Bier (Beer)

Beer is to Bavaria as Disney is to Orlando. It comes with the territory. Maybe that is why people are always so celebratory here :-). We've gotten quite used to it, but every once in a while there will still be a circumstance where you see bier (o.k. this is an example of where my spelling is confused with the German spelling) at an occasion, and you think to yourself, "Wow -you would never see that back home." Take for instance, at Camden's indoor soccer tournament yesterday - many parents and coaches had a beer (or 2). Another surprise is that you are allowed to drink beer in a car, as long as you are not driving. When you take a bus or train trip - it is customary, that beer would be for sale. It is common to see at school functions, church functions, sport functions, neighborhood functions, family functions, skiing, lunch etc. There is a German saying that I laugh about: "Nur schwein trink allein". It means; only pigs drink alone. Most often, people will drink beer with friends. A probst (cheers) is always a must. The 2 things that always surprise me though are that; you don't really see anyone being obnoxious, and people do not drink and drive (there are hefty penalties, and people obey the law). In Bavaria, beer is literally a food group (like Dairy and breads) - It truly is...the way I understand it is that in medieval times when people had to fast for religious purposes, you could still drink beer (and it would sustain your hunger). It really is amazing how the culture has sustained itself, and you don't really see too many social problems with it. It always makes me laugh!
*It was funny because Bailey's teacher asked her what the "American English" Word would be for brauerei or pub. The only word she could think of was "Bar", but she didn't really know the answer because the word "bar" in American English sounds a bit seedy. A brauerei or a pub may have families in it, and you wouldn't really bring your family (kids) to a bar. Kind of funny.