Hope for the future

Between the discomfort of
commercial flying, and the famously less-than-welcoming attitude of
many Europeans,

And where exactly did you get that idea? What media in the US, for
example, would even report on the European attitude, no matter if it is
positive or negative? Fox "News"?

Oh, how about the time, while visiting the brother (German) of a friend in
Berlin, it was time to eat, so we stopped in at a (common to them) restaurant.
The brother and friend were a few minutes behind, so we went in, got a table,
and were given menus to look at. The friend and the brother arrived, sat down,
then I noticed her (the friend's) face getting red, then real red, then the
waiter came by. She asked (in German) "what were these? Where are the real
menus?" Then the waiter's face started getting red. He mumbled something in
German, then shuffled off. Our friend said, "We are leaving. Let's go. Now!"

We got outside, and asked what was wrong; why had we left. She was almost in
tears, and said that she was so mad and embarrassed, because this waiter had
seen a chance to stiff a bunch of Americans, and had given us the menus (that
they obviously had prepared for situations where tourists come in) that had all
of the prices about double from the normal prices.

Sounds unwelcoming to me.

I could go on with other examples, but I won't.
--
Jim in NC