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In our case, most of us spoke a second language (French, Spanish, German, etc), so if we needed to have a conversation with a local that was more indepth than "Where's the train station?" the duty usually fell onto that person.
That said, plenty of people in Europe speak English. Not well, necessarily, but definitely passable. Even in places that are off the beaten path, you can usually find someone that speaks English -- or whatever European language you may have. Those that don't, especially if you're at a restaurant, will simply have you point at the meal you'd like. You'd also be amazed at how well you can make each other understand one another using just hand gestures and the odd word here and there.
The best thing to do is to either learn a few basic phrases before leaving (ie: "Do you speak English?") or bring along a portable translator book or app in your phone. Honestly, if you're going to visit a country where your mother tongue isn't their native language, it's to the benefit of both yourself and those you'll run into to learn as much of their language as you can before visiting, especially if you plan on doing the trip without a travel guide.
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