People of Europe in 204 Days

Unique Photos in 35 countries

We enjoyed our 7 month trip to Europe 2013. We met so many amazing people! We stayed with 80 different hosts through couch surfing PLUS we met others along the way to make our journey a "TRIP OF A LIFETIME!" Following includes a few of those people, but mostly this post includes photos of Europeans as they lived their daily lives.

Greece Youth wanting my photo as we toured the Acropolis in Athens.

Amsterdam, Netherlands on Queen's Day - April 2013

An older lady getting ready to ride her wheels in Amsterdam....bikes are the way to get around!

Everyone wears Orange! 3 million people Dutch people celebrate!

An Asian lady shops in Holland at a cheese factory.

Athens, GREECE

These young people in Athens invite us for cake at a birthday party.

Athens cheese being sold in the subway station.

Europeans favorite past-time is having coffee or tea in the afternoon.

Athens school children have fun at the pond in a beautiful park.

This Athens lady is selling her beautiful wares at the market place.

BALKAN Countries

Romanian people in the village of Curtes de Arges, Romania.

Women working at the market sell their goods hoping to make some money.

In Sofia, Bulgaria, many people would sit in the parks and enjoy each others company, but they all seemed so sad most of the time.

This is what you call... "A Bag Lady" - in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Playing chess in the park is a favorite past time among the men in the Balkan countries.

This man was just waiting for someone to come by and play chess with him.

More board games along the streets.

It was so fun to watch them - I wonder what the women did while they were gone?

Some of the women would work in the streets selling their handiwork. This lady from Sofia made beautiful lace handkerchiefs, pot holders, and book marks.

Brasnov Castle costume of a Romanian man

Romanian man - not sure what he is carrying??

Brasnov Castle - a worker on his telephone

Bulgaria Taxi Driver - he did NOT want us to tell the border patrols, however!

Brashov, Romania - a Waitress doing her job.

Bucharest, Romania boys are taught at a young age to pick-pocket and find people who they can easily steal from. We witnessed these boys attempting.

There was a confrontation here at a bus stop and some money exchange.

Barcelona, Spain

Riding bikes through this busy city.

This little girl was so cute as she played with the pigeons on the square.

Catalan children play in Barcelona

Dumpster Diving - you see this a lot!

Go-carts right on the Barcelona streets.

This lady is happy to have her photo taken at the market place.

She works hard for a living.

This older man also works hard shining shoes.

Living in the streets of Barcelona...the economy is not good right now.

MORE Street Begging throughout Europe

This young lady kneels in the same spot every day in Salzburg...it's actually a GREAT living for her!

Begging in Poland - many use pets to help their plight.

This lady came to our bus as we traveled in one of Balkan countries. She was begging for food for her children. We gave her some oranges, she smiled, and quickly shared them.

Romanian beggar outside a village church

Communism was a much better time for the older people.


Another old woman in Romania begging...it was so sad to see this. Many of them are hired by a Moffia-type group. They would collect the older people's earnings and give them a portion, but very little. Some of the older people would even be maimed because more $$ could be made.

PERFORMING for the Tourists to make a living

Wroclaw, Poland - performing to earn money from the tourists.

We saw MANY street performers that dressed up in body paint and all and did all kinds of performing to earn money. Many were just like statues...others acted out things as the tourists tipped them. This happened all over Europe.

These two were in Brugge, Belgium....LOVED that town!

Getting into costume takes quite a lot of time.

At least this man attempts to perform rather than just hand out his cup.

This performer in Prague takes the gold in my book! He played amazing songs on his crystal glasses. AWESOME!!

How would you like to wear this all day in order to make a living in Poland?

"Come to me, my pretty!"

She's just about ready to hop on the bike and FREEZE...when people pay, she performs!

There are some talented street artists in Barcelona.

On the furthest west coast of Portugal performing for the tourists.

PARIS is expensive, so here is a creative way to make money!

Many musicians earned a living this way, too. - Budapest, Hungary

Homeless...homeless - Like the Christ Child was!

What is it about the birds? Maybe it's because they are so free and love the handouts from the people, especially those who seem to be homeless or poor.

Homeless living in the park of Barcelona.

York, England - homeless men

Homeless men in the parks of Vienna, Austria.

TURKEY Photos

A Turkish couple pose in front of the Blue Mosque

A street vendor making Turkish suckers

Turkish waffles are YUMMY!

People at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.

Students in Turkey enjoy us coming into their classroom to help teach English to them.

Uh - Oh! You caught me smoking! (A teen in Turkey)

EUROPEAN KIDS

Children all over the world are so innocent and cute. One thing is for sure - smiles and giggles and kindness is the same, no matter what language they speak.

Turkish children are so very cute!

A Danish youth hiding in the graffiti tunnel.

These boys in Turkey loved speaking a little English to us.

Another Turkish boy

A daddy and his daughter in Demre, Turkey (not sure she loves having her photo taken.)

On a Romanian bus, this young boy and his father were very friendly.

Santorini, Greece - posing together on one of the "white" buildings built into the hillside.

During the night watchman's tour in Denmark, this young boy wouldn't leave his side as he had MANY questions about the tour and the Danish people.

Greek children on the island of Crete

What sweet Dutch kids as they wear clogs from Holland.

Kids having fun in the square - Brugge, Belgium

I wonder if these two are planning their Romanian wedding anytime soon!

These Greek kids are playing "hide 'n go seek."

Girls playing in the streets in a town in Greece.

In Poland, these cute girls are playing in the water as we visit a park.

In historical Krk, Croatia, two "young" ladies discuss their daily activities.

Kids in a small village in Spain enjoy Saturday games.

We felt like kids ourselves as we tried many of the home-built games (except for the jumping thing in the back). Everyone was so friendly in this small Catalan village just outside of Barcelona.

I met this beautiful Chinese mother and her baby at the Temple of Poseidon in Greece. Now they are my friends on facebook. She knows English quite well and has a little boy, too.

What a beautiful family as they travel the world leaving sunshine wherever they go!

Dreadlocks are quite popular in Europe.
Seems to me that they would take a L-O-N-G time to do!!

We saw many travelers, especially in their 20's, wearing dreadlocks as their "hair-do." I guess they didn't have to wash it very often or take care of it after the initial 8 hours of WORK!

Dreadlocks in Lisbon

Outside the Lochness area in Scotland we saw two backpackers with dreadlocks.

Split, Croatia Hair-Stopping Stares on the Boardwalk

BEST FRIENDS

Girls like to walk hand in hand while they walk down the street. You see it everywhere! And..Europeans LOVE to greet you with a kiss (or two) on the cheeks. I LOVE IT! Of course, we always got one as we left, also. Most Americans just shake hands - wish we could be more intimate and loving...maybe I'll try and start a new trend!

The older men are 'best friends' and help each other so much.

These men in Plovdiv, Bulgaria like to go to the square most every day and feed the birds. I had an uncle who did this regularly as he lived in San Diego, California. Having a friend to do this with means the world to each other.

The older women throughout Europe often times would be seen hand in hand helping each other with whatever task was needed. These two are in Santiago del Compostela in Spain.

Greek Nuns enjoy a walk on the island of Santorini.

You'd have to be good friends to work together every day in the Luxembourg Gardens of Paris.

Getting ready for the big Pride Day Parade in Stockholm, Sweden.

These Mormon missionaries learn to be best friends as they work together for several months in Denmark.

Girls playing in the streets in a town in Greece.

GYPSIES in Romania

30 or so Gypsies got onto our train as we traveled from Romania to Hungary. That was an experience! They were smelly, unkempt, and the children kept begging for food. Then the authorities got on the train and found out they didn't have tickets.

At the next stop, they were ushered off the train, but they got to Hungary by then, which was their destination.

THIS 'N THAT - EVERYDAY PHOTOS

Greek Seed Vendors at the market place.

Beautiful girl in blue as we toured the Demre, Turkey ruins.

The Japanese women are everywhere - coming in buses as tourists.

The Japanese women always dress very brightly. I enjoyed their fashions.

Portugal games

Posing in her German traditional dress - Berlin, Germany

Our host enjoys playing some of the home-made games at a village fair.

In the streets of Krakow, Poland

Selling clams in Lisbon, Portugal.

Lisbon flower lady

As we toured the area of the Norwegian fjords, we stopped at a cute wooden church and found that a special occassion was just ending. These girls were checking out their makeup and hair afterwards.

This darling girl just had to pose for me as she was in her typical folk dress.

Turns out, the whole family was there for the blessing of their new baby. Each family wore different colors according to the history of their name.