How I tried to be a good guest and ended up drinking a whole bottle of wine by myself instead

31.05.2024

By Esther Schwartz

Whenever I talk to my English teacher, German student, ex flat mate and foremost lovely friend Kit, we come to one conclusion: Germans and Brits have many things in common. They are rather fond of complaining about the weather and the railway, for example. And they have what could be called a very vivid drinking culture. (Which is a blatant euphemism for a glorification of alcohol that has been increasingly questioned in the last few years, and rightfully so.) This has gained us a rather questionable reputation in Mallorca, amongst other places. Still, there are differences that go beyond the Brits getting pissed in Magaluf while the Germans prefer to do the same thing at the Bierkönig in Palma. Whilst I have to admit that I never got drunk in Mallorca, I very much did so in Liverpool last year.

Concerning the drinking culture in bars, it is rather common knowledge by now that Germans prefer to minutely split the bill while the Brits are drinking in rounds. (One of the reasons why they get that drunk, as a friend explained to me. We all find our reasons.) What surprised me, however, was to find out that, when you are drinking at home, it seems to go the other way round. Whenever I attend a house party in Germany, everybody brings some drinks, and we all happily share. When I met Kit’s friends in Liverpool, I found out that they are handling things differently.

The first time I joined Kit’s marvellous crowd for a night in, it was a rather spontaneous decision. Therefore, I turned up with nothing but a bag of giant vegan cookies (yes, absolutely cookies and not biscuits)* and was warmly welcomed with some Espresso Martinis. Feeling a bit bad for not having brought anything to drink the first time, I decided to be a better guest in the future. Therefore, I went to the local Tesco, bought a bottle of white wine and a big bottle (1,5l) of sparkling water, intending to introduce my freshly made friends to the most Palatinate of all drinks: Weinschorle. I was absolutely eager to share. When I arrived at my new friends’ house, however, I found out that apparently everybody had brought their own drinks. And stuck to them. I offered to share my wine as well as my sparkling water, but nobody would take any. Two women finally asked, very politely, if it was possibly okay for them to have just a little splash of my sparkling water to mix it with their own wine. I’m not entirely sure if they simply found the idea of mixing wine with sparkling water appalling. But as I didn’t see anyone sharing their drinks, I assume that it was the unwritten rule to bring what you drink and stick with that. This led to me drinking a whole bottle of wine with maybe 1,3 litres of water. At the end of the night, I was undoubtedly rather plastered. That I didn’t have a massive hangover the next morning, also taught me another lesson: The commonplace that drinking enough water is key to avoiding a hangover, is universally true, no matter the country or culture.

*These vegan cookies are not only giant, but also really delicious. I am not paid to tell you to look out for them at a Marks & Spencer the next time you visit the UK.