Legal Drinking Age ?
 

What is the legal drinking age in Germany? We are going to Munich in a few weeks. Do you think that any "proprietors" would have a problem serving our daughter (age 16, looks 20) a drink on New Years Eve?

I believe the drinking age in Germany is 16. I have seen kids on bicycles buy beer. The legal age for driving a car is 18. Regardless you will not have a problem, drinking is a lot different over there with different values and responsibiltys.

Legally in Germany you can drink beer and wine at 16 and spirits at 18, but nobody is likely to bother. Unless your daughter looks like 12, she will be served drinks especially with adults. There are some bars (Lokals) that ban under 18's, but such places aren't meant for family drinking.

I remember talking to a Swiss-German friend and I asked him about drinking. He said that while America may see being drunk as falling-down funny, frat-boy hilarious, the Europeans have a much different attitude. They view a drunk behaving badly as an embarrassment, like someone so drunk he peed himself. <BR> Because of this attitude, there isn't such a horror of youngsters drinking; they are expected to exercise self-control.<BR><BR>(Of course, from what I've heard of Britain, it may be the exception).

I'm not sure whether there is any legal age for children drinking in the company of their parents. (Of course, making a child seriously drunk would be a reason for taking it away from the custody of such irresponsible parents but within reason, it's up to the parents to decide whether a child is allowed to drink alcohol.)<BR><BR>16 is the legal age when you're allowed to enter pubs and buy beer or wine on your own, being allowed to stay until midnight. With 18, there are no restrictions anymore. <BR><BR>As for European youngsters exercising self-control when drunk: nope, I don't think so. A bunch of drunken 15 or 16 year-olds isn't responsible. It's just accepted that people growing up have to make their experiences and actually will do it, no matter whether one likes it or not. <BR>

And it's best to have those experiences at ages like 15 &amp; 16 BEFORE you get a driver's license. Unlike the US where the exact opposite happens.

If a kid is with parents in Germany, drinking is not a problem at all. There are no Anglo-SAxon hang ups on booze there. I was drinking beer at 10 when I was there on holidays and living in Munich I never saw any issue: re drinking and age.