Beverages

In German (and The Netherlands), when you order a beverage, you pay at least 2 euro for a very tiny class of the drink. And unlike the US, there are no refills on drinks. So you must learn to ration it out, or be prepared to pay for several.

Some of the Germans are absolutely amazed at the notion of free, unlimited refills in a restaurant, in a large glass, and with ice! And a waiter/waitress who comes by regularly to do this! Whoa, never in Europe, every aspect of this is unheard of.

Furthermore, you cannot order a glass of tap water. You must purchase a (tiny) bottle of water for 2 euro. In Germany, if you do not specify, you will be brought sparkling water. In The Netherlands, you will be asked, "with gas?". Um, yes...I'd like my water with gas... (??)

Okay, sometimes you can get away with saying you'd like water with bubbles and make a little motion with your hands/fingers of bubbles floating to the top.

Actually, even in the homes in Germany, the standard is to be served sparkling water. The tap water is completely safe to drink, but folks just prefer sparkling. Indeed, I've become a bit preferential towards it myself.

Also, there is a new marketing strategy that Coca-cola is using--perhaps it's in the the US as well, but I've only noticed it in Germany, since I am not around sodas otherwise. Well, first, what is a "Diet Coke" in the US is a "Cola Light" in German, and the label is typically a bit lighter colored than the regular version. But this has sort of a bias towards ladies, as men don't want to appear that they are watching their weight. So the new name is "Coke Zero" and the labels are typically in all black with some streaks of silver...looks more like something a race car driver would purchase. Evidently, men aren't as embarrassed to be seen drinking this. Funny how you can coerce the male species. ;)

Also, in restaurants in Germany, there is no concept of a "wait list"--you know, if there is a crowd and no more seats, to be put on a wait list. That is a foreign notion to them. Basically, if a group comes to dinner, they are entitled to the table for the entire evening, there is no rush by the restaurant staff to push them on their way, hence there is no usefulness for a wait list for tables that will not become vacant any time soon.