Germany, Summer, and Beer Gardens

One thing I love about living in Germany is that there are parks so vast you could mistake them for forests.

It is also a place that lets me forget the daily pressure of work and the tension of living in a foreign language.

Whether it's dipping your feet in the river, zoning out and losing track of time, or reading a book, there are many ways to spend your time.

German people seem to value spending time in nature; when I ask them what they did on the weekend, the answer is highly likely to be 'hiking' or 'cycling'.

In the summer, 'I was at the river' gets added to this. Simple and wild.

My German friends also often show up refreshed on their bikes when we meet up.
When I ask how many kilometers they rode, they say, '10 kilometers! That's not much of a distance.'

They walk a lot, and their cycling distances are long too.

Germans are strong, really strong.

By the way, there is a public space with a small green area and benches in front of my office, and when lunch break comes around, the benches are packed with people from nearby companies.

Seeing large men sitting right next to each other, hunched over as they stuff their faces with hamburgers or sandwiches, is actually kind of cute. I guess they prefer being outdoors even if the space is cramped.

I'm not a fan of the heat and I love the Christmas season, so I was never really a 'summer person' to begin with.

But I have come to like the way the breeze, which doesn't carry the humidity, passes through your body at unexpected moments here, and the comfort of the shade.

Germany loves nature, but it's also interesting that there is a bit of environmental consideration when you go to beer gardens or supermarkets.

At the beer garden in the largest park in the city where I live, when you order a beer, it's served in a glass mug.
You pay an extra 2€ as a deposit at checkout, receive a small coin, and when you return the coin after finishing your drink, you get your 2€ back.

This way of serving is also often seen at Christmas markets, and hot wine mugs are
often deposit-based as well. (It was the same in France.) I'm sure many people want to take them home, but it also reduces waste, so I think it's a sensible system.

Also, when you buy yogurt jars, beer, juice cans, or plastic bottles with a recycling mark at the supermarket, most supermarkets have recycling machines. If you put the used products in there, you get a coupon that can be used at the supermarket.

It doesn't amount to much, but everyone is quite enthusiastic about it, and on weekends, there are even lines to get these coupons. As expected of Germany, where people are said to be frugal.

Since trash turns into money in an instant, I participate without exception.
I'm a 'bring your own bottle' person anyway, but I saved up and got 1.5€.
I was able to buy cucumbers for almost free. I'm happy.

Back to the topic, most beer gardens in Germany allow you to bring your own food.
I often see people with a style where they buy only drinks and bring their own food.

I also had a potluck party with friends at a beer garden the other day, and there were many other people doing the same thing.

If you are going to order food, I recommend the local beer, local sausages, and potatoes (these are probably frozen, but they add to the mood, so they are important).
In the summer, Radler (a mix of beer and lemonade) is also delicious.

In Munich, I love the combination of white sausage (which you can get by asking for Weisswurst or white sausage) and sweet mustard, and if you go to Nuremberg, the Nürnberger sausages are spicy and delicious.

If you're in Berlin, it has to be currywurst. I haven't been to Berlin yet, so I'd like to try it.