Do We Look Different?

[Caran]

Still on holiday in Germany. Went to a cafe in a lovely town called Boppard. Just sat down outside, picked up the menu, waitress came over and asked if we wanted the English menu? I asked her do we look English, she said yes!!!
What gave us away, we hadn't spoken so couldn't be that.

[1ozzy]

Awe, all you English look alike ;-)

[anneasquith]

Knotted hankie, hand held fan, flip flops with socks. Football on your I phone, union Jack boxers, Burberry cap, tesco t shirts. Full make up in blistering sun,!!!!

[Buenchico]

Snap!

Restaurant and bar staff abroad nearly always address me in English and, as I always travel alone, they can't have overheard me conversing with a companion.

[douglas9401]

Maybe it was the devil-may-care way you parked your tank.

[Answerprancer]

Clothing, mannerisms, hairstyles maybe.
I've spotted groups of youths and rightly* predicted that they were exchange students form either Germany or Italy.

(*because I later listened to them talking)

[Answerprancer]

Ozzy, perhaps they were caught whinging ;-)

[Caran]

We didn't look out of the ordinary, it was raining again as it has since Monday. We had umbrellas, anoraks and walking sticks, so just a normal tourist!

[Caran]

This is the second time this has happened!

[1ozzy]

That brought a smirk and chuckle AP ;-)

[anneasquith]

Deffinately the anoraks caran. :-)

[bunkmoreland]

It was the umbrella Caran! Big give away i'm afraid!!

[Jackdaw33]

Never encountered this in France. If you don't speak Frog then you are met with a Gallic shrug and, "Je ne comprends pas".

[SIRandyraven]

Been living in Switzerland for three years now and I get it all time.
When in Lucerne a Chinese tourist stopped me to ask directions and spoke to me in English.
Yes myself and wife look English lol

[Hypognosis]

I've judged people as looking (nationality X) before and been right but it is an 'ability' open to confirmation bias, whereby you quickly forget all the incidences where you guessed incorrectly and selectively recall all the ones you got right.

The café staff may be working it out by a process of elimination: not recogniseable as a local; not dressed or behaving like an American, not mediterranean in skin tone; not likely to be from a country invaded in WWII; able to afford the prices; past experience is that English tourists are the safest bet.

OR: English is the lingua franca of most Europeans, so they only need to guess that you're not a local and English is the best bet for successful communication, wherever you happen to be from.

[ummmm]

I've been to Boppard. It was lovely.

[Old_Geezer]

It was the knotted handkerchiefs on your head.

[Old_Geezer]

Ah reading the answers I see some already know you too well ;-)

[-Talbot-]

I've spent years in Germany and never had it ... maybe it's the Hitler tash?

[ummmm]

lol