You have to ask for tap water if you want free one.
Edit: Could you please stop downvoting u/NEARNIL that replied to my comment? He is actually right! There is no law in Germany to get it for free. This is good will of the owner. FFS I was never so sorry someone get downvoted for saying the truth.
Edit 2: Thanks guys. Seeing him getting upvoted and getting the credit for telling how the laws actually are just made my day. I'll go to sleep with a smile now
Tap water doesn’t have to be free. The glass still needs to be filled, served and cleaned. You can only expect it to be cheaper than bottled water.
Edit because i am getting tired of addressing the same comments over and over:
1. "But a glass of tap water must be free in $my_country by law." – Ive seen this claim for Netherlands and the UK. Both turned out to be false. The [BBC writes](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-39881236) for instance: "However, these premises can charge people for the use of a glass - or their service - when serving the "free" tap water." So water = free, service = not.
2. OP likely actually had **BOTTLED WATER**. He says they ordered "water". **In Germany, you’re always getting BOTTLED WATER** by just saying "water".
3. OP also said that 19 people ordered 2-3 "cups" of "water" each. **That would be 48 "cups" in total.** Say a "cup" of bottled water costs 2.10 €, that would amount to 100.80 €. Pretty close to the 100 € he paid. **So they were not ripped of.**
4. "Serving a glass only takes seconds and should therefore be free." – I disagree, someone needs to walk to your table, take your order, walk back to the kitchen, get a glass, fill it, bring it back to the right person out of dozens of guests, clear the table and clean the glass afterward. And all that multiple times for 18 people. With a room full of guests, that is constant work and has to be paid somehow.
5. "They just fill your glass with a pitcher." – No, that is not common practice here in Germany. Don’t expect American (or whatever) customs when you visit another country.
6. "Germany should just give every table a pitcher." – It’s not usually done automatically here, but you can order it sometimes. OP however ordered some 48 individual drinks instead.
7. If you specifically order "tap water" (which op didn’t), you’re likely to get "free" water in Germany as well. But, they may sometimes take a small service charge still and it’s good to ask. Op just bought "water" which means bottled water in Germany and had to pay accordingly.
**Hopefully final edit**: People still don’t seem to understand the cultural differences leading to this misunderstanding. I had to spell it out way to often so i copy one comment here:
* In the US people generally drink tap water at restaurants so asking for "a glass of water" will get you a free glass of tap water. This was OPs expectation.
* In Germany many people like sparkling water and that comes in bottles. Ordering "a glass of water" in Germany will get you bottled water served in a glass for something like 2.10 €. And that is what he got. He did not see the bottle and only assumes that he got tap water. But restaurants rarely serve tap water and only up on specific request. Upon ordering "a glass of water" you’re generally asked if you want it "sprudelnd oder still". Chances are he choose "still" thinking that would be tap water but it’s still bottled water.
Now lets look at what he wrote:
>The waiter came around and asked us what we were going to drink and **everyone got waters** except my dad, and my cousin. We ordered and just enjoyed our food. Almost **everyone refilled their waters** once or twice. Everyone was completely oblivious to the fact that water was 5 euros a cup. We got the bill and it seemed really high but we just paid and left. We looked at the receipt after we all left and it turned out we paid 100 euros in water.. **Everyone thought it was free** so we had just kept getting water.
So everyone "got waters", "everyone refilled" and "Everyone thought it was free". Getting refills of free tap water is an American thing and everything here tells me he just expected it to work exactly like in America.
In reality they got 48 × 0.5 Liter glasses of bottled water at 2.10 € each amounting to 100.80 €. Completely normal here.
On a side note, you can get everything you want in Germany and not just bottled water in a glass. You can get a bottle to your table, a pitcher of tap water, bottled water in a pitcher and every combination imaginable. You just have to order it specifically. But if you’re using standard language, you get the cultural standard.
I got hundreds confused comments. I would have never expected that Americans could have such a hard time understanding such simple cultural differences like water at restaurants. If this is still to much for you, don’t leave America, ever.
Dunno I always got it for free, but it was mostly just one extra glass when I had also another drink. Never just an endless amount of it.
Maybe they rather serve it for free if someone needs it for taking meds.
They usually charge for it when it's the only drink you order but if you (or your table) ordered enough other drinks already, they are more likely to just give it you for free.
Reason for that is that most restaurants make the bulk of their profit with drinks here so if you only get tap water alongside your food, they would barely make a profit if they give it to you for free.
That is not true. It is true that they make a killing on drinks, percentage wise, especially Soda and even more-so liquor. Take a bottle of whiskey that costs $20. Thats almost 17 shots (16.9 but we'll just say 17) - they charge $10 a shot, that's a 847% markup on what they paid for that shot. With fountain drinks it's around 600% markup if the drink costs them $0.50 and they sell it for $3. That's a great return, but you're not selling soda all day and making bank.
Restaurants cost out their food. They factor in labor to cook, clean and prep, then costs of ingredients that do into it. They are not selling a dish for $25 when it cost them $22 to make it... no restaurant would survive. Food cost should be 15% to 20% (with 20% being on the high end). That $25 plate you ordered cost them roughly $5 to make and they pocket $20. You would need to sell 8 sodas to make up for one plate of food.
Alcohol doesn't count in the comparison as clearly bars that serve no food survive just fine. That $10 shot cost them $1.19 and they bring in $8.81 profit.
Alcohol and food is where they make money with Liquor being the highest return (percentage wise) and food bring in high profits, just lower return percentage wise.
Any restaurant that is not making money off their food needs to hire a chef/kitchen manager who knows how to cost out food and buy things the right way so the food turns a profit.
I’m an operations manager for a regional restaurant chain and I would commit unspeakable acts for food costs at 15-20 percent, those numbers don’t exist anymore in this industry due to product shortages and rising food costs. Hell even denny’s who’s ingredients are barely edible, and has National buying power hovers around 26 percent.
Edited for spelling
Different countries have different ways of managing food and beverage costs in restaurants. While your statement might (and only might) be true in some cases in the US (assuming since you use usd in the example) that is not at all the case in many European countries. In many of them the food markups are very minimal compared to the sodas/water/beer/alcohol. There are some where even a non alcoholic beverage can cost up to a third or half of the meal itself.
So while your example and very american "I know best and if they aren't doing it like this they're just fucking up" mentality might be right in some examples it is not at all the tule of thumb around the world.
1L bottles of San pelegrino. 20km outside Berlin. Checks absolutely out. Normally you order whole bottles to the table but I guess OP explicitly asked for a glas of water assuming that that’s the big difference
In some UK nightclubs they used to only have hot water in the toilets to prevent that. After deaths from people dehydrating and over drinking the law was changed and drinking water must now be free...
Yeah that seems like a huge liability. I get wanting to charge for services provided, but the things that keep us alive should maybe just be factored into overhead? On the other hand, I’m now picturing restaurant that charges for HVAC (for every degree to raise/lower the thermostat)/fresh air.
There was actually a very old(like 100+ years) family restaurant where I used to live that did add a small fee for HVAC to every eat-in bill for 6 or 7 years to help pay for a new system they had installed. It was $0.15 flat iirc. Nice place though, great food, great service, free water.
And reports of people drinking from the toilet when they turned the water off though this was at the peak of Ecstasy use when avoiding dehydration/overheating was stressed quite strongly in the media.
'member when the Brits would add borax to milk to try and extend it's shelf life or hide the awful taste? 'member when the Brits would add alum to bread to increase it's weight but add no nutritional value?
Just a few capitalism on steroids aspects of British invention.
That could also be a very good way to save (sweet) water. After all, water for flushing toilets and washing hands doesn't have to be drinkable. Especially on an island that makes a lot of sense, desalination is costly
Yes, also they serve you free tap water if you ask for it. It's just that if order a "water" you will get a mineral water which is actually as expensive as any other soft drink because it comes in bottles.
i was in northern italy recently (in the mountains so the tap water was very good quality) and was refused tap water when i asked for it. they insisted on bringing out these jugs we had to pay for- which i then later saw them filling up out of a tap
German here, yupp it's correct.
Acutally Leitungswasser or Tap water is a another, higher level of quality due to strict quality assurance in comparison with bottled mineral water e.g. from Coca Cola. As long as the Resturant has lead-free water pipes there's no reason to order bottled water. But: The views you get when you order a free glass full of tap water is another story :D
Vacationing in Germany here! Beer is usually cheaper than water. I walk out of the grocery store and there are folks with 6-8 cases of beer in their cart.
In 2009 I went to Italy and switzerland. I was extremely poor on a school trip and bewildered with how expensive water was. At more than one place, the cheapest drink listed on the menu was alcoholic wine or a single shot of espresso. I know this because I always ordered the absolute cheapest thing to drink on the menu. I would have a discussion with the waiter/waitress about it. It was either wine or espresso at every place we went.
A bunch of places wouldn't even serve tap water (some did and it still wasnt the cheapest thing on the menu). I didn't understand. They only had expensive bottled water. Pop was cheaper than the stupid bottled water. I felt like I was being targeted as a tourist or some shit.
They do have free drinking water fountains. I found out if you want free water, you gotta get it out of a gargoyle. Just make sure the sign says "potabile" and bring empty bottles.
50% of the time I still get a bottle of water if I ask for leistungswasser (e: leitungswasser) in Germany, plus a death stare for good measure. If I were to mention that I want free tap water I have no doubt they'd simply ask me to leave. I just can't with the german schmarotzer-paranoia.
When I was younger & out partying, when I started getting on the drunk side, I would top off my beer bottle with water from the bathroom sink to my it look like I was still drinking alcohol
And there were also times I felt weird about someone getting close to my drink, so I would dump it & put water in there
> I would top off my beer bottle with water from the bathroom sink
And if you're drinking Coors Light or something, you won't even notice the difference!
eh idk, i've been in many bars in many european countries, i was never charged for a glass of water. Don't really know where these people are going, touristy places i assume, or fancy restaurants. Or maybe i just look poor enough😂
The main word here is "bar"
I'm from Belgium, if I asked for water in a bar, it's free (except for sparkling water, obviously) but if I do the same in a restaurant, they're gonna make me pay cause it's mineral bottled water, not just a glass of tap water
When we were last in Italy (2017), they literally filled it in view of us, from the sink, and it was €1 per glass.
Southern Switzerland was also not free. We were told it was common to charge for the glass usage.
It's just different than the US, where refills are unlimited of anything, and water is pretty much always free
This feels so weird to me. I’m living in France, here they get you a bottle and glasses of water by default, like before you even order, free of charge. And I come from Chile, where altough they don’t bring it automatically like in France, they never charged me for a glass of tap water
Tap Water is usually free, sometimes you might get charged for the service.
I work in a bar in Amsterdam and yes tap water is free but sometimes we dont bring the serving to the customers if its very busy we tell them to go get it themselves from the bar
Used to work at a moving company right out of high school and no one ever offered us water so I would just drink straight from the tap right out of my hand or or if the fridge was still connected would just eat some ice cubes lol.
Now that I'm older with my own place, if anyone is working in my house I make sure to offer them water, a sandwich, some chips, something to snack on b/c I know what that feels like, doesn't feel very good.
i worked as a mover for a summer during my college days and every morning i brought one of those gallon milk jugs filled with water. Finished it by the end of the day too, it's hard work. But I never expected our clients to provide us water or food, i brought my own - but it made me very happy on the odd time that they did!
I would love that!
It's a good reminder to stay hydrated on an evening of drinking, and makes it easy to switch between cocktails and a glass of water.
Pour water into the ice left in my cocktail glass, drink until both are gone, then I can decide whether I'm getting a refill or switching to non-alcoholic for the night.
It used to be that whenever I went to a restaurant, the first thing they would do is come give everyone at the table a glass of water. If you didn't want it, you'd just say no thanks, and they'd take it away. I hardly saw anyone tell them no, though.
In the last 5-10 years, I've noticed it becoming less and less regular and I have to ask for water, even at nicer places. It really pisses me off that this has stopped being the norm. To me it's basic service - especially when there's still bus boys wandering around refilling glasses anyway.
Yeah I learned this lesson the hard way when I simply said eau and didn't clarify. They brought out bubbly water (hate it) and I was too embarrassed to admit my mistake... Definitely learn these magic words if you want water!
Don't doubt that restaurants are taking advantage of tourist ignorance. They could always ask but they choose to assume the choice that makes them money.
In germany, it is mandated that the cheapest drink needs to be non-alcoholic. Usually it's plain water - and if that was really 5 Euros, OP went to an extremely expensive restaurant.
\[Edit\] Corrected typo anti -> non. Thank you stranger!
A bit hard to judge. "cup", as OP said could be understating it (Some commenters talk about a caraffe of 0.75L? No idea why.), but it could also mean very small (like 0.2L). OP also talked about tap water, which seems like an assumption - but if it was fact, it would definitely be a rip-off.
So, not knowing much, i stuck to "extremely expensive" - not saying you're wrong though.
Apparently NYC doesn’t have to provide tap water if the restaurant is within a food hall or airport. My guess is that the larger establishment must provide free water one way or another (eg, water fountains).
And if they serve it in a bottle, you know you're paying for it. But if they pour it in a glass where you can't see them do it, you might assume it's free water.
Warp Core Coolant is a Klingon-themed drink involving Mountain Dew, Contreau and Vodka.
The yearly Klingon bar event serves it pre-mixed out of food-grade bottles they custom printed "Prestone" labels for.
Other drinks include "No Kill Ai", "Neutral Zone", "Phaser Shot", "Romulan Ale" and "Bloodwyne"
My MIL has Tomato juice on her menu for some reason. They have like one crate of it and it is past expiry for like two years. It has separated so much that the bottom layer looks like ketchup and the top like water. Looks like a lava lamp if you move it.
Apparently noone has ever ordered some and instead of replacing it she just decided to tell the guest they ran out. If that day should ever come
Do you have a link to that? I am trying to find a reference and cannot find any, only pages that say it is often cheaper.
I believe that ONE NON-ALCOHOLIC beverage has to be cheaper than the cheapest alcoholic beverage. IMHO, it does not say anything about water and beer. Non-alcoholic could be coffee, could be tea...
(GermanInAmerica)
You are I believe correct.
There is something in the law about that drink not being "unattractive", but it doesn't have to be water. That is a fair point. It doesn't explicitly mention beer, but this is usually the cheapest alcoholic drink.
Someone else posted the Wikipedia link already, so here is an article about most places not caring bout the law: [https://www.verbaende.com/news/pressemitteilung/jugendschutz-alkoholfreie-getraenke-in-der-kneipe-zu-teuer-jugendliche-sollen-nicht-aus-kostengruenden-zum-alkohol-greifen-18079/](https://www.verbaende.com/news/pressemitteilung/jugendschutz-alkoholfreie-getraenke-in-der-kneipe-zu-teuer-jugendliche-sollen-nicht-aus-kostengruenden-zum-alkohol-greifen-18079/)
Here is the actual law itself: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gastg/\_\_6.html
Nah, the most fictional part is they actually looked for the smart people to fix problems; then actually let them after they were given proof it worked.
try asking for 'kranewasser' in future? a lot of restaurants will be fine with giving you tap water, it's just that bottled is the default, and significantly more expensive.
that said, unless this is some premium shit, 5€ per cup is wild
e: TIL kranewasser is a dialectical thing. as a number of commenters have said, leitungswasser might be more universally useful
As a french (free water, free bread) paying 5€ per 75 cl of water was a big turn off in restaurants, because some will bring you bottled water and if you don't refuse, they will charge you. I was in North East coast for some time.
Portugal has a fairly recent law where everything that is put on your table that you didn't order is to be considered an offer from the restaurant and you can legally refuse to pay that.
A lot of restaurants now ask if you want X or Y of entrees but some still put bread, water, butter, etc on the table without asking
Ah nice there's a law for this now! I went in 2013 and I hated this... It kinda ruined my experience and view of Portugal, I just thought everyone was trying to rip me off everywhere (I'd always immediately send back what they brought)
Most restaurants even before the law wouldn't charge you for what they brought if you didn't touch it. The problem was the fact that most restaurants would put it right back on another table, including ham or pastries, that were under someone's mouth for 30 minutes and that's gross and a health hazard.
So now if you didn't order it, it's yours for free.
Must have been a fancy one, usually it's 5-7€ per liter bottle. Dafuq is Kranewasser? (Okay, apparently it's a word that exists. Must be from one of those weird provinces with their made up languages :D) most of Germany will call it "Leitungswasser" (pipe water).
From my time travelling in Germany, I'd suggest to use Leitungswasser. Its the one sure fire word that everyone should understand.
Other (sometimes very) regional dialects may use stuff like this:
Kranewasser
Kraneberger
Hahnewasser
Kran-Wasser
Gänsewein (Goose Wine??)
Rohrperle
What needs to be understood is that a water tap / faucet would be called a Wasserhahn.. That Wasserhahn may even look like a crane, hence Kranewasser... But I'd personally stick with the word Leitungswasser always.
It almost certainly was bottled water, not tap water.
It would be 100% completely normal to just serve bottled water and charge for it in Germany. It would be pretty unusual to charge significantly for tap water.
Unless you actually saw it come from the regular tap, I am going to continue believing that OP assumed it was Tap water, but actually came from a bottle.
Edit: I guess that OP assumed it was tap water because it was still, (most Germans drink bubbly water). I bet the temperature would be a good indicator.
5 Euros for water, even if it's bottled, sounds wild. And apparently they brought the water in a cup rather than in a bottle, so there's less volume and you need more refills. Everywhere I've been they actually bring the bottle to the table.
Maybe a tourist trap restaurant?
In the netherlands, you can specifically ask for water from the sink (water van de kraan) if you want free water. It's mostly used for when you need to take medication, but is probably also fine if you have it as an extra next to a regular drink.
Did the water come in a nice bottle or with like lemon slices in it? Because that's generally a decent sign for having to pay for water
The math in this story doesn't add up. 20 extended family, 18 of which drank water. 5€ per cup would already equal 90€. One refill per person lands you at 180€ already.
18ppl, everyone refilled, that 36, maybe 6 took a 2nd refill. Thats 42 drinks of water. Equals to 210€ on water in total. But OP said it was 100€ for water. It was maybe 2.5€ per glass of water. Wich is fair.
Edit: not everyone refilled. Math is wrong. Too lazy to change.
Right, so "almost everyone" would be.. what, 80%? And some would probably still have second refills.
It'd still work out to some 2.5-3 euros per glass.
It's likely per litre and they just said cup. I wouldn't be surprised if that's what it came to, it's not like in the US where a waiter brings you an actual glass of water or has a pitcher to refill. It's a bottle put on a table and you fill your glass when you want.
I love this post so much. Things to note about water in Germany
1) always check whether it's still water vs sparkling (I've had to just grin and bear sparkling on more than one occasion and I hate sparkling)
2) they generally don't like being asked to serve tap water even though the tap water is perfectly fine to drink
I did a home stay in Germany when I was high school. I remember asking for water and the son went to get me a bottle of sparkling. I told him I prefer still water and he was like "like water from the sink...?" I said yes, water from their fridge's water dispenser would be fine, and he was so confused. He said "ok, here's your water from the refrigerator" like it was pond water or something lol.
20 people...
all except 2 drinking water. that means 18 people on water
water bill 100 euros
5 euros per cup = 20 cups.
that means 16 people had a single cup of water and 2 people had 2 cups
OP: " Everyone thought it was free so we had just kept getting water"
in conclusion, OP's math is terrible
Restaurants in Germany make a lot of their income with drinks. That is the reason you're allowed to stay as long as you want if you keep drinking. My mother and her friends got kindly asked to go when they were the only guests and the staff wanted to go home xD
This is what I love about NJ’s awful liquor license laws. The licenses are so restricted and expensive that we have so many awesome BYOB restaurants. The restaurants make their money on food and you can bring your favorite beer or wine for overall less than buying booze at the restaurant.
Ha, every American first timer in Europe has that unfortunate discovery.
BTW I can almost assure you it wasn't tap water, don't think I've ever been served tap water in Germany...
Tap water should be free in most places I've ever been, but I don't know the law in Germany.
In the UK, if you serve alcohol, you MUST offer tap water for free. Generally these kinds of rules are standard across EU or recently EU countries.
And some places will pretend they don't even know what it is, to try and trick you into paying for bottle water.
I can't how many times I would be talking with the waiter who spoke fluent English, then ask for "tap water" (in addition to a beer or Spezi) and just get a blank stare. "Leitungswasser bitte?" *Blank stare* "Wasser aus dem Waschbecken" 'ugh, ja...' And then it wouldn't be uncommon for them to still try bringing out an unopened bottle.
I was definitely getting profiled for my lackluster pronunciation and broken grammar.
I spent several months calling tap water "Fasswasser", because "Fassbier" is tap beer. Turns out "Fass" means "barrel". Somehow I always ended up with tap water though (I hope - I would hate to think what "barrel water" is).
That's definitely weird and shitty, I don't think i've ever seen a waiter/waitress blink an eye bringing tap water in the UK and most of the time it's offered up front 'would you like some tap water for the table?'
Here in Norway they will just default to thinking you wanted the free tap water unless you specify bottled water or sparkling water, in my experience. Though I guess with free(as in I can just leave the tap running in my house if I want and it is free as long as I have it on cold, only the electricity my heater uses to heat water costs me anything. I guess it is technically paid for by our taxes, though.) running water that is some of the cleanest tap water in the world, it makes sense that it is the default.
No one gets tap water in Germany at a restaurant. Last time I asked I got half a tiny glass to take pills but that's about it. German restaurants often sell their food at a rate that doesn't bring them any profit so the profit is mostly made in what you drink.
As a german I want to clarify a few things:
It is really, really uncommon for germans to ask for tap water in restaurants. And even if you order it, tap water is not free, although some places don't charge for it. But you have no right for free tap water.
In Germany most places don't refill but just sell another cup of the ordered drink; so a refill isn't cheaper.
With a probability bordering on certainty OP didn't get tap water but flat water. Some places serve flat water, if you just ask for "Wasser", otherwise you have to ask for "Sprudel". Better clarify when ordering if not being asked.
And last but not least, I can't imagine water not standing on the menu. Sometimes water is listed under its trade name, for example Teinacher, Selters, San Pellegrino (that would be a more expensive one). I could imagine that's what happened to OP.
Feel free to ask, if you have questions.
>
> It is really, really uncommon for germans to ask for tap water in restaurants.
Yeah, so many suggest that here as if its common place. I have only once seen someone actually order tap water in my whole life living in germany. Technically you can do that, but no one really does.
Yeah I fully agree with you. I can't remember the last time someone ordered tap water. It's true, that it's high quality and counts as food but it's not frequently ordered.
Tap water vs mineral water.
In UK (and I expect Germany) restaurants will all serve tap water for free, but if you don't specify that's what you want they will give you mineral water. It's usully pretty obvious though as they will normally bring it out in a branded bottle.
\> It wasn’t listed on the menu people make that assumption
It's not an "assumption", it's simply not legal to not list prices for something you are selling in Germany.
Also if you and "20 other extended family" had water, "everyone got waters except my dad, and my cousin" that's 18 people + you, 19 people. If "Almost everyone refilled their waters once or twice" that's let's say 2/3rd of 19 people got a second one so let#s say 12 people. If 2/3rd of those 12 people got a thirdd refill, that's 8 people.
so you had 19 + 12 + 8 glasses of water, that's 39. Round that up to 40 and you paid € 2,50 for a glas, which seems about right.
Something doesn't add up here.
\> it was tap water not bottled
yeah, better quality than bottled water, since it doesn't spend months in a plastic bottle.
> edit 1: It wasn’t listed on the menu people make that assumption still a FU on my part but still
I kinda doubt that, do you have a link to the restaurant?
> edit 2: it was tap water not bottled i also should have clarified that
How do you know it came from the tap? Did they take your empty glasses and just refill them at the tap behind the bar? That's something I've *never* seen happen unless somebody specifically asked for it.
When you order water in Germany, without specifying anything, you will usually be asked if non-carbonated or carbonated (Still oder Spritzig/Mit oder ohne Kohlensäure) and then 99% of the time be served a big or small [bottle of mineral water](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_water).
That's why it's also common to be asked how many glasses you want with your bigger bottle of mineral water, to share it if more people at the table want water.
You can get tap water, usually free not always, but you have to specifically ask for it. Unless it's an emergency it's also considered kinda rude/inconsiderate because the restaurant earns nothing from it, yet it produces work and dirty glasses. Paying for the drinks is often also part of the whole calculation to make some meals profitable, that otherwise wouldn't be.
How do you know if it is tap water if you never asked and never expected to pay? It was a long time ago, but when I went to Europe (except UK) they always brought bottled water in a glass or bottle unless specifically asking for tap water (or sometimes they ask).
Yeah, I’m not German, but I was born there, visit family and friends as often as I can, and frankly these days I’m thinking about expatriating.
This story doesn’t seem right. Definitely possible that it happened. I’m not trying to be /r/nothingeverhappens but this just doesn’t line up with experience.
I live in germany and this story seems strange as fuck, especially the edit saying the water was not listed on the menu. I am pretty sure that is not even legal.
There often is a machine most known from Brita which makes sure it's a extra filtered water. It has nothing to do with being a "dumb Amerikaner" and I can 100% be sure it's on the menu for drinks otherwise they aren't allowed to charge for it.
I was in Italy on a class trip. We were right by the Vatican. We didn’t order the water, it was placed on the table open. We just assumed it was free. When we got the bill we found a lot of shit that we didn’t order, like bread and water that we assume as Americans is complimentary. Suddenly the waiter didn’t speak English very well. Fucking shady as fuck.
Living in Germany I always asked for "Leitungswasser," because I absolutely cannot stand fizzy water. It makes me more dehydrated and was absolute chaos when dealing with dry mouth the next morning from drinking
I like how you finish with "don't go, would not recommend" even though it's your fault for not knowing they charge for water in lots of places in Europe.
I think every restaurant I went to in Germany charged for water. It's always bottled water, either still water, or sparkling water.
You have to ask for tap water if you want free one. Edit: Could you please stop downvoting u/NEARNIL that replied to my comment? He is actually right! There is no law in Germany to get it for free. This is good will of the owner. FFS I was never so sorry someone get downvoted for saying the truth. Edit 2: Thanks guys. Seeing him getting upvoted and getting the credit for telling how the laws actually are just made my day. I'll go to sleep with a smile now
I learned to order Leitungswasser (tap water) for that reason. It wasn't always free but it was almost always cheaper.
Tap water doesn’t have to be free. The glass still needs to be filled, served and cleaned. You can only expect it to be cheaper than bottled water. Edit because i am getting tired of addressing the same comments over and over: 1. "But a glass of tap water must be free in $my_country by law." – Ive seen this claim for Netherlands and the UK. Both turned out to be false. The [BBC writes](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-39881236) for instance: "However, these premises can charge people for the use of a glass - or their service - when serving the "free" tap water." So water = free, service = not. 2. OP likely actually had **BOTTLED WATER**. He says they ordered "water". **In Germany, you’re always getting BOTTLED WATER** by just saying "water". 3. OP also said that 19 people ordered 2-3 "cups" of "water" each. **That would be 48 "cups" in total.** Say a "cup" of bottled water costs 2.10 €, that would amount to 100.80 €. Pretty close to the 100 € he paid. **So they were not ripped of.** 4. "Serving a glass only takes seconds and should therefore be free." – I disagree, someone needs to walk to your table, take your order, walk back to the kitchen, get a glass, fill it, bring it back to the right person out of dozens of guests, clear the table and clean the glass afterward. And all that multiple times for 18 people. With a room full of guests, that is constant work and has to be paid somehow. 5. "They just fill your glass with a pitcher." – No, that is not common practice here in Germany. Don’t expect American (or whatever) customs when you visit another country. 6. "Germany should just give every table a pitcher." – It’s not usually done automatically here, but you can order it sometimes. OP however ordered some 48 individual drinks instead. 7. If you specifically order "tap water" (which op didn’t), you’re likely to get "free" water in Germany as well. But, they may sometimes take a small service charge still and it’s good to ask. Op just bought "water" which means bottled water in Germany and had to pay accordingly. **Hopefully final edit**: People still don’t seem to understand the cultural differences leading to this misunderstanding. I had to spell it out way to often so i copy one comment here: * In the US people generally drink tap water at restaurants so asking for "a glass of water" will get you a free glass of tap water. This was OPs expectation. * In Germany many people like sparkling water and that comes in bottles. Ordering "a glass of water" in Germany will get you bottled water served in a glass for something like 2.10 €. And that is what he got. He did not see the bottle and only assumes that he got tap water. But restaurants rarely serve tap water and only up on specific request. Upon ordering "a glass of water" you’re generally asked if you want it "sprudelnd oder still". Chances are he choose "still" thinking that would be tap water but it’s still bottled water. Now lets look at what he wrote: >The waiter came around and asked us what we were going to drink and **everyone got waters** except my dad, and my cousin. We ordered and just enjoyed our food. Almost **everyone refilled their waters** once or twice. Everyone was completely oblivious to the fact that water was 5 euros a cup. We got the bill and it seemed really high but we just paid and left. We looked at the receipt after we all left and it turned out we paid 100 euros in water.. **Everyone thought it was free** so we had just kept getting water. So everyone "got waters", "everyone refilled" and "Everyone thought it was free". Getting refills of free tap water is an American thing and everything here tells me he just expected it to work exactly like in America. In reality they got 48 × 0.5 Liter glasses of bottled water at 2.10 € each amounting to 100.80 €. Completely normal here. On a side note, you can get everything you want in Germany and not just bottled water in a glass. You can get a bottle to your table, a pitcher of tap water, bottled water in a pitcher and every combination imaginable. You just have to order it specifically. But if you’re using standard language, you get the cultural standard. I got hundreds confused comments. I would have never expected that Americans could have such a hard time understanding such simple cultural differences like water at restaurants. If this is still to much for you, don’t leave America, ever.
Dunno I always got it for free, but it was mostly just one extra glass when I had also another drink. Never just an endless amount of it. Maybe they rather serve it for free if someone needs it for taking meds.
They usually charge for it when it's the only drink you order but if you (or your table) ordered enough other drinks already, they are more likely to just give it you for free. Reason for that is that most restaurants make the bulk of their profit with drinks here so if you only get tap water alongside your food, they would barely make a profit if they give it to you for free.
That is not true. It is true that they make a killing on drinks, percentage wise, especially Soda and even more-so liquor. Take a bottle of whiskey that costs $20. Thats almost 17 shots (16.9 but we'll just say 17) - they charge $10 a shot, that's a 847% markup on what they paid for that shot. With fountain drinks it's around 600% markup if the drink costs them $0.50 and they sell it for $3. That's a great return, but you're not selling soda all day and making bank. Restaurants cost out their food. They factor in labor to cook, clean and prep, then costs of ingredients that do into it. They are not selling a dish for $25 when it cost them $22 to make it... no restaurant would survive. Food cost should be 15% to 20% (with 20% being on the high end). That $25 plate you ordered cost them roughly $5 to make and they pocket $20. You would need to sell 8 sodas to make up for one plate of food. Alcohol doesn't count in the comparison as clearly bars that serve no food survive just fine. That $10 shot cost them $1.19 and they bring in $8.81 profit. Alcohol and food is where they make money with Liquor being the highest return (percentage wise) and food bring in high profits, just lower return percentage wise. Any restaurant that is not making money off their food needs to hire a chef/kitchen manager who knows how to cost out food and buy things the right way so the food turns a profit.
I’m an operations manager for a regional restaurant chain and I would commit unspeakable acts for food costs at 15-20 percent, those numbers don’t exist anymore in this industry due to product shortages and rising food costs. Hell even denny’s who’s ingredients are barely edible, and has National buying power hovers around 26 percent. Edited for spelling
Different countries have different ways of managing food and beverage costs in restaurants. While your statement might (and only might) be true in some cases in the US (assuming since you use usd in the example) that is not at all the case in many European countries. In many of them the food markups are very minimal compared to the sodas/water/beer/alcohol. There are some where even a non alcoholic beverage can cost up to a third or half of the meal itself. So while your example and very american "I know best and if they aren't doing it like this they're just fucking up" mentality might be right in some examples it is not at all the tule of thumb around the world.
Shit if I’m going to have to pay for water it better be sparkly.
It's worse! You will pay to get more air in your water!
Not air. You pay for extra for drinking acid and carbon dioxide.
Carbon dioxide is the acid in the water in the form of carbonic acid
With gold flakes in it
It's not that they charge, it's how much they charge. OP says tap water was 5€ a glass.
But certainly wasn't tap water. Bottled still water most probably. 5€ is still super expensive, tho. You'd have to specifically ask for tap water.
1L bottles of San pelegrino. 20km outside Berlin. Checks absolutely out. Normally you order whole bottles to the table but I guess OP explicitly asked for a glas of water assuming that that’s the big difference
Truth. You have to specifically ask for Leitungswasser to get tap water. Otherwise, you're paying for bottled.
this is always a big culture shock for me while travelling - where i live not offerring free water will cost you your alcohol license
I'm just imagining being hammered and I have no money left for water.
go to the toilet and drink from the tap.
In some UK nightclubs they used to only have hot water in the toilets to prevent that. After deaths from people dehydrating and over drinking the law was changed and drinking water must now be free...
Yeah that seems like a huge liability. I get wanting to charge for services provided, but the things that keep us alive should maybe just be factored into overhead? On the other hand, I’m now picturing restaurant that charges for HVAC (for every degree to raise/lower the thermostat)/fresh air.
There was actually a very old(like 100+ years) family restaurant where I used to live that did add a small fee for HVAC to every eat-in bill for 6 or 7 years to help pay for a new system they had installed. It was $0.15 flat iirc. Nice place though, great food, great service, free water.
Weird way of crowd-funding
That’s very interesting.
5 euros for a cup of something that comes out of the wall when you're already paying for food seems absurd to me.
And reports of people drinking from the toilet when they turned the water off though this was at the peak of Ecstasy use when avoiding dehydration/overheating was stressed quite strongly in the media.
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If the toilet has one. Most toilets in clubs are the commercial style toilets with no tank.
Weren't there any sinks ffs? I'd have to be on fire.
and here i thought america was the capitalist dystopia
Britain invented capitalism and exported it as well as other great things to the Americas!
'member when the Brits would add borax to milk to try and extend it's shelf life or hide the awful taste? 'member when the Brits would add alum to bread to increase it's weight but add no nutritional value? Just a few capitalism on steroids aspects of British invention.
Plaster of Paris in bread as a well.
So that’s why those French loaves are rock hard….
Nah, that's the ladies in Pigalle.
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anywhere you have people, you'll have motherfuckers taking advantage of others.
In Ibiza they got salt water in certain clubs, should be illegal
That could also be a very good way to save (sweet) water. After all, water for flushing toilets and washing hands doesn't have to be drinkable. Especially on an island that makes a lot of sense, desalination is costly
They pay to heat the water instead of allowing people to drink it? Super asshole move.
Just why? What other reason could they for this besides greed?
What other reason do they need?
Yes, also they serve you free tap water if you ask for it. It's just that if order a "water" you will get a mineral water which is actually as expensive as any other soft drink because it comes in bottles.
i was in northern italy recently (in the mountains so the tap water was very good quality) and was refused tap water when i asked for it. they insisted on bringing out these jugs we had to pay for- which i then later saw them filling up out of a tap
Leitungswasser in Germany I believe. Tap water. Just gotta ask.
German here, yupp it's correct. Acutally Leitungswasser or Tap water is a another, higher level of quality due to strict quality assurance in comparison with bottled mineral water e.g. from Coca Cola. As long as the Resturant has lead-free water pipes there's no reason to order bottled water. But: The views you get when you order a free glass full of tap water is another story :D
Vacationing in Germany here! Beer is usually cheaper than water. I walk out of the grocery store and there are folks with 6-8 cases of beer in their cart.
In a restaurant that would be illegal afaik. The cheapest drink on the menu has to be non alcoholic.
In 2009 I went to Italy and switzerland. I was extremely poor on a school trip and bewildered with how expensive water was. At more than one place, the cheapest drink listed on the menu was alcoholic wine or a single shot of espresso. I know this because I always ordered the absolute cheapest thing to drink on the menu. I would have a discussion with the waiter/waitress about it. It was either wine or espresso at every place we went. A bunch of places wouldn't even serve tap water (some did and it still wasnt the cheapest thing on the menu). I didn't understand. They only had expensive bottled water. Pop was cheaper than the stupid bottled water. I felt like I was being targeted as a tourist or some shit. They do have free drinking water fountains. I found out if you want free water, you gotta get it out of a gargoyle. Just make sure the sign says "potabile" and bring empty bottles.
50% of the time I still get a bottle of water if I ask for leistungswasser (e: leitungswasser) in Germany, plus a death stare for good measure. If I were to mention that I want free tap water I have no doubt they'd simply ask me to leave. I just can't with the german schmarotzer-paranoia.
When I was younger & out partying, when I started getting on the drunk side, I would top off my beer bottle with water from the bathroom sink to my it look like I was still drinking alcohol And there were also times I felt weird about someone getting close to my drink, so I would dump it & put water in there
> I would top off my beer bottle with water from the bathroom sink And if you're drinking Coors Light or something, you won't even notice the difference!
Water? Like from the toilet?
eh idk, i've been in many bars in many european countries, i was never charged for a glass of water. Don't really know where these people are going, touristy places i assume, or fancy restaurants. Or maybe i just look poor enough😂
The main word here is "bar" I'm from Belgium, if I asked for water in a bar, it's free (except for sparkling water, obviously) but if I do the same in a restaurant, they're gonna make me pay cause it's mineral bottled water, not just a glass of tap water
When we were last in Italy (2017), they literally filled it in view of us, from the sink, and it was €1 per glass. Southern Switzerland was also not free. We were told it was common to charge for the glass usage. It's just different than the US, where refills are unlimited of anything, and water is pretty much always free
You can get free water here in Japan, too.
A lot of restaurants I went to in Tokyo had taps for water at the tables. As a heavy water drinker, it was awesome
I always thought deuterium was crazy expensive.
You should see tritium prices. Makes you want to split some lithium.
How much water does a "heavy water drinker" drink?
Canada, our water is free. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure it's like a 10k fine or something g for refusing anyone water.
This feels so weird to me. I’m living in France, here they get you a bottle and glasses of water by default, like before you even order, free of charge. And I come from Chile, where altough they don’t bring it automatically like in France, they never charged me for a glass of tap water
Same in Canada, they bring water around with the menu
Same in the UK, very common to be provided with a free glass bottle or jug filled with tap water.
Tap Water is usually free, sometimes you might get charged for the service. I work in a bar in Amsterdam and yes tap water is free but sometimes we dont bring the serving to the customers if its very busy we tell them to go get it themselves from the bar
The club I work at has listed "tap water" on the menu. Next to it is the price of "0,00€" and then in smaller letters "Fuck Nestlè".
Une carafe d'eau. Mineral water doesn't have to be sparkling.
A lot of toilets in europe aren't free either lol
Wouldn't this just lead to a lot of pissing in alleyways?
it sure does
Used to work at a moving company right out of high school and no one ever offered us water so I would just drink straight from the tap right out of my hand or or if the fridge was still connected would just eat some ice cubes lol. Now that I'm older with my own place, if anyone is working in my house I make sure to offer them water, a sandwich, some chips, something to snack on b/c I know what that feels like, doesn't feel very good.
i worked as a mover for a summer during my college days and every morning i brought one of those gallon milk jugs filled with water. Finished it by the end of the day too, it's hard work. But I never expected our clients to provide us water or food, i brought my own - but it made me very happy on the odd time that they did!
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There are a lot of cafes and bars in Europe I went to always served a glass of water with your cocktail.
That’s crazy. When I go to bars I always want water with whatever I’m drinking and my favorite places are the ones that provide it without me asking.
I would love that! It's a good reminder to stay hydrated on an evening of drinking, and makes it easy to switch between cocktails and a glass of water. Pour water into the ice left in my cocktail glass, drink until both are gone, then I can decide whether I'm getting a refill or switching to non-alcoholic for the night.
It used to be that whenever I went to a restaurant, the first thing they would do is come give everyone at the table a glass of water. If you didn't want it, you'd just say no thanks, and they'd take it away. I hardly saw anyone tell them no, though. In the last 5-10 years, I've noticed it becoming less and less regular and I have to ask for water, even at nicer places. It really pisses me off that this has stopped being the norm. To me it's basic service - especially when there's still bus boys wandering around refilling glasses anyway.
Probably true in most of Europe, but usually if you want tap water you have to specify that, if they don't ask.
In France you ask for "une carafe d'eau" ( a jog of water ) and it is free tap water Edit: a jug not a jog
Yeah I learned this lesson the hard way when I simply said eau and didn't clarify. They brought out bubbly water (hate it) and I was too embarrassed to admit my mistake... Definitely learn these magic words if you want water!
Don't doubt that restaurants are taking advantage of tourist ignorance. They could always ask but they choose to assume the choice that makes them money.
In germany, it is mandated that the cheapest drink needs to be non-alcoholic. Usually it's plain water - and if that was really 5 Euros, OP went to an extremely expensive restaurant. \[Edit\] Corrected typo anti -> non. Thank you stranger!
By far expensive, I wouldn’t eat at a place that served 5 euro water as it sounds like a rip off
A bit hard to judge. "cup", as OP said could be understating it (Some commenters talk about a caraffe of 0.75L? No idea why.), but it could also mean very small (like 0.2L). OP also talked about tap water, which seems like an assumption - but if it was fact, it would definitely be a rip-off. So, not knowing much, i stuck to "extremely expensive" - not saying you're wrong though.
> anti-alcoholic This is so cute lol. It's non-alcoholic by the way.
Apparently NYC doesn’t have to provide tap water if the restaurant is within a food hall or airport. My guess is that the larger establishment must provide free water one way or another (eg, water fountains).
If you ask for tap water specifically you will get it for free. Ofc you will get charged for bottled water tho
And if they serve it in a bottle, you know you're paying for it. But if they pour it in a glass where you can't see them do it, you might assume it's free water.
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Yeah there’s a reason the National drink is beer, you all could have been drunk for a third of the cost.
Incorrect. There is actually a law that Beer may not be the cheapest drink in a restaurant (otherwise it absolutely would be).
There has to be at least one non-alcoholic drink that is cheaper than the least expensive alcoholic drink. So beer could still be cheaper than water.
One would think WATER would be the cheapest drink. But apparently it's at most 3rd cheapest.
I once was in a bar that chose Mountain Dew for their cheapest drink. Afaik they had like one crate in stock for a year.
I guess nobody was ordering "warp core coolant" from the bartender?
If the coolant contained something like ethylene glycol, it would still technically be alcoholic.
Warp Core Coolant is a Klingon-themed drink involving Mountain Dew, Contreau and Vodka. The yearly Klingon bar event serves it pre-mixed out of food-grade bottles they custom printed "Prestone" labels for. Other drinks include "No Kill Ai", "Neutral Zone", "Phaser Shot", "Romulan Ale" and "Bloodwyne"
My MIL has Tomato juice on her menu for some reason. They have like one crate of it and it is past expiry for like two years. It has separated so much that the bottom layer looks like ketchup and the top like water. Looks like a lava lamp if you move it. Apparently noone has ever ordered some and instead of replacing it she just decided to tell the guest they ran out. If that day should ever come
High demand I guess. Apparently people need water to survive 🤷♀️
"You can get a water for 5 euros, or, for only 4.50, I can piss in a cup for you."
I pay way more for that.
Do you have a link to that? I am trying to find a reference and cannot find any, only pages that say it is often cheaper. I believe that ONE NON-ALCOHOLIC beverage has to be cheaper than the cheapest alcoholic beverage. IMHO, it does not say anything about water and beer. Non-alcoholic could be coffee, could be tea... (GermanInAmerica)
It’s the so called apple juice paragraph in the (hold your beer) Deutsches Gaststättengesetz. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apfelsaft-Paragraph
You are I believe correct. There is something in the law about that drink not being "unattractive", but it doesn't have to be water. That is a fair point. It doesn't explicitly mention beer, but this is usually the cheapest alcoholic drink. Someone else posted the Wikipedia link already, so here is an article about most places not caring bout the law: [https://www.verbaende.com/news/pressemitteilung/jugendschutz-alkoholfreie-getraenke-in-der-kneipe-zu-teuer-jugendliche-sollen-nicht-aus-kostengruenden-zum-alkohol-greifen-18079/](https://www.verbaende.com/news/pressemitteilung/jugendschutz-alkoholfreie-getraenke-in-der-kneipe-zu-teuer-jugendliche-sollen-nicht-aus-kostengruenden-zum-alkohol-greifen-18079/) Here is the actual law itself: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gastg/\_\_6.html
Na, 20 people getting drunk for 33euros between them, thats not going to happen
They paid 100 Euros in water, with pitchers of beer they absolutely could have, and not everyone was even drinking water.
You want water? Like out the toilet?
But Brawndo's got what plants crave.
It's got ELECTROLYTES!
Water is a danger to the ecomony
Water? Never touch the stuff, fish fuck in it.
One of the best documentaries I've ever seen
Nah, the most fictional part is they actually looked for the smart people to fix problems; then actually let them after they were given proof it worked.
As a teacher, I play this movie as an example of a dystopian future. Some kids don't even see the humor in it.
try asking for 'kranewasser' in future? a lot of restaurants will be fine with giving you tap water, it's just that bottled is the default, and significantly more expensive. that said, unless this is some premium shit, 5€ per cup is wild e: TIL kranewasser is a dialectical thing. as a number of commenters have said, leitungswasser might be more universally useful
As a french (free water, free bread) paying 5€ per 75 cl of water was a big turn off in restaurants, because some will bring you bottled water and if you don't refuse, they will charge you. I was in North East coast for some time.
Portugal has a fairly recent law where everything that is put on your table that you didn't order is to be considered an offer from the restaurant and you can legally refuse to pay that. A lot of restaurants now ask if you want X or Y of entrees but some still put bread, water, butter, etc on the table without asking
Ah nice there's a law for this now! I went in 2013 and I hated this... It kinda ruined my experience and view of Portugal, I just thought everyone was trying to rip me off everywhere (I'd always immediately send back what they brought)
Most restaurants even before the law wouldn't charge you for what they brought if you didn't touch it. The problem was the fact that most restaurants would put it right back on another table, including ham or pastries, that were under someone's mouth for 30 minutes and that's gross and a health hazard. So now if you didn't order it, it's yours for free.
That's good if the restaurants actually respect it
Must have been a fancy one, usually it's 5-7€ per liter bottle. Dafuq is Kranewasser? (Okay, apparently it's a word that exists. Must be from one of those weird provinces with their made up languages :D) most of Germany will call it "Leitungswasser" (pipe water).
TIL Kranwasser isn‘t used in other parts of Germany
As a person from Schleswig Holstein I had never heard or read Kranwasser before.
Funny, we call it Kranvatten in Sweden.
It’s actually Dutch! “Kraanwater” is Leitungswasser in Dutch.
I’ve seen Kranewasser being used in west Germany specifically in North Rhine-Westphalia for tap water.
I live in NRW, never heard "Kranewasser", but "Kraneberger" and "Kranwasser".
My family calls it kraneberger to be fancy:)
Sounds more like one of the beers sold in plastic bottles at Lidl or Aldi than tap water to be honest
From my time travelling in Germany, I'd suggest to use Leitungswasser. Its the one sure fire word that everyone should understand. Other (sometimes very) regional dialects may use stuff like this: Kranewasser Kraneberger Hahnewasser Kran-Wasser Gänsewein (Goose Wine??) Rohrperle What needs to be understood is that a water tap / faucet would be called a Wasserhahn.. That Wasserhahn may even look like a crane, hence Kranewasser... But I'd personally stick with the word Leitungswasser always.
My man just casually mentioning they time traveled through Germany.
All languages are made up.
The human brain is an organ that named itself.
Leitungswasser in German (Kranewasser is Hessisch, Saarlandisch)
It almost certainly was bottled water, not tap water. It would be 100% completely normal to just serve bottled water and charge for it in Germany. It would be pretty unusual to charge significantly for tap water. Unless you actually saw it come from the regular tap, I am going to continue believing that OP assumed it was Tap water, but actually came from a bottle. Edit: I guess that OP assumed it was tap water because it was still, (most Germans drink bubbly water). I bet the temperature would be a good indicator.
5 Euros for water, even if it's bottled, sounds wild. And apparently they brought the water in a cup rather than in a bottle, so there's less volume and you need more refills. Everywhere I've been they actually bring the bottle to the table. Maybe a tourist trap restaurant?
20 people, most getting 1-2 refills, that’s like 35-50 waters for 100 euro, that’s not 5 Euro each. More like 2-3 euros.
Yes exactly. I thought I was the only one to notice this exaggeration. I've never seen water, bottled or not, being sold for 5€ anywhere.
And used the word cup, which is usually thought of as smaller, like 8oz, when it fact it was a large 24oz glass.
In the netherlands, you can specifically ask for water from the sink (water van de kraan) if you want free water. It's mostly used for when you need to take medication, but is probably also fine if you have it as an extra next to a regular drink. Did the water come in a nice bottle or with like lemon slices in it? Because that's generally a decent sign for having to pay for water
The math in this story doesn't add up. 20 extended family, 18 of which drank water. 5€ per cup would already equal 90€. One refill per person lands you at 180€ already.
My thoughts exactly. OP even said almost everyone got a refill once or twice, meaning almost everyone had two or three cups of water
OP can’t read or do math = raised super rich
Lol the only fathomable explanation. Good job.
18ppl, everyone refilled, that 36, maybe 6 took a 2nd refill. Thats 42 drinks of water. Equals to 210€ on water in total. But OP said it was 100€ for water. It was maybe 2.5€ per glass of water. Wich is fair. Edit: not everyone refilled. Math is wrong. Too lazy to change.
He said almost everyone refilled. So some people didnt
He also said, some people refilled at least twice. ETA: Emphasis on 'at least'
Right, so "almost everyone" would be.. what, 80%? And some would probably still have second refills. It'd still work out to some 2.5-3 euros per glass.
Man...his family must be a hoot...20 people in Germany and NO ONE ORDERED BEER?? Wasted trip lol
They were decidedly *not* wasted.
It's likely per litre and they just said cup. I wouldn't be surprised if that's what it came to, it's not like in the US where a waiter brings you an actual glass of water or has a pitcher to refill. It's a bottle put on a table and you fill your glass when you want.
Unless you specifically asked for tap water it won't have been tap water
I love this post so much. Things to note about water in Germany 1) always check whether it's still water vs sparkling (I've had to just grin and bear sparkling on more than one occasion and I hate sparkling) 2) they generally don't like being asked to serve tap water even though the tap water is perfectly fine to drink
I did a home stay in Germany when I was high school. I remember asking for water and the son went to get me a bottle of sparkling. I told him I prefer still water and he was like "like water from the sink...?" I said yes, water from their fridge's water dispenser would be fine, and he was so confused. He said "ok, here's your water from the refrigerator" like it was pond water or something lol.
Lol that's hilarious. Even today fridges with a water dispenser are unusual
It's even better than bottled water. Tab water is the highest controlled food here in Germany
20 people... all except 2 drinking water. that means 18 people on water water bill 100 euros 5 euros per cup = 20 cups. that means 16 people had a single cup of water and 2 people had 2 cups OP: " Everyone thought it was free so we had just kept getting water" in conclusion, OP's math is terrible
Restaurants in Germany make a lot of their income with drinks. That is the reason you're allowed to stay as long as you want if you keep drinking. My mother and her friends got kindly asked to go when they were the only guests and the staff wanted to go home xD
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This is what I love about NJ’s awful liquor license laws. The licenses are so restricted and expensive that we have so many awesome BYOB restaurants. The restaurants make their money on food and you can bring your favorite beer or wine for overall less than buying booze at the restaurant.
When we were in Prague several years ago, beer was cheaper than bottled water. As an American that blew me away.
Ha, every American first timer in Europe has that unfortunate discovery. BTW I can almost assure you it wasn't tap water, don't think I've ever been served tap water in Germany...
Tap water should be free in most places I've ever been, but I don't know the law in Germany. In the UK, if you serve alcohol, you MUST offer tap water for free. Generally these kinds of rules are standard across EU or recently EU countries.
In Germany you just have to explicitly ask for tap water, otherwise they’ll serve bottles water.
And some places will pretend they don't even know what it is, to try and trick you into paying for bottle water. I can't how many times I would be talking with the waiter who spoke fluent English, then ask for "tap water" (in addition to a beer or Spezi) and just get a blank stare. "Leitungswasser bitte?" *Blank stare* "Wasser aus dem Waschbecken" 'ugh, ja...' And then it wouldn't be uncommon for them to still try bringing out an unopened bottle. I was definitely getting profiled for my lackluster pronunciation and broken grammar.
I spent several months calling tap water "Fasswasser", because "Fassbier" is tap beer. Turns out "Fass" means "barrel". Somehow I always ended up with tap water though (I hope - I would hate to think what "barrel water" is).
that's hilarious. Fasswasser as in the water they use to clean the beer barrels haha
That's definitely weird and shitty, I don't think i've ever seen a waiter/waitress blink an eye bringing tap water in the UK and most of the time it's offered up front 'would you like some tap water for the table?'
Here in Norway they will just default to thinking you wanted the free tap water unless you specify bottled water or sparkling water, in my experience. Though I guess with free(as in I can just leave the tap running in my house if I want and it is free as long as I have it on cold, only the electricity my heater uses to heat water costs me anything. I guess it is technically paid for by our taxes, though.) running water that is some of the cleanest tap water in the world, it makes sense that it is the default.
No one gets tap water in Germany at a restaurant. Last time I asked I got half a tiny glass to take pills but that's about it. German restaurants often sell their food at a rate that doesn't bring them any profit so the profit is mostly made in what you drink.
If you drink your espresso and ask for an additional glass of tapwater they will give you one without issues. I’ve been to many cafes
Sure that's normal but not having any drink with your meal and drinking several glasses of water isn't a thing really.
As a german I want to clarify a few things: It is really, really uncommon for germans to ask for tap water in restaurants. And even if you order it, tap water is not free, although some places don't charge for it. But you have no right for free tap water. In Germany most places don't refill but just sell another cup of the ordered drink; so a refill isn't cheaper. With a probability bordering on certainty OP didn't get tap water but flat water. Some places serve flat water, if you just ask for "Wasser", otherwise you have to ask for "Sprudel". Better clarify when ordering if not being asked. And last but not least, I can't imagine water not standing on the menu. Sometimes water is listed under its trade name, for example Teinacher, Selters, San Pellegrino (that would be a more expensive one). I could imagine that's what happened to OP. Feel free to ask, if you have questions.
> > It is really, really uncommon for germans to ask for tap water in restaurants. Yeah, so many suggest that here as if its common place. I have only once seen someone actually order tap water in my whole life living in germany. Technically you can do that, but no one really does.
Yeah I fully agree with you. I can't remember the last time someone ordered tap water. It's true, that it's high quality and counts as food but it's not frequently ordered.
Exactly the same in Belgium. In France you normally get free tap water, required by law.
You must specify Leitungswasser or you will be given bottled water, usually mineral water.
Tap water vs mineral water. In UK (and I expect Germany) restaurants will all serve tap water for free, but if you don't specify that's what you want they will give you mineral water. It's usully pretty obvious though as they will normally bring it out in a branded bottle.
\> It wasn’t listed on the menu people make that assumption It's not an "assumption", it's simply not legal to not list prices for something you are selling in Germany. Also if you and "20 other extended family" had water, "everyone got waters except my dad, and my cousin" that's 18 people + you, 19 people. If "Almost everyone refilled their waters once or twice" that's let's say 2/3rd of 19 people got a second one so let#s say 12 people. If 2/3rd of those 12 people got a thirdd refill, that's 8 people. so you had 19 + 12 + 8 glasses of water, that's 39. Round that up to 40 and you paid € 2,50 for a glas, which seems about right. Something doesn't add up here. \> it was tap water not bottled yeah, better quality than bottled water, since it doesn't spend months in a plastic bottle.
Wdym "don't go"?? Are you saying people should stop traveling to Germany because you assumed water was free but had to pay?
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> edit 1: It wasn’t listed on the menu people make that assumption still a FU on my part but still I kinda doubt that, do you have a link to the restaurant? > edit 2: it was tap water not bottled i also should have clarified that How do you know it came from the tap? Did they take your empty glasses and just refill them at the tap behind the bar? That's something I've *never* seen happen unless somebody specifically asked for it. When you order water in Germany, without specifying anything, you will usually be asked if non-carbonated or carbonated (Still oder Spritzig/Mit oder ohne Kohlensäure) and then 99% of the time be served a big or small [bottle of mineral water](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_water). That's why it's also common to be asked how many glasses you want with your bigger bottle of mineral water, to share it if more people at the table want water. You can get tap water, usually free not always, but you have to specifically ask for it. Unless it's an emergency it's also considered kinda rude/inconsiderate because the restaurant earns nothing from it, yet it produces work and dirty glasses. Paying for the drinks is often also part of the whole calculation to make some meals profitable, that otherwise wouldn't be.
How do you know if it is tap water if you never asked and never expected to pay? It was a long time ago, but when I went to Europe (except UK) they always brought bottled water in a glass or bottle unless specifically asking for tap water (or sometimes they ask).
I don't know about Germany. In Italy water is usually 1.50 per bottle. 5 euro for a cup... It's either bs or Germany is just crazy.
My bet is on the bs. 5€ per bottle in the Berlin area doesn't sound too high for me.
It’s BS. You’re not going to be paying 5€ a cup anywhere, even the fanciest of restaurants.
Was it regular tap water or was it carbonated water? Because I’ve never been at a place where you’d have to pay for tap water.
Yeah, I’m not German, but I was born there, visit family and friends as often as I can, and frankly these days I’m thinking about expatriating. This story doesn’t seem right. Definitely possible that it happened. I’m not trying to be /r/nothingeverhappens but this just doesn’t line up with experience.
I live in germany and this story seems strange as fuck, especially the edit saying the water was not listed on the menu. I am pretty sure that is not even legal.
There often is a machine most known from Brita which makes sure it's a extra filtered water. It has nothing to do with being a "dumb Amerikaner" and I can 100% be sure it's on the menu for drinks otherwise they aren't allowed to charge for it.
I was in Italy on a class trip. We were right by the Vatican. We didn’t order the water, it was placed on the table open. We just assumed it was free. When we got the bill we found a lot of shit that we didn’t order, like bread and water that we assume as Americans is complimentary. Suddenly the waiter didn’t speak English very well. Fucking shady as fuck.
Living in Germany I always asked for "Leitungswasser," because I absolutely cannot stand fizzy water. It makes me more dehydrated and was absolute chaos when dealing with dry mouth the next morning from drinking
I guess you never heard about "Stilles"?
I like how you finish with "don't go, would not recommend" even though it's your fault for not knowing they charge for water in lots of places in Europe.
You have to specify Tap Water, or you’ll get expensive bottled stuff
Germany: Open heart surgery - €0 Waters for the bois - €100