How do they differ from regular restaurants? Is there any etiquette that I should be mindful of?
Beer, Wine & Spirits - 2 Answers
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1 :
I was recently watching a Rick Steves program on PBS. He was on vacation in Germany and went to a beer garden with a friend. Apparently a Beer Garden is an old German tradition. Friends meet up in the evening, listen to music, talk and drink beer. There is simple German food that you can buy and the portions were huge! What I did not know is that you can also bring your own food to go along with the beer that you purchase. As the evening goes on the place does get rowdy and many younger people get very loud. As an American traveling to Germany I would absolutely have to go to a beer garden to experience that. It looks like a lot of fun.
2 :
and the food will be secondary, but having said that, the wursts and other kinds of sausage, potatoes, and salads will be pretty yummy. The food in Frankfurt is outstanding, for example, with special local dishes in an amazing green herb sauce. Also famous for their Black Forest cake, of course... Expect to eat heartily, and cheaply. And work out the sizes of the steins in the biergarten before you go-the Germans always snigger at the Americans who gesture "large" and nearly keel over trying to lift the stein when it comes, because they have ordered a litre (33 ounces! -gets pretty flat unless you are a FAST drinker) (it can be the same in Italy, BTW!) http://www.deutscheshaus.cc/html/library_beer_steins/sizes_of_steins.html Enjoy!
