Kultur 3

The first article I read was "Beer, Brewskies and Liquid Bread." I have witnessed first-hand the German's obsession with beer. There's beer everywhere in Germany and the article does mention all of the crazy places where beer is served, and the deep impact it has on the culture. However, Germany is not alone with their different outlook on alcohol. In my time in France, England, and Austria, I witnessed the overall European outlook on alcohol consumption. The sense I got was that Europeans don't have such an uptight view of alcohol consumption. Just as you can buy beer almost anywhere in Germany, you could buy wine almost anywhere in France or Schnapps in Austria. I also read the the article "Capping the Bottle" about attempts to ban public drinking in Germany. This is certainly a complex issue, especially for the Germans, where drinking is a much larger part of the culture. I see this as very similar to the laws that ban smoking in public places in America. I'm not sure which side of the debate I would take. On one hand, public drinking is banned in America, and I think we get along just fine, but it doesn't seem like public drinking in Germany is causing too many problems. I'm sure Germany will find a good solution that will satisfy both sides of the debate. The article "German Fast Food" discusses the different fast food option is Germany. I have to admit, German food is delicious, even the fast food. Some cities in America have hot dog stands, but in Germany you can buy things like bratwurst and schnitzel on the street. The quality of the street vendor's food in Germany is very good as well. A fast food place in Germany I went to that was not mentioned in the article is a place call Nordsee. It is a McDonald's style restaurant that serves only sea food.

The two required articles are more difficult to write about because they don't deal with a outward, easily observable action, but a behavior of the Germans. In addition, the articles seem to contradict each other, one saying Germans are cold and pessimistic, and the other claiming they have a well developed sense of humor. Of the two, I'm more inclined to believe that the majority of Germans are well humored and not as intensly pessimistic and the first article claims.