There are fine drinking establishments everywhere here, and they are so unique--authentic Ol' Irish pubs, Old school German pubs, Funky Musik bars, etc., etc. Here Cassidy, Jill and I had our first draft Guinness under Brennan's recommendation and it.was.so.good. I could not believe how much better an authentic Guinness was compared to that canned sludge I've had.
Later Gwen and I went to Ladies Night at this nearly deserted bar, but I am SO glad we did. The bartender was from Michigan, but also raised auf Deutschland. She was super nice and served me my first absinthe! No hallucinations...Her friend there (whose name I cannot now recall...) was 26, and if we were in America I would have completely ignored him. he kind of had a rocker look, long hair and a soul patch, but we ended up talking for hours because I needed to practice my German and he was SO nice. Because I was pretty drunk I didn't really understand what he was saying, except when he complimented my german. *Neither the bartender nor the rocker drank, which I found very cool-it's funny how if someone doesn't drink in America we assume they're a recovering alcoholic.
Anyway, it was a very successful evening. I'll write more later about things besides the nectar of the gods. Things like this, for example
Isn't the European drinking experience a different one? Although I'm sure it varies from country to country, it seems that in general there's never that guilt-trip for NOT drinking. Much more chill, I think. Glad you're enjoying your bier. Prost (something like that, right?)
ReplyDeleteYes! Drinking here is at once more and less important than in the states. It has more significance considering tradition and history, but it's not as glorified as in the states.
DeleteProst! :)