Enjoyable Oddities: Volume 4: Restaurants

There is no possible way that I've used this
picture before.  No way.

     So you've decided that it is time to go to a restaurant, and you might be thinking, how different can it really be?  Back in the United States, there's an unwritten rule book that everyone seems to know how to follow, but here in Germany, I noticed differences in a hurry, so here goes!

This place is actually an exception.  Pretty though!

     Walking into most American restaurants, you are typically supposed to wait from someone to direct you to a free table, or a table in the correct section (depending on the amount of waitstaff available, or whatever the case may be); however, here in Germany, with rare exception, you are supposed to find a free table yourself.  If there is a large table with free places, you can ask if the people already there would mind if you (and whoever you are with) can take the remaining seats, which is not uncommon here.

Halt the presses!  Menus look pretty much identical here!

    When your waiter or waitress eventually brings the Speisekarte (menu), they typically take your drink and meal orders relatively quickly, but otherwise, will give you plenty of time to enjoy the company of the people that you are with, and the atmosphere of the restaurant.  This also means that if you need a refill on your drink, or something else, that you will likely have to flag down your waiter or waitress.  Also, if there is bread or pretzels on the table when you arrive, you typically pay per piece when the bill eventually comes.

These look pretty similar anywhere you go nowadays.

     When the time comes that you want to pay your bill and leave (which can be as much as three hours later), you will have to ask for the bill (look below!).  Unlike in the U.S., where the waiter or waitress will typically deal with your payment at a register away from the table, most waitstaff here have what amounts to a special wallet with dividers for each denomination.  This certainly makes paying separately easier!  If the place accepts credit cards (which they more often than not don't), they will bring a card reader to the table.  Finally, tipping is a little different here, with the standard being about 10%, rather than the 15-20% we are used to in the United States, and it is also less common than what we are used to.

Vocabulary you learned that one time during your first German Class:

Die Rechnung bitte! - The check please!

Ich mӧchte bitte (be)zahlen! - I would like to pay please!

Zusammen oder getrennt? - (Are you) paying together or separately?

Proverb of the Day:

I saw a fireworks show from my bedroom window.  Hey jealousy!

*Source links are included for stock images.
**The background music is from a personal music project in progress.
***Alright, alright, no one do the time zone calculation, I know its late!