In the foot walk Hohe strasse we paid for a small bottle 0.5l 2(two)euro, in the Kaufhof 0.6 euro, in Aldi 0.19euro and in the Dusseldorf airport we paid 3 euro, that is to say, more than 1 big bottle of cheap wine.
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Well, the prices are (relatively) consistent with what you would pay in Australia.
The question is - why buy bottled water? I would have thought you could just drink the water from the tap.
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%26gt; I would have thought you could just drink the water from the tap.
Access is somewhat limited for a tourist. E.g. you won%26#39;t get normally tap water in a restaurant. Sometimes not even on request. And water dispensers are also less common than in hotter countries.
Tap water in Germany does however surpasses bottled water nearly always in quality. Sometimes even in taste.
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Why not drink beer? It is always cheaper than bottle water - plus it is more environmentaly friendly (no plastic).
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I was pretty amazed at how much more expensive bottled water is than alcoholic beverages in Germany.
And yes, as a response to the previous poster, sometimes tap water is not an option! I went to my first German music festival, in Leipzig, in May last year. It happened to co-incide with a heatwave and temperature inside the concert venues was unbearable. Concert venues don%26#39;t offer tap water just overpriced bottled water and it was generally more pricy than beer - usually if I go to a concert in the UK, I try to avoid alcohol for safety reasons (risk of dehydration in a hot venue etc) so was left with either reluctantly shelling out for the expensive water or taking it easy on the beer. :-)
Not that it%26#39;s put me off though, as I%26#39;m returning to Germany this year for two more festivals - one being in Cologne, to bring this back to subject! :-)
On the other hand, I do like the fact that many shops and bars etc charged a pfand (deposit) on bottles, to encourage people to recycle rather than dispose of the bottle, getting their deposit back on return. Even if that does add to the initial cost of the drink.
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%26gt; risk of dehydration in a hot venue etc
What to order under such conditions:
1. Apfelsaftschorle
apple juice with mineral water
2. Radler
beer with lemonade
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abalada and others - all interesting info.
But surely there are public loos in Germany with washbasins where you can wash your hands and the water from the taps there will be fine to drink?
I grant you not at music festivals where one assumes the water will not be from the mains.
I have just made a mental note to carry not only a %26quot;water bottle%26quot; but an empty plastic one to fill up too.
Sydney can be very hot, and doesn%26#39;t have public water coolers either. I just fill my bottle from the taps in public washrooms. Might not be cold, but there%26#39;s no way I%26#39;m going to pay for water in a bottle unless I absolutely have to.
Cheers.
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%26gt; But surely there are public loos in Germany
You only see public loos if you don%26#39;t need one. In emergency they are gone. Or closed.
%26gt; with washbasins where you can wash your hands
... as long as you don%26#39;t need anything beyond water for this you%26#39;ll be fine. Soap is always out. Same for towels. Or the hand dryer is not working.
%26gt; and the water from the taps there will be fine to drink?
Not always.
The sign %26quot;Kein Trinkwasser%26quot; means no drinking water.
This is e.g. the case
- on trains
- some autobahn parking lots with WC (where the water is stored in a reservoir)
- if the water is pre-mixed warm (often the case with infrared controlled taps)
%26gt; Might not be cold,
That%26#39;s however no real problem in Germany. After a few seconds there will be cool water from the pipes. With selfclosing taps this is however not that easy.
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The OP has already stated the answer -- buy bottled water in places like Kaufhof or Aldi...and not in tourist attractions or transportation stations. I might fill my bottled water in my hotel, but as above, sometimes public facilities don%26#39;t have drinking water.
(There%26#39;s a small shop right in the Cologne train station where one can buy bottled water for fairly inexpensively -- the name escapes me, but it%26#39;s what we used to call a five-and-dime here in the States -- you can buy shampoo, a greeting card, a candy bar, the newspaper, window cleaner, a roll of kitchen paper...and a bottle of water)
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You mean the IhrPlatz drugstore under the S-Bahn platform (tracks 10-11)?
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That%26#39;s the one! I could remember that the sign is bright green and has a daisy on it, but couldn%26#39;t remember the name to save my life!
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