Beer Is Cheaper Than Water: Some European Cultural Observations
August 11th, 2010 | Categories: Travel | 11 Comments- Beer is cheaper than just about any other beverage. I love this, but the weight I’m gaining begs to differ.
- Everyone I have encountered in Europe, whether it be friends or friends of friends or random strangers, have been lovely, with the exception of those I encountered in Prague. They say that if you have nothing nice to say then don’t say anything at all, so I will say absolutely nothing about the Czechs I encountered in the Czech Republic.
- I’ve gotten a little more used to paying for bathrooms now, but I still can’t stand those who unabashedly beg for money by the bathroom even if they aren’t the ones who clean it! (This is directed at the old Russian man who hurled Russian insults at me as I scurried away from the bathroom, desperately trying to get away from him.)
- Salzburg might possibly the prettiest city in Europe I have ever seen.
- There is an abundance of fresh bread here, all day everyday. I can’t wrap my head around this. Back in the States, there are bakeries that will try to pass off yesterday’s bread as today’s fresh bread, which is unheard of here!
- Even though I haven’t visited Italy this trip, I have seen more Italian restaurants than any other kind. This greatly pleases me, as Italian food is my favorite kind of food. (My family jokes that I should have been born an Italian, so great is my love for Italian food!)
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Hi, I'm Manda. I'm a college student studying communications and languages. I like to read, shop, bake, and travel. I have a tendency to listen to my favorite songs on repeat for hours on end. Sometimes I catch myself thinking in a language other than English. 
Another interesting cultural observation: If you order water in Germany you always get water with bubbles, never without ;)
I KNOW!! This completely boggled my mind. Fizzy, salty water is NOT water in my mind :P I keep forgetting I have to specify that I want still/flat water.
Not entirely correct about the bread thingy, you can get yesterday’s bread at a bakery. Our local one usually has this on Sunday as they don’t bake fresh bread on Sunday. Also, yesterday’s bread is usually way cheaper than fresh bread but I most likely speak for most people, we just love fresh bread. :D
It’s true that there are masses of italian restaurants in Germany and probably in other countries too. I think besides italian there are also a lot of greek restaurants over here.
@Emsz Not true, if you ask for it you can also get water without bubbles. Though you often get water with bubbles first. :)
^I know that, that’s what I meant :P You have to specifically ask for it though, when in Dutch restaurants water, just means water. Or they ask you if you want with or without bubbles.
I think you misunderstand me. In Germany, if they try to sell yesterday’s bread, they will specify that it is yesterday’s bread. In the States, they will just lie and say that it is the day’s fresh bread.
You had problems with the people in Prague? That’s strange – everyone was pretty friendly when I was there. It was the people in Slovakia that I found very rude.
Another observation: You can get alcohol without ID almost anywhere. I walked into a bar in Greece when I was 13 once.
You can also haggle the price of everything.
Yeah. The only nice people I encountered in Prague were people who weren’t actually Czech, like the nice Portuguese bartender I met. The rest were just… ugh. Which was a real surprise (not to mention a shame) as Prague is very touristy so it’s not like my presence there as a tourist was a rarity.
You found Slovakians rude? and where in Slovakia have you been?
Glad to read you liked Europe :D !
*adds Salzburg to her To-See list*
Ciao from Serbia!
[...] a break from my recent Europe-themed posts to pose a question that I have pondered for a [...]
[...] Emma commented in my previous European cultural observations post, you have to specify for flat/still water in Germany or else you get carbonated, salty mineral [...]