The Germans love their beer. Don’t let anyone blah-blah you with ‘it’s only the British that drink to get drunk’. Quatsch (rubbish). It’s only the British that drink to get drunk to start a fight. Here, beer’s available everywhere and at any time of day or night. It would seem every Germany is only seconds away from a beer; it's their yin, the Wurst their yang. So unsurprisingly, there’s a few do’s and don’ts that you need observe if you’re going to do it their way.
- Make Löwen(brau) not war: Don’t start a fight once drunk.
- Gucken in die Augen: when there’s a toast (Prost!) be sure to look each and every person in the eye as you chink glasses/gesture your glass in their direction. And be obviou about it. You will be reviled if you don’t. Seriously! You will be told in no uncertain terms that you’ve transgressed the very laws of nature and offended every generation of their family back to the amoeba.
- Wait for it… Cheers (Prost!) is much more common and frequent here than in the UK. If the drinking’s just beginning - say first round of drinks in a bar, or everyone’s just been poured a drink at the dinner table - it’s polite to wait until everyone has a drink before you start chugging at your own bevy. I’m really, really bad at this, and have to sit on my hands rolling my eyes in mortal anguish seeing before me a drink I can’t yet drink. But wait for the inevitable “Prost!” before starting. What a pain, eh?
- Bier Bahn: Drinking in public and on public transport is fine. It’s actively encouraged (by way of preventing drink driving). It is categorically not chavy to enjoy a bottle of lager on the U-Bahn. The highest to the lowest do it.
Viel Vergnügen! (enjoy!)
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