Not being under any obligation doesn't mean it is not a sensible a courteous way to do. You like it or not, english has become a defacto common international language.

While I speak 5 languages and try to learn some basic words of the local languages of any country I visit out of courtesy (how to say hello, bye, thank you, ask where are the toilets, etc), I wouldn't expect any traveller to know enough to understand this kind of specificities in any country they visit.

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encom 10 hours ago | parent [-]

>common international language

Not nearly as much as people on the internet seem to think. In large parts of Europe, speaking english will get you absolutely nowhere.

	▲	prmoustache 10 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Near international airports and capitals usually yes you can usually get help in english accross europe, at least enough to get basic help and instructions.
	▲	whstl 10 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		I mean, whenever the Deutsche Bahn is involved, in large parts of Germany speaking German will also get you absolutely nowhere...