Traveler’s Tales: Amusing Signs in Europe 2013

Amusing signs were everywhere!

Especially for Americans traveling abroad.

A yellow triangle sign traditionally means danger. We just couldn’t decide what we were to watch out for. Lightning? Astonishing views?

A walk around London brought us past this row of townhouses with a humorous sign.

“Busking” is a British term for “street performing,” and this spot facing the Thames River obviously wasn’t interested in entertainment!

I loved the door colors, however.

What do these amusing signs even mean?

 The Borough Market featured all sorts of foods.

“Beadles” are lay people in synagogues of parish churches who keep order.

We visited on a Saturday morning with crowds of shoppers, none of whom looked religious.

We didn’t notice a church that might be overseeing the market, but we did see another sign that made us smile.

The exotic burgers sign also includes mention of ostrich meat.

No surprise, a nearby shop sold ostrich feathers!

We saw lots of exotic cheeses that tempted us and just enjoyed wandering around and looking at the English food.

London warnings

A sign at the Underground seemed designed to console people who might flinch at reporting a crime.

“Mind the gap” warnings, of course, were everywhere in the Underground.

Minding the gap signs made me uneasy every time I stepped over the gap.

Fortunately, I have large feet, so it was never an issue.

A neon light warned against dangerous persons visiting the Hard Rock Café!

Since I traveled with a nuclear engineer, we did not stop in.

Amusing Signs in Paris

Paris graffiti artists posted religious concerns:

This one made us sad.

But we also saw the friendliest signs in Paris:

I’m not sure you can judge the people who live in large cities by the warnings they post.

Certainly, signage indicates things to look out for.

We always tour with a travel guide, and Rick Steves helped us decipher what we saw–along with what we needed to know.