It's about beer.
I know what you're going to say.
"Brendan, if you're going to tell us how awesome beer is, hold your words because we KNOW how awesome beer is, and we don't want some uppity European to tell us."
Or you might say:
"Seriously, Brendan. Beer again? Sometimes I don't even think you're seeing anything in Europe besides the bottom of a pint glass. Don't you think the beauty of ancient cities is more important than beer?"
You're both right. Beer is awesome, and sightseeing is important. But you're looking too narrowly. The amazing thing about beer and sightseeing is that they can be done together. Beer is awesome to drink in public, amongst crowds, strangers, on the steps of famous buildings, in the presence of beautiful views, in the shadow of years of built up history.
That's right, I'm talking about open container laws.
Let me give you a familiar scene I've experienced in many cities in Europe and you tell me when it ceases to parallel the US (thanks to the presence in most places of open container laws):
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You're walking in the city. It's late evening, and unseasonably warm for the middle of spring. The lights in the windows come on along with the stars as the sky darkens.
You are headed downtown, and as you go, the streets get livelier and livelier. Delicious smells emanate from the restaurants with open doors and windows. It is a beautiful night.
You look to your left and you look to your right; flanking you are two of your best friends in the world. They are also feeling blessed by this bountiful spring evening. There is a feeling of possibility in the air. All the worries you had earlier in the day have faded, setting the stage for a night free from problems and full of opportunities.
You wonder amongst yourselves what you should do. It's far too early for a club, and you don't want to coop yourself up in a bar. It would be a shame to waste this night.
Your friend comes up with the brilliant idea to get a beer at the corner store.
This is a great idea, you all agree. Beers are tasty and refreshing and it is fun to drink them with friends. Most people agree with that.
You head to the corner store. You glance over a wide selection of delicious beers before settling on a fairly standard brand from the local region. Not fancy, but it's refreshing and a 660 mL bottle only sets you back $1.70. You bring the beer up to the cash desk where you pay and the friendly shop owner offers to open your beer for you. You are thankful for his generosity, but tell him you've got it. You open your beer and walk outside into a beautiful square full of people. At one end, a man is playing "No Woman, No Cry" to an enthusiastic, spontaneously gathered crowd. At the other end is a beautiful building with a well-lit facade and sprawling steps, where people are congregating and socializing, beer or wine in hand.
You take a swig and head for the steps. You see a cop on the way. He looks at your beer, then your face. There is a pause. He smiles mischievously and reaches for his holster. He unbuckles it , and pulls out a beer of his own. You shake hands and sing along to Bob Marley. Afterwards he lets you fire his gun at some pigeons. Then you continue on to the steps.
As you walk over, you are exulting with your friends in the beauty of the night, cracking jokes about cops and pigeons and foreign people. You are having so much fun that you accidentally bump into a woman and drop your beer, which shatters on the ground.
No worries, she says, and hands you an extra. You take it and walk to the steps together. She is the most beautiful woman in the world, and, as you will later discover, she is your soulmate and an incredibly wealthy patron of the arts. You will later get married and she will use her immense family fortune to prop up your shitty blog-writing career for decades.
- - - - - - - -
Believe it or not, this exact scenario has happened to me at least eleven times since coming to Europe, in various cities and countries. Let me guess where it deviates from the American version: right when the store owner offers to open your beer for you? That means that everything after that, from the cop to the wealthy and generous woman to the dead pigeons could never happen in the USA.
Even though I may have slightly exaggerated some things, it is true that they open your beers for you in Europe. I've even had them pull out the corkscrew for a $3.00 bottle of wine.
This just doesn't happen in America, thanks to our open container laws. Sure, drinking in public is still fairly common in places like stadium parking lots, fireworks shows, and similar venues, but you can't really just grab a beer and drink it on the streets. You can't really hop on the train and drink a road beer. If you're drinking and you see a cop, that beer instantly is hidden between your legs, or at your side.
In Europe, public, outdoor drinking is just part of the culture. It is also usually done much more sensibly than indoor drinking. Drinking outdoors is just about enjoying the environment, rather than getting intoxicated or drinking competitively.
So in closing, I like to live in a world where someone can walk into a greenhouse at the national botanical garden with an open beer, have their bag checked by the security guard, and then be allowed to go in without a second glance at the beer.
That's Europe, folks.
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