We’ve been planning our trip to Germany for the last six months and trying to think of every single thing, but one detail that escaped us was the fact that we speak no German.  Shouldn’t be a problem right?  Everyone speaks English?

Unsurprisingly, while most Germans do speak excellent English, there’ve been some funny and awkward moments resulting from our total ignorance of the language and culture.

One of the most difficult things to find is plain bottled water.  All three of us are used to drinking large quantities of bottled water every day.  After all you’ve got to keep hydrated.  But in Germany there is no plain bottled water.  They have sparkling water (with gas) and mineral water (without gas). 

Sadly mineral water is exactly that, water that’s had minerals added to it, and it tastes distinctly salty.  We nearly drove our poor waiter to distraction the other night after a long thirsty day.  He just couldn’t believe that we wanted plain water.  Every time we asked if it was plain, he’d say, “Yes, no gas.”

We finally convinced a different waiter to bring us tap water, but when we asked for a pitcher, we received one tiny glass.  Many tiny glasses later, it occurred to them that a juice pitcher might be more appropriate and we were able to drink enough for the first time on this trip.  I’m quite sure the Germans think we’re crazy to drink such boring stuff.

Although the water situation still hasn’t really been resolved, we can always drink beer.  Just as everyone told us, the German beer is excellent.  However, when you go to Germany, do NOT ask for a Heineken.  Bad idea.

So the beverage situation isn’t totally under control, but I’m sure the excuse that the photos are crooked because all we’d had to drink all day was beer will explain everything, won’t it?