I’m about to sound like the ignorant American I am, so I apologize in advance! We’re looking at a trip to Germany, and possibly Prague, and we’ve noticed that a lot of the hotel names are French and a couple hotels that aren’t named in French have replied to comments with things like “Bonjour! etc etc” What’s up with this? Is French just the most commonly spoken common language, even in Germany and Czechia? (I know that Germany and Czechia have their own languages, of course.) Or is it something else?
My most jarring experience was with a waiter, he asked “English or French?” When I entered the restaurant, I answered “English please” and he just shook his head and said “no”…like, why would you ask then!?
20 years ago it would have been “we’re closed” in English and “bienvenue” in French.