Bottled water ban big time in a rural Australian town

[Task Force]

yea, water taste varries here.

[porphy]

Coming back from our summer house at the moment. There we have a underground well from which the water is brought through pipes about 100m into the house. Height difference makes the water running without pumps. It's excellent quality, naturally filtered through sand. Always cool from the tap and not a hint of chlorine, or anything else. No need for bottled water when staying there. I should maybe bring some back to town next time.

The only downside is on dry summers, when you have to conserve water usage to drinking and cooking. But we have water for all other use from the lake as well, so it's no real problem.

cheers porphy

[Letum]

More than once I have met a marketing person who aspires to do for
previously unbranded product 'X' what bottling did for water.

I live near Scarborough, a town that takes a big lump of blaim for
starting expensive water marketing in the 1600s.

Originally Posted by Skybird

Over here tap water is said to be the best controlled food stuff of all. Quality varies regarding lime and chlorine, the latter making it taste bad. A simple water filter - not even a solid installation - cures both.

That is odd. When I was in Germany and went out to a restaurant the server looked at me like she had never heard of tap water. I actually had to give her instructions on how to take a water glass, turn on the tap, wait twenty seconds, hold the glass under the tap, and then serve me what was deposited in the glass.

When it was finally served, without ice, I kept my mouth shut and figured I'd already done enough, without teaching how to make ice.

[Task Force]

:rotfl:˙ɹǝʇɐʍ ǝɔı ɟo ssɐןƃ ɐ ǝʞɐɯ oʇ ʍoɥ ʇno ǝɹnƃıɟ ʇupןnoɔ ʎǝɥʇ ןoן

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by CastleBravo

That is odd. When I was in Germany and went out to a restaurant the server looked at me like she had never heard of tap water. I actually had to give her instructions on how to take a water glass, turn on the tap, wait twenty seconds, hold the glass under the tap, and then serve me what was deposited in the glass.

When it was finally served, without ice, I kept my mouth shut and figured I'd already done enough, without teaching how to make ice.

It is absolutely uncommon to order tap water in a German restaurant. You're the first I heared of trying that.

Originally Posted by Skybird

It is absolutely uncommon to order tap water in a German restaurant. You're the first I heared of trying that.

My alternative was...you guessed it, bottled water. And one of the folks with me said it was carbonated at that.

Now in Heidelberg, after visiting the schloss and walking back down the hill and thru the shopping district I came upon the Golden Arches of a McDonalds resaurant and decided to see what the differences were. The guy behind the counter spoke English and obviously picked up I was an American. When I ordered the Coca-Cola he asked if I waned ice. I smiled and answer yes.

We can talk about tipping in the future...

[Task Force]

wow, you go to a restaruant and they dont know of a glass of water is, you go to a mc donalds, and you get a coke and ice...:rotfl:

[antikristuseke]

McDonalds a restoraunt?
DOES NOT COMPUTE!

[Task Force]

it is in the restaruant catagory... just not in the fancy restaruant catagory... or the normal restaruant catagory.... kind of the roadside slop house catagory.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by CastleBravo

My alternative was...you guessed it, bottled water. And one of the folks with me said it was carbonated at that.

Now in Heidelberg, after visiting the schloss and walking back down the hill and thru the shopping district I came upon the Golden Arches of a McDonalds resaurant and decided to see what the differences were. The guy behind the counter spoke English and obviously picked up I was an American. When I ordered the Coca-Cola he asked if I waned ice. I smiled and answer yes.

We can talk about tipping in the future...

Yes, but it simply is a cultural difference. If you order "water" in a german restaurant, you get bottled sparkling water. Tap water is simply absolutely uncommon here. I know that it is common in American restaurants - but this is not America. In american restaurants you have to wait until you get seated by the waiter, I read, and see in movies. In German restaurants you just walk in and sit down wherever you want.

Do you pay for tap water in USrestaurants?

[Task Force]

Originally Posted by Skybird

Yes, but it simply is a cultural difference. If you order "water" in a german restaurant, you get bottled sparkling water. Tap water is simply absolutely uncommon here. I know that it is common in American restaurants - but this is not America. In american restaurants you have to wait until you get seated by the waiter, I read, and see in movies. In German restaurants you just walk in and sit down wherever you want.

thats how it usualy works...

I shouldn't be too hard on the Germans. my biggest culture shock came in January 1984. Stepping off the FinnAir flight in Moscow, the first three people I see are guys w/ AK-47s in the ready position and one has a dog with him.

Now that is culture shock!

Originally Posted by Skybird

Yes, but it simply is a cultural difference. If you order "water" in a german restaurant, you get bottled sparkling water. Tap water is simply absolutely uncommon here. I know that it is common in American restaurants - but this is not America. In american restaurants you have to wait until you get seated by the waiter, I read, and see in movies. In German restaurants you just walk in and sit down wherever you want.

Do you pay for tap water in USrestaurants?

Water isn't on the bill, but is certainly added into the cost of doing business somewhere. I just walked into the McDonalds, I waited to be seated at the other resaurant. Perhaps I was in bizzaro Germany?!!?

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by CastleBravo

I shouldn't be too hard on the Germans. my biggest culture shock came in January 1984. Stepping off the FinnAir flight in Moscow, the first three people I see are guys w/ AK-47s in the ready position and one has a dog with him.

Now that is culture shock!

You never experienced "Transitverkehr" between West Germany and West Berlin, with VoPos (Volks-Polizisten, "people's policemen")having dogs and machine guns on the ready, holding 500 m long lines of cars in 6-12 parallel lines for 1-2 hours and the controler in his box often treating you like sh!t and talking like the mean Germans in Hollywood movies do.

To be fair, some of these guys just did their job correctly and within the limits of neutrality tried to be kind. They probably violated orders when behaving like that. But some others really used the opportunity and showed who was in control - these dwarfs fulfilled every clichée about the pedantic evil little German there is.