One of my “most embarrassing travel moments ever” came during a family trip to Germany.  In a beer garden in Stuttgart, a woman sitting alone at the next table overheard our struggles to order dinner in German and asked (in English) if she could help.  As the conversation developed, she moved to our table and asked where we were from.  We said we were living in Clermont-Ferrand in the middle of France, and she brightened.  “Oh, my father was there during the war!” “Wow, that’s great!” I said, trying to make awkward small talk…realizing seconds too late that if her German father had been posted to Clermont-Ferrand it probably was not a reason to celebrate our commonalities! This incident came […]