OurTravels34 and AZ Creeker - in a perfect world we would not be discussing politics in a travel forum. The problem is that currently, when you are an American in a foreign country, Trump is the elephant in every room. Recently, in a ladies rest room line in Egypt the Tauck people were waiting with people from an international tourist company. People started speaking with each other. A few women were Canadian, and two American women said " Aren't you the lucky ones. We would like to escape to Canada but you guys don't want us." To which they responded " ...we feel sorry for you, but you voted for him..." The Americans went on to explain that many people did not vote in the election and a majority of the American population is not supportive of him or his policies. SO..... this is in the ladies room. It is a valid question and a valid topic for conversation on a travel forum with the current international situation. However.... most of the people we come in contact with as tourists are making money off of us and so they will be nice and smile no matter what they might think about American politics.
I try to stay out of politics on this forum, but I will say that in December we did another Xmas Market Danube River Cruise with Tauck thru Austria & Germany and our political situation here in the US was mentioned MANY times by the citizens of those 2 countries while we were out and about in the towns, restaurants, trains, etc. It was NOT brought up by staff on the boat, but was eluded to by a couple of our TGs on the boat with us for the week.
The people in Austria & Germany were kind to us, but it was mentioned many times throughout the 2 weeks we spent there. We stayed another week on our own thru Germany after our Tauck tour ended and hired a private guide for Dachau and he was so brilliant with both German & US history and current events and even he mentioned it a few times. I happen to agree w/their thoughts on the topic, so it was not offensive to me. To say this topic isn't relevant to travel in Austria & Germany would not be true.
Resources are shifting globally. Fewer social services. Expect more crime.
Absolutely true. Poverty has been a significant driver of crime for centuries. Jean Valjean was sentenced to 5 years in prison for stealing ONE loaf of bread to feed his sister’s starving children. While that was a novel, it reflected society at the time.
A quote I like is from Anatole France, "The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal their bread.
[Also, it's fairly difficult to answer the OP question without reflecting on politics. The reason for the question is politics.]
Comments
OurTravels34 and AZ Creeker - in a perfect world we would not be discussing politics in a travel forum. The problem is that currently, when you are an American in a foreign country, Trump is the elephant in every room. Recently, in a ladies rest room line in Egypt the Tauck people were waiting with people from an international tourist company. People started speaking with each other. A few women were Canadian, and two American women said " Aren't you the lucky ones. We would like to escape to Canada but you guys don't want us." To which they responded " ...we feel sorry for you, but you voted for him..." The Americans went on to explain that many people did not vote in the election and a majority of the American population is not supportive of him or his policies. SO..... this is in the ladies room. It is a valid question and a valid topic for conversation on a travel forum with the current international situation. However.... most of the people we come in contact with as tourists are making money off of us and so they will be nice and smile no matter what they might think about American politics.
I try to stay out of politics on this forum, but I will say that in December we did another Xmas Market Danube River Cruise with Tauck thru Austria & Germany and our political situation here in the US was mentioned MANY times by the citizens of those 2 countries while we were out and about in the towns, restaurants, trains, etc. It was NOT brought up by staff on the boat, but was eluded to by a couple of our TGs on the boat with us for the week.
The people in Austria & Germany were kind to us, but it was mentioned many times throughout the 2 weeks we spent there. We stayed another week on our own thru Germany after our Tauck tour ended and hired a private guide for Dachau and he was so brilliant with both German & US history and current events and even he mentioned it a few times. I happen to agree w/their thoughts on the topic, so it was not offensive to me. To say this topic isn't relevant to travel in Austria & Germany would not be true.
Resources are shifting globally. Fewer social services. Expect more crime.
Absolutely true. Poverty has been a significant driver of crime for centuries. Jean Valjean was sentenced to 5 years in prison for stealing ONE loaf of bread to feed his sister’s starving children. While that was a novel, it reflected society at the time.
A quote I like is from Anatole France, "The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal their bread.
[Also, it's fairly difficult to answer the OP question without reflecting on politics. The reason for the question is politics.]