In my country (Sweden) during the cold war, it was reported by pilots working in the armed forces, civilian airlines and key personnel working in strategic areas such as railroads, to get visited by foreign "tourists" wanting to for example sell potatoes, ask for directions or need assistance with their broken down vehicle. These "tourists" now in hindsight were obviously working for secret agencies as spies, generally in Sweden it was common belief that they were originating from the Warsaw pact. Usually this happened close by the persons home. My grandfather and great grandfather lived in Stockholm archepilago during the 40s to the 80s, and frequently mentioned having foreigners not speaking a word of swedish or english surveying the area completely disregarding property laws and acting as "tourists". Was this something that occured in other (mostly western) european countries during the cold war? Please share your stories!