A couple of weeks ago I was smoking a pipe on a bench and had a woman approach me and start a conversation. She is French, though being in Germany our conversation started in German (very briefly) before switching over to English. Anyhow, she started conversation by saying, in her charming french accent, "not many people smoke pipes anymore". From there we spoke about bygone days, culture, travel, art. It was a lovely conversation. I'm happily married to a beautiful woman so it didn't go beyond a cordial conversation. Still, it was a nice surprise and pleasant chat.
Otherwise there are a couple of older fellas I regularly see out walking the dogs through field and wood who join me for conversation and a saunter. They've also complimented the pipe, one of them said his father had a big pipe that he would break several cigars into and smoke for hours on end. I gather it was a big gesteckpfeife.