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Thank you!

Nothing is obvious to the uninformed...

Safe Travels!

You're right, it's not obvious to a newbie. Enjoy your trip.

I have to chime in here--I have had trouble changing water sources since I was a child. I know I'm not alone in this, though it might be rare. We moved regularly (dad was in retail--kind of like being in the military when it comes to transfers) and I always had about a 2-week period where I had to acclimate to the water supply in each new location. I spent lots of time in the bathroom during that 2 week period. When we went on vacation, I would drink distilled water--nasty stuff by the way. The advent of a ready supply of bottled water in recent years has been a blessing for me. At home, I drink from the refrigerator (filtered) but on the road, I'll keep drinking from the purified, bottled stuff. Otherwise, I'd never enjoy a trip at all.

There is a wide variation on how changing water affects individuals. Some aren't affected at all, and others can't even go to the next town without developing symptoms of acute gastric distress.

Best advice I can give: know your tolerance and be prepared to buy one brand consistently throughout your travels if it's an issue for you.

I filled my water bottle from taps and museum water fountains all over Europe with no problem. (Unlike my March trip to Mexico where bottled water only didn't keep me from being affected the whole time).

I am guessing LisaLisa mentions here state because she likes the water or they are known for particularly tasty tap water. I have previously qualified that I am from NYC because I still have not tasted any tap water to beat that down from the Catskills tap water. :) You should be fine in Europe.

"You should be fine in Europe."

Unless the unique mineral balance somewhere makes you violently ill and your vacation is ruined.

Whoever advised you to stick with wine is on the right track. In countries like China and Vietnam, and in our next destination, Indonesia, it's unwise to drink the tap water. But I've always found it a non-issue, as the local beers are inexpensive and invariably taste better than water.

And then again, one might ask,

"Do I dare to eat a peach?"

Paule

I hear Robespierre and Progol calling
each to each.

Nikki, lol!

(Sorry, Robespierre, I missed your post).

Paule

"willit: The presence of disease causing E.coli (In the Ontario case Enterohaemorrhagic E.coli) in water samples is quite rare."

I hear you, and also note your point about foecal coliforms as an easy index. However, I decided to extend the discussion to include the hazards of getting ill from something ingested, period. As I think I did emphasize in my post, ingesting the water from taps or whatever isn't necessarily the source of a problem that people might attribute to tap water drinking; rather the source is the persons/people handling the food one eats. Also I did raise the issue of plumbing, although not, I admit, in the context of E. Coli but of other types of contaminants (e.g. metallic.)

Not sure I follow the 'trace contamination' theory to explain sensitivity to new bacteria, since such trace contamination could occur in one's home territory, as well - unless what you're saying is that a change of venue, by default, includes a change of piping and thus another variable is thrown into the mix (which I agree it would.)