Prost! German drinking customs Part 2

Here are a few more need-to-knows about getting merry auf deutsch.

• A strange deposit: Very often in clubs and other public places, your drink or rather its vessel, will carry what’s called a “Pfand” or deposit. Sometime this is also accompanied by a token or even just a ripped up piece of paper. What this means is when you pay for your drink, you’ll pay a Pfand on the bottle/glass, which you’ll then need to return to the bar to either reclaim or swap for another drink. Uh? Hey presto – no need for glass collectors and malingering glassware. When you’re done drinking, just return to the bar with your last bottle/glass and token and ask for “Pfand zurück bitte”.

• Dear beer: When paying a drinks bill, whatever you do when you hand over a note DO NOT say “danke”. We British are brainwashed into uttering pleasantries at every juncture, going round gobbling “thank you” “no, thank you” like turkeys. If you say “danke” then you can kiss goodbye to any change you were hoping to get from that 50. If you want to tip, then just round it up to a nice number and say “zwanzig” or whatever as you hand over your cash. If you really do want them to keep the change have in mind this phrase “Stimmt's so”. But bite your tongue on the bitte.

• Sip'n'Split: Also when paying a drinks and/or food bill you have the option of paying together or separately “zusammen oder getrennt”. You’ll frequently be asked anyway, and if not just state your preference. Unlike the UK, the waiter/ess will not look at you like you’ve asked to see photos of their mum in the bath. It’s a basic of customer service here, and best of all – they do the maths. Maybe the phrase “going Dutch” is actually a corruption of “going Deutsch”. It couldn’t be simpler here.