I used to live in Eastern Europe back in 2011, and Bitcoin was just beginning to gain reputation among tech-savy young adults, my demographic mostly.
I didn't buy any BTC back then, although I remember mining for a few days. Buying was mostly done on local forums if my memory serves me right. A year or so later, BTC Atms started popping around, and exchanges gaining traction as well.
People used to tip with bitcoin on some forums back then, but I can't seem to remember if it was in 2011 or before.