My first experience with "The Rock" prison in San Francisco Bay happened on a disturbing April day in 1946. With World War II ended, our troop ship was returning from the Philippines to the Navy base on Treasure Island, located under the Bay Bridge, between San Francisco and Oakland.

As our ship passed close by Alcatraz, we could see Navy landing craft unloading armed Marines as they stormed onto the rocky shore. It resembled so many wartime operations in the Pacific, we at first believed it was a realistic training exercise.

Q: In my working days, this ex-business guy always wore a suit and tie when flying for business and vacation. Now a senior, I travel only for pleasure, and so go very casual, with old jacket, t-shirt, baggy pants and sneakers.

Is it my imagination, but it seems I’m now too often herded along in airports and aboard flights like a prisoner? It makes me mad as hell! As in my working days, would airline people treat me with more respect if I dressed up again? JJMcK, Boston MA

Of course, when schedules get messed up, any terminal can become a frustrating scene of delays, cancellations, angry crowds and ear-splitting noise. However, on those rare occasions when everything goes well, some international airports are actually pleasant places to hang out.

Consider recent responses from experienced traveling seniors report on their preferences. Here are the top five outside the USA for this year, not necessarily in rank order:

Schiphol, Amsterdam: Free museum and art gallery.
Hong Kong: Who wants to sit when there’s a nine-hole golf course?
Singapore Changi: Soak tired senior bones in the rooftop pool.
Munich: How could you not like an airport biergarten?
London Heathrow: English pubs, frequent live concerts.

The list includes those where senior American tourists can usually find someone who understands the language. In order of ability, they are the Netherlands, Denmark.  Sweden, Norway, Finland, Singapore, Luxembourg, Austria, Germany and Poland.

The language problem elsewhere in the world is fading due to tech advances. Before embarking on your next journey, ou can load new languages on your smartphone. Use them for quick references and interpretations when you find yourself in a land where English isn’t spoken.