Sjoerd

In Belgium, it is more likely that they spoke English as a third or fourth language. ^

KLouis

And in Switzerland as a fifth...

STBCypriot

I have traveled all over Europe and I do not speak another language fluently by any stretch of the imagination. I have never had a problem communicating. My high school latin and spanish (from 38 years ago) has gotten me by. I know no German except the basics (please, thank you, good morning, good night). You will find that most of the younger people know some english. I did learn some basic Russian before going to Russia - that will also get you be in Ukraine and Bulgaria.

Oh, and expect to pay at least 2 Euros for a pint of beer these days.

bugsy

As others have said, most younger Norwegians (and other Scandinavians) speak english very well (I actually found it difficult to learn Norwegian when I first moved here because everyone wanted to practice their english on me) - in the unlikely event that you come across someone that doesn't there's not a lot that can't be said with smiles, and hand gestures (oh and google translate helps too).

As for how expensive Norway is - lets just say when I first arrived here, I quickly stopped converting prices back to AUD as it was enough to give one a heart attack.

gorgeoustresses

Language in the Baltics, BeNeLux and Switzerland is fine. In all of the EU states you will find at least someone - esp younger folks - speak decent English. Many of them may be shy to speak English though - so be prepared for that.

If you go on the Balkans you may have some trouble. For example - Moldova, Belarus can be particularly challenging in terms of language.

Prices - all the countries you list are extremely expensive. You have picked the TOP and MOST expensive countries in Europe - so be prepared to shell extra for food, drinks and accommodation. You will easily need closer to $125 - 150 per day for yourself in terms of budget. If you wanted to do activities - be prepared for that in terms of prices.

If you wanted to lower the cost - look for private rooms in hostels & consider dropping some of the countries in favor of less expensive destinations, so you can balance your overall trip budget.

theSaladDays

Odd examples, Belarus is definitely not part of the Balkans, Moldova only using a fairly loose definition.

JR14

The places specified later in l1k3m3's post -- Scandinavia, Austria, Switzeland, etc. -- are definitely very expensive, and I could see the $125-150 per day budget making sense! For some of the countries listed, though, like Hungary, Romania, and the countries in the Balkans, you can get by on a pretty low budget. As others have said, you'll just have to stay in hostels, etc.

And is it just me, or does the general level of English among a European country's population often have some correlation with prices for tourists? Basically, in Eastern Europe you might have a harder time finding people who speak English, but budgeting will be easier. I'd head in that direction and start learning to mime

iceblueshoes

I can agree with what the OP has said about Spain as well.
In my experiences there, very little English is spoken. The only exception I found was in Ibiza, but well it's Ibiza with mainly Brits there. Not an issue for me really since I'm a Spanish speaker. Castellano, not Catalan.

I've also had pretty bad luck in Germany, where supposedly lots of English is spoken! lol
Italy also had little English, but I just spoke in Spanish and that seemed to work.
Still to me that's part of the charm of travel. You get creative.

Can't really comment on France and Belgium as I just spoke French there and they understood my Canadian French. hehe

Everywhere I've been to in Europe has had some English, but I've not always needed to "test it" out really.
San Marino and Monaco have English though!

As for the money thing, I've found Spain and Italy (to an extent) to be cheaper than say Germany, Ireland and especially Switzerland. My goodness that place was expensive!

Reindeerflame

Scandanavians, as a rule, speak much better English than Americans do.

But how much English is necessary? Do you want to have a conversation about NBA basketball, or just figure out what to eat or where you want to go.

In most tourist-oriented areas, an American with the proper perspective should be able to figure things out. Keep it simple, and no long sentences or jargon.

Lefly

Belgium: in Flanders, English is not a problem. Don't know in Walloon, but could be less simple. English is a bit less diffuse amongst French speakers, and, in my experience, even when knowing English some of them were not very willing to use it.
Italy: outside very big touristic areas, English is not really diffuse...

About money: Brussels area is NOT cheap. Apart for the beers, of course.
Italy: south is always cheaper than north.

nrr

I've been going to Europe, nearly every year since 1964. Back in 1964 knowing some French and German was nearly essential--but in most situations you could still get by (in an "emergency") with English.
Fast forward to 2014--nearly all signs in "tourist" areas are in English; the Paris metro's trains have multilingual announcements not just English (but even in Japanese). Switzerland mountain resorts have had signs in Japanese for at least 10 years. On most SBB trains, announcements are in the language of the Canton, and nearly always in English.
In most of the "prosperous" countries in Northern Europe, prices are very expensive--most locals have learned to shop in super markets to save money. One does not have to be fluent in the language, since many items are "number coded": bananas (seems to have code #1), you put your bunch on the scale, enter the code, a label prints out, which you affix to the bag. In Switzerland, many of the COOP supermarkets have microwaves where you can purchase "hot food"--much. much cheaper than a restaurant.
[About 15 years ago I was in Brussels central train station, since the airport train departs from that stop, there were monitors showing airplane departure status--only in English; I had to explain to a French person that "delay" meant "RETARD".. About 7 years ago, in Paris, I needed to use a launderette; the signs were only in English.]

WilcoRoger

I'd say in Scandinavia you'll find that many people speak better English than you do

You successfully chose the most expensive countries in Europe for your trip - Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria... suffice to say that seen from these places the US is an incredibly cheap place... we found even Manhattan to be cheaper than home

WilcoRoger

I challenge you to find a 1€ beer in a bar in Norway or Sweden! Or even a 4€ one

LupineChemist

Definitely not a pint, but a caña for 1€ or even less is pretty standard for most places frequented by locals. I would think more than 2,50€ for a full pint as starting to get pricy.

abeyro

I spent my summer holidays in Italy this year. General impression is that the language spoken in Italy is...Italian. Lol.
I can count up to ten in Italian and I know how to read and prenounce items from a menu to a waiter (easy thing as Italian is the language where you vocalize every letter).

And by the way, a tin of beer (1/2 litre) was 0.99 euro in supermarkets (the cheapest one). A mug of beer in restaurants/pubs was 3.5 euro cheapest, 4.5 euro being the average. Pizza was 7 euro (however I spotted a few times a 'pizza happy hour' - 50% discount).