Asking for tap water in German restaurants
 

Lonely Planet tells me that, "Asking for a glass or jug of tap water in a restaurant is a grave social blunder." I think I may have gravely sinned in the past.

Is this really true? I know most people I have seen in Germany have a bottle of mineral water on their tables.

<< I think I may have gravely sinned in the past. >>

If they served you what you asked to receive, and did not stab you with a fork, I say you did fine.

Best wishes,

Rex

During 2004-05, I spent a total of 4 weeks in various places in Germany, south and north, east and west. Also visited Austria, the Czech Republic, and England.

I often have to take medication with meals, so appreciate a handy glass of water, but hate to consume the best stuff to deal with this little chore.

I frequently had reason, then, to request a glass of "Leitungswasser" at restaurants. At no time was my request dealt with rudely or with any kind of awkwardness. Tap water was delivered promptly and politely every time I asked for it.

Lonely Planet's view definitely does not synch with my experience. Either it's not a problem, or the waiters I encountered were far too sophisticated and kind to turn it into one.

Fritzl

If that is true then I've sinned and am nowhere near repentance. At least I'll have a glass in of water in "hell".
(If the "hell" is in Germany, I won't mind at all)

Indeed, 'Hell' IS in Germany! It's the oldest inn in Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Check it out . . . http://www.romanticroad.com/hoell/

Someone needs to tell Scarlett about this hotel.

No offense meant to you, the OP, but I didn't figure Lonely Planet readers to be drinking anything other than tap water when they travel.

bill_boy--

Have you ever actually read a LP guidebook? They have incredibly in- depth and extensive coverage of not just the typical tourist sites but also off-the-beaten-path places and the culture, background and history of each area. Give them a try before you make any assumptions about who would be reading LP books.

My bad. My judgement was based on hearsay, an inaccurate one at that, too.

I have been taking some German lessons from a lady who teaches at the local univ. and spent several years in Germany. She told me the same as what the LP guide evidently says. I asked her how to ask for tap water so that I wouldn't have to pay for bottled water every time. I have often asked for a caraffe of water in France or Italy. Is this "social blunder" unique to Germany over other European countries, or have the local folks been rolling their eyes behind my back in other countries as well? Just being polite usually invites a gracious attitude regardless. PJK

I wouldn't say it is "a grave social blunder" here in Spain but probably the people at restaurants don't like it very much. It's free and you are supposed to be there to leave your money :) In a cafe, if you ask for anything and at the same time the tap water glass...maybe they will think you are cheap..but they don't glare at you. The fact is almost no one asks for tap water at restaurants, at least, round here where I live. But that has a reason : water, been perfectly potable, is very very hard so it doesn't taste very good.

It doesn't matter if they roll their eyes at me, as long as I get my 8 glasses of water.

Seriously though, I asked for tap water throughout Germany and it must have been somewhat unusual because a couple of people "why would you want that? It tastes awful."
My standard reply was, "I'm from San Diego and that water is truly awful."
Once when a waitress made the comment about the water I told her the truth, that "all those little bottles of water bother me they're a huge waste of the environment, like getting a small plastic sack to carry home a ten pound bag of dog food."
She laughed and brought the water and a beer "from the tap to wash (it) down."
Maybe she was a dog lover.

Pef- Yes, I was there but didn't go in. My mom always said that people in hell wanted ice water. I don't like ice. ((A))

I'll be honest. I'm cheap and I truly don't get the idea of bottled water unless one is in an area where the tap water truly tastes bad. Plus, I really don't like sparkling mineral water so really don't see the point of paying for a bottle of water.

And, L84SKY I agree with you as far as the environmental concerns.

I agree exactly with you, julies. I also do not like sparkling mineral water (especially with meals, although I might drink it for refreshment in the afternoon), and also think it is terrible ecologically. I am always fairly satisfied with tap water, unless it's really bad.

Now, I don't think what billboy said was so bad -- that would have been my impression of the readership, also, which doesn't have anything to do with in-depth research about things. Sometimes guidebooks write extremist statements, though, that just aren't accurate. LIke maybe a lot of people do drink bottled water, and it's the custom, but to say it's a "grave social blunder" sounds pretty bad.

I'm going to Germany next month and will be with my German friends (two) who live there, so I will see what they order when we go out. One of them lives in the US most of the time, and when we dine out here, she never orders bottled water, just drinks tap, so I kind of wonder about this. She's really not the bottled-water kind of person for no reason.

>little bottles of water bother me they're a huge waste of the environment
No need to worry about this. There's a 25ct deposit on most bottles including soda cans. (You hardly find any soda cans in Germany anymore). Most of the plastic is chopped into pieces and exported as raw material (to China). It's not wasted.

Add me to the list of those who've made grave social blunders.

However, when we were guests at our German relatives' home, we were never allowed to drink tap water. If I tried to have a glass of tap water, it would be taken from my hand and replaced with a bottle of sparkling water (which, BTW, I don't like). Our private joke was that I'd have to slip off to the bathroom to have a glass of water.

Well, not to put too fine of a point on it, but recycling something takes energy. IMHO it's better off not to do it needlessly.
I agree with julies, I don't understand spending money on something that is just as good as the free stuff. I don't mind sparkling water now and again, I prefer it to soda but that's not saying much.
Now in the U.S we get a deposit fee of 5 cents and I don't know how many people actually collect their deposit. By the time you spend the time driving to the recycle center, paying for the gas, unloading the thing- one may as well just go to work and make the money for time spent.
If you drink 8 glasses of water daily then the cost for bottled water could run 1-2 bucks a day. I think a silly expense- I could pay for part of my plane ticket for that.

good point -- I am really amazed that people who think the bazillions of tons of excess plastic products every year that the world now does is not a bad thing. The fact that China is overrun with waste doesn't sound good to me, just because they are a poor country and may accept it. My grocery store packages virtually everything in plastic, it makes me sick. They have a bakery and put cakes, rolls, a dozen cookies, etc all in plastic containers.

One may not care about this and like bottled water, but I don't think anyone can defend the practice on an ecological basis as having no effect.

>spend the time driving to the recycle center
That's a point. You have to be able to bring the bottle back to the place you bought it for the system to work. People do recycle if it's convenient for them and saves money. If those "Wal-Marts" have to take their rubbish back, they will think of what they sell in the first place. The system works ;-)

I too am not a fan of mineral water with meals - I like a tall glass of plain ol' water and a glass of beer or wine. Beer and wine aren't terribly effective at quenching thirst.