If you’re hydrated, chances are you do not live in Europe. Dining out if you ask, “can we have water for the table?” The answer is, “you cannot, but you can pay 8 Euro for a liter of shitty, carbonated, non-hydrating water.” Coming from the US, where apparently water is more plentiful, this was not easy to adjust to.
Coffee is not much better when you’re used to free re-fills. I drank 24 oz of Wawa coffee today. Cost me $1. If you want a sippy cup filled with concentrated coffee for 3 Euro, you’ll be done in one sip and unfulfilled. You want a refill with that? 3 more Euro. The biscuits that accompany are a nice touch. Their machines are also high end so the one hotel breakfast I had was a great deal as you could fill up as often as you want.
These were my main gripes as I would face first in front of the faucet and lap up as much water as I could before going out. The negative effects of lack of water were a general non-healthy feeling. My digestive system was on the fritz for most of the trip. Water is a critical element in our system and Europe misses the mark. The coffee is flat out poor value.
Lesson #2 – Even bringing a large bottle to fill up is difficult. The lesson is to know that you have to drink as much water as possible at any point you can. The coffee is what it is.