Okay, probably one of my biggest struggles while in Germany was hydration. Water, free water. Where is it? Oh, it's in the sink. Turn on a faucet and go. And normally, in America, I can deal with this. In Germany, our fearless travel guide assured us that tap (almost any tap) water is widely acceptable for drinking. However, I also tend to like my water very cold. Okay, fine, buy a bottle of water, for the low price of 2Euros or more for a small, regular bottle. Do you want water at dinner? That will be about 8Euros. Wait wait wait, and you want ice too? You're crazy, but here are literally two cubes, three if I like you.
In order to get by, I found myself drinking hotel bathroom sink water. In Bonn, we did not have an ice machine and I wound up putting my water bottle in the mini-fridge overnight. At breakfast, sometimes there was still water or infused still water, of which I'd fill my bottle, but honestly, nobody likes the person at the breakfast buffet who is refilling their personal containers out of shared drink dispensers. I also found myself sneaking into the hotel gym multiple times daily because they had a *cold* water cooler. I shared this lifehack with my colleagues and with so many of us drinking from it, the tank required frequent refills and could often be found empty. Once we got to Berlin, I was still drinking bathroom water, BUT there were ice machines on select floors, and of course, none on my floor. I made multiple trips across the hotel on a journey to obtain dazzling, unlimited, crystal clear, icy cold ice.
On top of this, Germans love their sparkling mineral water. It is not seltzer, which I much preferred compared to the mineralwasser. It's generally room temperature water, with some bubbles, not the full force carbonation of seltzer that has become popular in America in recent years. Additionally, there was no flavored mineral water the way we reach for La Croix or Bubbly in America. If you wanted flavored mineral water in Germany, you'll probably be offered a beer or Kolsch instead. Mineral water left me feeling less quenched and a bit burpy; this is not an ideal scenario for sitting in long meetings. Clearly, I was desperate enough to keep drinking the bathroom sink water over succumbing to the mineral water.
Now, it's time for me to dive deep into the issue of ice. What I was understanding, was that due to the electrical engineering infrastructure most locales do not have the capacity to access the energy needed to run ice machines and/or the space to store large amounts of ice. I know this is something Americans take for granted (I have 1 ice cube tray in my freezer and barely have space for another and even this feels like a crisis). Whilst in Germany, if you ask for a beverage with ice, do not expect your cup to be full of ice. In America, it is not unheard of to witness someone asking for "light ice" meaning less ice as a pathway to obtaining more beverages. Germans do not skimp on the beverage, but they will skimp on the ice. Additionally, be sure to ask for cold beverages if that's what you prefer. It was not uncommon to get room temperature water or bottled beverages that were not cold.
Furthermore, here's something I found in the September 2022 edition of Food Network Magazine (photo below). This excerpt makes me feel very vindicated in my observations about mineral water, however, it's making me wonder if this is how Europeans tend to stay so slim...
Accessibility text: Does Seltzer Count? It's not the most effective way to get your fluids, says Mitchell Rosner, MD, a hydration expert at the University of Virginia: "Carbonated beverages make your stomach feel full faster, so if you're drinking them to hydrate, you'll probably end up uncomfortable." Save the bubbly stuff for when you're not super thirsty.
Ultimately, here's a guide to staying hydrated in Germany:
BYO Waterbottle
Test the tap water - it should be ok
Check if your hotel has an ice dispenser
Keep your water bottle in the fridge overnight
Never leave water behind- if you order bottled water at the restaurant, take the remainder with you!
Ask for ice
Offer a tip to hotel bartenders if they can supply you with ice
Mineral water is not hydrating- opt for still to quench your thirst