[manasecret]

Is that a joke Typhoid? You think a German police officer can tell the difference between an American and a Canadian? Can you tell the difference everytime? It's difficult for me many times, and it should be relatively easy for me being an American with Canadian friends. Assuming you don't wear your passport around your neck for everyone to see, or have a flag sewed to your clothes/bag/hat/forehead, as I saw many Canadians doing (and also Americans posing as Canadians for "safety").

Personally I found the accepted notion that Americans always get treated like crap in Europe as wrong. Sure it happens, just like a French man might get poked fun at around here, but it's hugely overplayed, in my experience. I've certainly never heard of anyone getting manhandled by police because they're American. Perhaps your sister and brother-in-law have had a different experience from me.