"Concentration camps are not a place for you get your stupid selfies for your "influencer" profile. Those tracks you're standing on transported many to their death.
It's okay to take pictures for pictures for memories that you came here. But those people who come here to take "sexy" selfies have no place being here."
"Australia. For f@#k sake. DON'T GO NEAR THE CROCODILE, DON'T TOUCH THE SNAKE, AND DON'T TRY TO EAT THE RED BACK SPIDER. These are all true things stupid tourists have done here, including some American picking a fight with a kangaroo. (The Kangaroo won)"
"In England, respect the queues and do not cut. We will stare at you passive aggressively with the fury of a thousand suns."
"Here in the U.S. in south Utah there are many amazing rock sculptures. Don't. Write. On. Them. They are rare structures formed by thousands of years of erosion, not something to carve your name into."
"In Japan, bow to people who bow to you. In general, bow to people when they give you a service. It's a sign of respect and it goes a long way. Also, take off your shoes indoors and respect the culture."
"In Germany, you should never be afraid of talking to us in German. We love it!
Any tourist who brings up the courage to ask us for directions or anything else in one of the hardest european languages just makes our day!"
"In Croatia, particularly in small towns, people are expected to clean the streets in front of their homes. As a result, you'll find exceptionally clean streets, which are a real sense of communal civic pride."
"If you're visiting Portugal, don't speak to us in Spanish. You are not in Spain, and we speak Portuguese."
"Poverty tours.
By all means, get off the beaten path and see the “good” and the “bad” if you want to. However, don’t go to a struggling neighbourhood to feel better about yourself or learn to appreciate what you have. Poverty is not entertainment"
"Germany here, and this mostly goes out to Americans. You should never assume you can talk privately anywhere in public Germany, just because you speak english.
I don't know if this is different in the US, but here, almost anyone can speak at least 2 languages, and very well. Pretty anyone can speak english, even more so in the cities.
I usually try to join in to any conversation americans have in the subway about how weird "those Germans" are!"
"Don't touch the wildlife in Australia. If it isn't poisonous, violent or otherwise ill-mannered and dangerous, it's probably protected or endangered."
"In Argentina, don't ask for coffee to go. We don't have paper cups. If you go to a cafe, you're expected to sit and drink your coffee."
"In Jordan, if you compliment someone on something, it's impolite for that person to not offer that item to you. For example, if you compliment a man's watch, he will literally unlatch it from his arm and offer it to you. Of course, you're supposed to decline."
"In Finland, don't get too close to strangers. We really value personal space."
"In China, NEVER go out without carrying toilet paper or tissues on you. It's never in public restrooms so you'll want to keep some on hand."
"In London, don't look for your train ticket/Oyster card at the barrier to the tube. Locals will get mad. Find it ahead of time so you can walk right through the gates."
"In India, traffic lanes exist on the roads, but people don't drive in them."
"In Ireland, stand your round. When you go out to the pubs with a group of friends, make sure to pay for a round of drinks when it's your turn. If you don't, you will be secretly labeled a cheapskate."
"As a New Yorker, please don’t take selfies at the 9/11 memorial. Photograph the memorial, photograph the names, or in the event that one of the names means something to you I’m okay with you snapping a selfie. But the typical smiling-tourist selfies are crass."
"In Australia, swim between the flags. If you have little experience swimming in the surf and you swim outside those flags, then there is a relatively high chance that you will drown."
"In Vietnam, commit to crossing the road. It looks scary with the endless scooter stampedes, but if you just cross at a steady pace, they'll avoid you. Do not try to dodge or make sudden movements. Just simply walk across."
"In Korea, the eldest person at the table should start eating first. Don't pick up your chopsticks, spoon, or whatever utensil you're using until the oldest person has started eating."
"Washington DC.
Do. Not. Leave. Trash. At. The. Monuments.
Also, get out of the water. It's not a pool."
"In Paris, you should always say "bonjour" when entering a shop or restaurant and "au revoir" when leaving. Even if you don't purchase anything or walk right in and out."
"Singaporean here
You are allowed to wear Flip flops and shorts wherever you go. The fancy city area? Flipflop and Shorts are perfect. That 5 star hotel? Flip flops are welcomed. Public transport? You are weird if you do not wear them"
"In Denmark, do not stand or walk in the bike lane. You will get yelled at...and/or hit by a cyclist."
"In South Africa when you go on a “safari” (we call it a game drive), you must never ever get out of your vehicle or get close to any big animals because that is how there are stories of people dying to animals here. Just please stay safe and obey the rules to save lives."
"Switzerland is really expensive, and you should know that ahead of time. Don't make that surprised face when you have to pay $15 for a Subway sandwich."
"Don't talk to anyone in public. Only approach people for conversations if they are receptionists or something similar.
It's not for your security or anything, but it freaks us the hell out. No one talks to strangers in Norway, unless you're hiking and above the treelines."
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Do not go hiking unless you really know what you are doing. Every year we have several tourists that decide to climb a mountain with beach equipment. It doesn't end well... Yes those mountains look really close to the beach and nice but they are really dangerous to go with flipflops :)
The same applies to the austrian and bavarian alps
Dutchie here.
Holland isn't the Netherlands. It's a part of it (North and South Holland)
Amsterdam isn't the only place to visit in the Netherlands. There are many more beautifull places to visit.
Heineken or Amstel isn't the best beer we have.
When I was a kid, the Netherlands was actually called Holland.
Were you a kid in the 19th century?
Growing up in England I don't recall hearing or using the term "Netherlands" until I came to the US in 1981 (Not 1881)
And DON'T try spanish here...
It's true for most people.
Travel a bit and you will notice the diffrence between home and away :P
Exept if you go to New York, that is mostly like home when it comes to talking to strangers.....
Fun fact: I'm a German and speak (a little?) English, French, Italian, Spanish, Norwegian and Danish.
The "trick" is to have Latin at school (I don't speak it - cause it's a dead language) but it offers you the way to Italian, Spanish and gets you closer to French.
Once I overheard a very pretty lady (speaking French in Hamburg) saying
"That's horrible here, no one speaks French, I think I'm going to marry the next guy speaking French". So I asked her in French, what she has planned on next Friday afternoon. And she asked back, "why not in the morning?" My response was:" Oh well, My plans for the morning are to buy the rings".
We both laughed and I let her free from the promise, she made.
Also in Hamburg I overheard a group of Norwegians feeling save and planning their tour (including the "Metro" stop, where they wanted to get of the train).
The look on their faces, as I told them, that they better should walk to the door right now, because the trains stop only for a few seconds at the Stations, was great!
Absolutely not correct!! I am Norwegian, and I wonder where you come from? Moms basement?
100% true in the north. Even above the tree lines. No small talk to strangers. No saying "hello". Never.
Most people appreciate a tourist trying to communicate in their language
You might be talented, because it is hard to learn. The grammar is difficult with a lot if exceptions and 3 genders
What is the third gender?
Besides male and female there is one for things (e.g. “Das Auto” for “the car”). To make it a bit more interesting, there are exceptions or specials rules regarding this as well (e.g. “Das Kind” for “the child”)…
to make it some more interesting:
If you use something called "Diminuitiv" (means if you make things smaller) you often use the third gender
e.g:
the car - DER Wagen / the little car - DAS Wägelchen
sometimes, it gets more than funny:
e.g.
the females in the animal's kingdom are called "Weibchen" (smaller for "Weib" an old term for "Frau") but those females are in singular "DAS Weibchen"