I’ve heard it before, but always as part of a cliché about Germans. “Germans love cars and rules and beer. They like beer so much, it’s cheaper than water!”

But as with all stereotypes, there is some truth. In some places, it is in fact MUCH cheaper to drink beer than water. Our first night in Frankfurt, we thought it might be nice to get something to eat and drink some water, as we were tired and dehydrated from the long transatlantic flight. Two weißwurst and two waters later, the waitress asked us for 17 Euro.

This came as quite a shock, and some quick math revealed that we paid 4.50€ for EACH water! That’s $6USD!

My first thought was, “At that price, it better be distilled with a gold filter, or instantly give us the ability to speak German, or forever quench our thirst,” but this water did none of those things.

My second thought was, “Holy #&*!, a beer would have been only 2€?!?”

I call this tuition. That is, the price you pay to learn something. And in this case, it cost us 9€ to learn that you always buy your water from the grocery store (where it is 0.20€ per half liter bottle).

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