The Europeans have it figured out
I just came back form a two week trip in Europe, to discover to my dismay that Europeans seem to have it all figured out.
What do I mean? Well, here are some examples of what I saw:
- You can drink alcohol on the streets. There are “bars” that literally spill on the street; they have tables for the finished glasses all round the square where people drink in peace. You can also drink in the mall, in the store and pretty much everywhere.
- You can drink at 16. I saw an add saying not so sell alcohol to under-16, because they are not adults! In Canada we’re not considered adults until 18 or 19, and in the US it’s even worse, you need to be 21 to be an adult. At that point, a German kid has been drinking in the pub with his dad for 5 years already. No surprise kids in the US have tragic accidents because of binge drinking. If I was 21 and I couldn’t drink before that, I’ll be drunk all they way from 21 to 22 just to catch up.
- You can bring you dog to the restaurant, to the bar, to the store, to the mall, to … We ate at an Italian restaurant, with our dog under the table. Best feeling ever, not to feel like you dog is a burden to the rest of the world.
- There is no disgusting filter coffee. Even the smallest place has at least an electrical espresso machine making better espresso than Starbucks ever did.
- Drinking coffee and beer, with people of any age, is acceptable. There is no distinction in age groups in cool bars and coffees. It wont be weird to see a 18 year old drinking near a 50 year old. Here in Canada, we’ll think that the 50 year old is a perv, and we’ll find him weird / her a cougar.
This is just a partial list of all the things that the Europeans seem to have gotten right. The list could be much longer. For a long time now I’ve been a fan of the St-Patricks Day parade in Montreal because we’re implicitly allowed to drink on the streets that day. But that is not enough, we need more European-style freedoms in North America too.
Talking about Germany, this is a good article on what you should look for when traveling in Germany.
Enjoy the Weisbeer and the Espressos.












