My travels to Europe date back more than 50 years. Chance, choice anda budget that only rarely extended to "deluxe" hostelries have combined to put me in "lesser" hotels except for a few stays on "points".

My once functional Italian, Spanish and modest French have shrunk with the passage of time and little usage, while today far more European service employees display English skills than was true half a century ago. Then, I viewed "language barriers" as a personal challenge. Today, they form only an occasional problem, hardly worth noting, even in small town/rural hotels. Even in a rural Moravian backwater, younger locals seemed pleased and proud to practice that which they studied in school (replacing Russian after 1990 or so).

Much as it must have been in seaports long ago, destinations serving many travelers seem to inspire the use of a serviceable "Lingua Franca" sufficient for most transactions.