certain places, there would be rudeness (or worse).
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I was in Europe a couple of years ago. We were on a tour, our guide was Asian. Not American but spoke English.
A group of young men shouted racial things to her. I told her I was embarrassed that happened. She shrugged and said it happens.
As a white American, I feel very privileged at times. It’s easy to be mistaken for another country where whites dominate. For some people, they don’t have that privilege.
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When I am in Europe, as an Asian, if I start to speak in English there is always a sigh of relieve, even French would speak with me in English.
I am Asian. When I was in Japan, they’d try to speak to me in Japanese and I’d reply in English, apologizing that I couldn’t speak nor understand. Their English was always excellent!
I have found that the Dutch and Germans, to name two groups of Europeans, speak better English than many Americans I know. All German kids start learning English in grade 4.
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S says that about the Swedes.
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Yes, throughout all of Scandinavia, I found everyone spoke excellent English. One of their youth musical choirs sang “Wonderful World,” in English, enunciating very clearly!
I was surprised that most everyone (especially anyone who works in the tourism/hospitality sector) in Croatia speaks English. Croatians do appreciate it when visitors try to speak Croatian. I visited my cousins in Split in 2019 and wanted to practice my Croatian. I spoke fluently as a child, but since my folks passed away, I didn’t really have a chance to use Croatian. My cousin (who can be rude) suggested that we should speak English since my Croatian was “really bad.” (Yeah–those are his words!)
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Yes. Croatia made an intentional turn from Russian to English and we experienced what you did: everyone in the tourist sector (and it is probably the bulk of the economy) speaks passable to excellent English. We had wonderful trip there.
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This isn’t retirement travel, but hopefully people don’t mind -
My son is supposed to be planning a vacation for him and his wife, in August. They loved Acadia NP, especially the carriage trails (they are big cyclists). They may have a hard time finding anyplace to stay there, but he may try. (Some options are very expensive)
Anyone have other ideas that are not likely to be too warm, have hiking/biking options, good food, AND WITH LIKELY LODGING AVAILABILITY in mid- to late-August? They will likely fly from a DC area airport.
@MaineLonghorn, others familiar with Maine, any ideas that are similar to Acadia, or that could be added on to Acadia?
They may very well wind up in Hawaii, but I’d like to give him other suggestions.
TIA
I don’t have names, but look at ski areas for biking trails. The ski areas are likely to have accomodations nearby.
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Possibly “ up North “ in Minnesota. Duluth/ Grand Marias.
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Are they tied to going in August? September would be easier to find lodging, especially this close to the trip.
What about out west? Colorado or Montana?
For what they will probably pay for any accommodation still open in August in Maine, they could maybe go to Europe lol!
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I am worried about the plans my D and future SIL have for Europe travel…Spain and Italy for their honeymoon. My future SIL wears a Star Of David and doesn’t think it will be an issue but I am worried about it. Does anyone have experience with being recognized as Jewish in Europe since October 7th?
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You are not wrong (about lodging in Bar Harbor). And apparently a friend is working there and invited them to go hiking in Italy. I think it would be great for them to go there…
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I have been in Europe a number of times since Oct 7. No issues but a) I don’t have any identifiable Jewish paraphenalia; b) I’m not in any way observant; and c) I no longer tell folks in Europe that I’m Jewish.
I was in the Netherlands having dinner with a former client probably 15 or 20 years ago and mentioned that I was Jewish. He said he was half Jewish but he does not tell anyone in the Netherlands he was Jewish even then. There was so much latent antisemitism in Europe even before the waves of immigration.
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This is my go-to lodging in Bar Harbor. It’s not fancy, but it’s very close to the shore and it’s downtown - you can park your car and forget about it, which is HUGELY helpful. The owner tries to keep prices down as much as she can. She has one option with two bedrooms that’s good for families (kind of a “suite” in a separate area). But I think she’s pretty booked up at this point - you can check the site for availability. https://www.seacroftinn.com/
We also like Boothbay Harbor and Camden, but again, lodging will be tricky.
If they like hiking, I would suggest Rangely. There’s a beautiful lake and mountains. I’m sure they could bike in the area. 
It’s not far from our camp. Tourists tend to clump along the coast, so it’s usually a nicer experience to go inland, honestly.
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