coincidentally my boneheaded move was also made in a train in switzerland...
i was traveling from paris to rome a couple years ago... going via zurich. i'd been traveling for a while and was dying for thirst... so when the little cart lady came by with overpriced snacks, i decided to get some bottled water.
forgetting that i was on a swiss train, in switzerland... i offered to pay in euros. it didn't even occur to me that i should have had some swiss francs on me. so, there i am clueless... with the nice cart lady mumbling something unintelligible to me. i could feel other passengers glancing over to me... though i didn't know what about.
she was nice enough to accept my euros, going to some other car even to find me correct change. i have a feeling she did it out of her own pocket. it wasn't until a while later that i realized what a fool i had made of myself, that she was gently trying to communicate to me that i was making a silly mistake.
just one of those things where you think you understand what is going on, but everyone is really embarrassed for you. at least everyone involved was patient and gracious to this ignorant American.
