People seem to be fascinated by how I handle “my celebrity” in Europe. It’s kind of strange to talk about it, but here’s my take on this:
When you’ve had a TV show on the air for over 100 episodes and 15 years, lots of people recognize you. I often hear about how some people in my shoes are rude to “their public” when viewers say “Hi” and want to chat. Even if I didn’t enjoy it, I think it would take more energy to be rude than to be polite to people who enjoy your show. The fact is, I flat out enjoy the fans of my books and TV shows who recognize me in Europe.
On rare occasions when I seem rude to these people, it’s impressive to me how I’ll hear about it via e-mail later on. There is a strong expectation from fans that you take time with them. I am thought to be “rude” occasionally and it’s almost always when people want to stop and talk and get an autograph when I’m under a time pressure with my TV crew (memorizing lines, trying to do an “on camera” performance, or in a TV production-related crises).
Another example of me upsetting a fan was in Rothenburg. I know when I go on the now famous “Nightwatchman’s Tour” that half the people on the tour will be there because of the high recommendation the tour gets in my guidebook. I find Georg, the Nightwatchman, so entertaining that I take his tour year after year. And, each year when I drop by, I cause a commotion that takes attention away from Georg’s performance. As a kind of performer myself, I know how this can be a problem. So, I kind of slink into the crowd hoping not to be recognized. On my last visit, I was recognized by a family while Georg was doing his shtick. I told them to direct their attention to Georg–it was his show after all–and not me. Judging from the emails that flew around after that episode, it was clear they were really upset with me.
When I meet someone, I routinely shake hands, ask where they’re from, and enjoy a little chat. While this can get out of hand and slow me down, it’s fun (and of practical value, as they have invariably been doing things I’m working on in my research–often things I don’t have time to actually do myself–and I can pick their brains about the experience).
I know a character named Jimmy in Tangiers, Morocco who when some one says their home town, he’ll respond with their telephone area code. (For instance, he asks, “Where are you from?” I say, “Seattle.” He responds, “206.”) He’s amazing about this…but the recent addition of so many new area codes must be giving Jimmy fits. I do something similar with PBS call letters. I’m generally bad at remembering such details, but for some reason, I have a knack for remembering station call letters. I always ask where someone’s from. I respond with the call letters. When someone says “I’m from Tampa” I just have to respond “WEDU.” Sacramento…”KVIE–that’s a great station”… Calgary–“KSPS” (Spokane covers Alberta)…and so on.
The only bad thing about meeting all these great people in my travels, is that many of them have sticky and clammy hands. When out in public and shaking hands all day long, you become like a Hindu in India (divvying up the job your hands do according to needs for cleanliness). While to a Hindu, the left hand is the dirty one, I shake hands with my right hand and eat finger food with my left. So many times I wash my hands for a meal and then, on the way back to the table, I hear, “Hey Rick…love your show.” And naturally, I shake hands. My TV producer, Simon, who I’ve spent probably well over 400 days in Europe with, cringes every time I take my glass of water under the table to rinse off my once clean, but now sticky again hands. Rinsing my hands (discretely) under the table has become a crude ritual for me.
Something that goes hand in hand with shaking lots of hands is posing for lots of photos. When someone tries to get a stranger to take our picture, I often just grab the camera and take the photo. While it’s quite simple, people are impressed when I hold a camera up and away and click a portrait of the two of us with my other arm around the person I’ve just met.
Interactions are often strange. For some reason many people walk right up to me out of the blue and say, “You’re not Rick Steves?!” Occasionally, I agree and walk on. Another common comment I get from strangers who recognize me: “You look just like Rick Steves.” Depending on my mood, I occasionally say, “Yeah, lots of people say that.” And I walk on. While my European friends are almost appalled at the casual “Hey Rick” I get from strangers, I really enjoy it.
I particularly enjoy meeting Canadians on the road. I thank them for being Canadians and not bending to American pressure every time they want to organize their society in a way that doesn’t please our government. I encourage them, remind them that God put Canada next to America for good reason, and I thank them again for staying strong. As we chat, the topic of my accent often comes up and I explain that many people think I sound Canadian because my Norwegian grandparents homesteaded in Edmonton, Alberta and my Mom, who is Canadian, taught me to talk.
In my guidebooks, I’m not that much into consistency. You can actually read into my material what happened to me where. If there’s lots of romantic evening coverage, it was likely a place where my wife Anne joined me. If I got sick in a town, you’ll find details about a clinic or hospital there. If I was really exhausted, you’ll find a masseuse listed. I just travel and do my best to bushwhack a smooth path. I live Europe as wide-eyed, naively, and eagerly as the image I have of my readers, hoping to collect experiences that will help those with my guidebook next year.
I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting forgetful or because there’s just more to remember (as I cover more territory deeper and deeper), but I’ve noticed a reoccurring pattern lately. As I research, I “discover” something really exciting. I take notes, write it up, then, when I turn the page…I see it’s already researched and written up. What’s interesting for me as I analyze this phenomenon is that there’s a remarkable consistency. Years after my first encounter with what I think is a new nook or cranny, it will impact me the same. I’ll observe the same quirky details to try to make it vivid and I’ll write it up–completely oblivious to my previous coverage of it. And then, when I find the previous write-up–it’s almost exactly the same. I guess that’s good.
Thanks for the insight–I often wondered how you managed people disturbing your routine! You of course are just being the gentleman you are naturally.
Keep up the great work.
You said you’re getting forgetful because you’re writing things up only to find you’d already written them up before. There’s a word for this disease, Rick. It’s called….oh, what’s it called? It’ll come to me. Yeah, it’s called, um, err, um….wait, I’ll remember….
Rick – rather than washing your hands with drinking water, take Purell or equivalent with you. It’s “instant hand sanitizer” and while I wouldn’t go to Asia without it, it’s also handy for Europe if there’s no water, or no hot water, handy.
I feel your pain with the germ exchange on handshakes. I’m and American working in Paris, and have a similar thing with a French cultural difference. The French work custom is that whenever you see someone for the first time each day, that you *always* shake hands. So every day there are all sorts of handshakes. I have to keep track of who I’ve seen, and who is still ‘eligible’ for the daily handshake. If someone I don’t know comes by to work with my officemate, he first comes over to shake my hand. A bit bewildering, but after a while (and a bottle of purell on the desk) I got used to it.
When I met you at the New York Times Travel show in 2005 I was thrilled – and wanted to shake your hand, but had a cold. I explained why I wasn’t shaking your hand and I remember you were grateful that I didn’t share my germs. Now I know the full story! ;)
Good things to know in case we do run into you somewhere in Europe. ;)
Thanks for a good read! I wonder how famous people handle their fame. It is understandable that people would want to meet you since you wrote these cool travel books and did your TV programs. I have to say thank you (or thank whoever made the decision) to add captions to your programs so hearing impaired people can enjoy your programs.
Well, Rick, at least you can say you’re consistent, right? I, too, forget stuff that I’ve written or read, and at 29, I can’t blame it on getting older.
Keep on blogging. I can’t wait to see what you have to say about Paris!
a la prochaine!
I knew there was a reason I liked Rick Steves. I didn’t even realize you had an accent. Thanks from a proud Canadian.
So I ran into Rick while travelling through Eastern Europe. We’d done little planning for the trip other than buy Ricks book…which I read on the plane over and then used to travel to Warsaw, Cracow, Budapest, Vienna, and Prague with my wife. So here we are in the Castle in Vienna looking through the Emperor’s and Sissy’s rooms…and I notice a film crew and Rick filming the Emperors dining table.
So I turn to Rick and say …” You must be Rick Steve’s” and he goes
” Shhh…not so loud”…but he was very pleasant, signed by guidebook, and was happy to hear how useful the Eastern Europe guidebook had been – saying he would mention my positive comments to his co-author. My wife kept referring to his ratings and comments in the book as ” Ricky say’s”…so running into him was really great..given how personal the book was.
Also he advised me to zip up my back-pack to avoid being ripped off. Overall the nicest celebrity I’ve ever met !
So Rick, given all this talk of how to handle your fan base, what do you do when you see a celebrity yourself?
~Barbara
http://babas.typepad.com
Mr. Steves,
My wife and I think that you should introduce the “Rick Steves’ International Greeting” that would serve as a greeting for all Rick Steves’ educated (and entertained) travelers. Maybe the greeting would be grasping each other’s wrists rather than hands, or a salute or even a literal rubbing of elbows. Those in the know would catch right on and find their fellow travelers, not extra germs.
I’ll always be grateful to you for your travel advice, but please know that this Canadian, at least, wants no part of obnoxious games of one-upmanship vis-à -vis Canada and the U.S. Such games, like ad hominems in general, add no productive points to any debate.
Meanwhile, you report that when you meet Canadians, you express your belief that Canadian society is as it is because the country “resists the pressure to reorganize in order to please [the American] government.”
I can but assume that you say this with tongue firmly in cheek. Otherwise, to infer that your view of a ‘correct’ social model must needs be the only one that could have been chosen freely, and that any dissenting model could only be adopted as the result of bowing to pressure from a foreign power, is to apply a not-too-subtle pressure of your own. I would also question why you feel your own personal thanks should be any more relevant to a society than the approval of your government.
I have yet to meet you in person, but wonder if the sarcasm and humour would be reflected as it is in your guide books. I have seen the shows, and read a few of the books, and found that I enjoy the humour in some of the notes in the books.
As far as re-discovering the places you find of interest, we all do that. Rediscovery is wonderful. Finding a new view of a location, learning something about its history, or just looking past the place, and more at the people are just a few ways I rediscover lands that I have been to many times over.
Keep on travelin.
I always wondered where the accent came from. It would be interesting to see all the people who randomly come up to you on your trips (like in the credits of your shows or something). Awesome post.
My husband and I always play a game when we travel of sighting “famous” people – you know, George Clooney in Italy, Brad and Angelina in Paris, etc. One night in Arles, France I commented to my husband, “Isn’t that Rick Steves”? to which he replied – “That really is Rick Steves”. Not too surprising – we were staying at one of his hotel recommendations – I ran to my room and got the guidebook – he very graciously signed it and chatted for a few minutes. Next day on the street – there he is again – this time he snapped a picture of us with my camera – it came out great – he has a talent for the long armed photo! Thanks, Rick for all the great travel advice and for being an all round decent guy even when cornered by eager fans.
We ran into Rick in Milan but didn’t know it until I looked through my photos weeks later and saw this one: http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3553/3290/1600/milan_Rick.jpg
I know what you mean about everybody wanting to shake your hand. I too have to wash alot, try to do as much as I can
Hey Rick don’t forget to thank all the Americans who made you a celebrity by buying your books, DVDs, watching your shows and going on your not-so-inexpensive tours.
What a nice surprise that your Mom’s Canadian and your Grandparents lived in Edmonton! Albertans love PBS and I particularly enjoy watching and supporting your programs (looking forward to September 16th on KSPS).
Thanks for bringing Europe a little closer to home!