Beer, Ice Cream, and Flunkyball (August 28)

Simply put, today was a rest day. Actually, it’s probably more accurate to say it was a day off. A rest day implies that I need, well … rest. And I don’t. I feel fine. That said, Moritz offered to host me for another day and that seemed like an excellent idea. Spoiler Alert: It was.

As days off go, this was an excellent one. Moritz and I wandered around Mainz for a bit which included wandering into a cafe to use their free WiFi and have a beer. Not necessarily in that order. Either way, it was almost noon so we figured a beer was a good idea. From there we walked about 50 metres down the street to an ice cream shop for some seriously good ice cream. Seriously good. Needless to say, I had chocolate.

The big activity for the day though was the party at the Rhine for Moritz’ sister (Hanna). (Edit: Okay, so apparently Hanna is NOT Moritz’ sister. Not sure how I messed that one up, but well … me not so smart sometimes!) There was a bit of a get together beforehand where I met some of Moritz’ friends and (Edit: NOT) his sister. From there we went out for dinner before walking over to the Rhine. Technically, Hanna’s birthday wasn’t until Monday so of course, the party continued until after midnight.

Needless to say, I was BY FAR the oldest attendee of the approximately 25 people at the party. That said, it was a really fun time. And it was all very casual. I talked to a few of Moritz’ friends about cycling tours, German culture, and various other topics. There were a couple of drinking games that were played which normally isn’t my thing. The interesting thing was, it wasn’t like the drinking games I remember people playing at home way back in the day. Those games always seemed to be about getting people totally drunk. The games tonight were games that just so happened to include drinking – like Flunkyball (No, I don’t know what a Flunkyball is. The only ball used was a tennis ball). I have to say it was really interesting to witness (and learn about) the significant differences in drinking culture in Germany versus North America.

In Germany (if memory serves), the drinking age for beer and wine is 16. And it’s 18 for spirits. (Yes, I had previously reported the ages were 14 and 16. This update has just been FULL of errors. Sigh). And the driving age is 18. Oh, and you can drink anywhere. There’s no liquor licenses required for a group of people to gather and enjoy a few drinks down at the river. Drinking in public? Oh the humanity! Seriously, it was a great time. Thanks again to Moritz for inviting me to join in.

And of course, Happy 21st Birthday to Hanna.