Open Container Laws??

In Germany, I have learned, there is no such thing as an open container law. You want to buy a beer, walk down the street drinking it, take it on the S-Bahn or U-Bahn? Feel free! I had observed some of this behavior, and thought it a bit odd, but hey- I'm in Germany, right? I didn't think I'd actually participate- but I did.


The other night, Melanie and I went to Treptower Park, a very nice park directly on the Spree- only two S-Bahn stops away! The image above is from Treptower Park- the view of the Spree. Before we went, she suggested getting something to drink. "Alright," I thought, "Some mineral water (disgustingly carbonated) or juice- sounds good to me!" We went into the corner market and directly to the refrigerated single beer section. Melanie prefers Alcohol-free beer, and I tried the same as her- not bad. We went walking through the park, drinking our Bavarian beers, enjoying the ambiance and weather. It was a great night for a walk. Melanie has discovered that I like to walk. Or rather that I am from Berkeley and obscene distances seem perfectly walkable. Only an hour away? That's nothing!

On the S-Bahn back, or beers empty and waiting to be returned for bottle deposit, I commented on how one would never be able to walk the streets with an open beer in America, especially not ride on Public Transit with one! Imagine drinking a beer on the BART, coffee is hard enough! Melanie said she had heard of such a thing before, she had a friend from Canada who was equally amazed by this German allowance. But it had always been so in Germany. Not that bad I guess.

As an update to my continued struggles with the metric system, I'm in the process of making challah today. It's a good thing I never measure ingredients anyway! After all, they're just suggestions.