BAMBERG, Germany — Our friend Alena warned us about it.

We kind of laughed it off. Then it more or less came true: the realization that some folks might actually be inherently rude.

She spoke of the residents of the Franconia region of Bavaria in southern Germany. Alena described them as curt, not very friendly or open.

We came to Bamberg to do some shopping and sightseeing in a lovely city that was virtually untouched by the ravages of World War II.

Nuremberg was all but destroyed by Allied bombing, as were many major cities throughout Germany. Dresden? Berlin? Cologne?

Bamberg was saved from that destruction. Thus, the architecture throughout the city is “original,” according to Alena’s husband, Martin.

So, we walked into a department store. We shopped for some items. After we finished, we were walking out. A woman behind us apparently muttered something as she sought to get past us.

We moved to the side, allowing the woman to scurry out of the store into the sunshine. She said something that Alena overheard.

“I told you about the people of Franconia, right?” Alena said. “That lady was one of them,” she added, referring to the woman who had just scooted by us.

“Really?” I asked. “Did she say something?”

Yes, Alena said. I asked, what was it?

“She said ‘Thank you … finally,'” Alena responded.

Why, I never …

We laughed it off. Earlier in the day, our hosts had joked that my wife and I had brought an “aura” with us that made many of the customer service employees we had encountered extra friendly.

I’ll take all the credit we deserve for that bit of cheer.

As for the woman who mumbled something we likely weren’t supposed to hear as she hurried past us, I’ll just presume she was having a bad day.