Holland/Germany: serving measures

In Amsterdam, measures are all over the place, but typically, your basic draught lager is served in 25cl glasses; bottled beers are usually 33cl. Cologne/Koeln is known for the Koelsch brewpubs, all of which will serve tall, skinny 20cl cylindrical glasses ('Stange', or sleeves) of the house beer, and these are common serving sizes in pubs, too.

If you're in Cologne for more than a little while, consider taking a day trip up to Duesseldorf. Altbier houses there typically serve their beer in 25cl cylindrical glasses. Compare to half-pints in the UK (about 29cl or so?).

There are some exceptions, and there will be bars with 33cl measures of Pilsner lager, and some will even offer half-liters, although that's usually considered a rather large pour. There's a Czech pub-restaurant in Cologne that serves half-liters of various Czech lagers.

I'm surprised at this -- 20cl in Cologne. Compared to the mega portions in Munich! 20 cl won't last a thirsty Brit very long!

Only in Cologne for 2 days. Then have to head back to A'dam for my flight.

Bruce

You haven't seen the speed at which they pour and serve it yet! Getting a fresh one is a matter of making eye contact with one of the waiters who pass by about once a minute.

Apples and oranges, in a way. In both Düsseldorf and Cologne, the servers carry trays-full of these little beer glasses. If they see you're near empty, they put another one down in front of you, no questions asked. The only way to get them to stop is to put the beer mat over the top of your empty glass. When they get in a groove, you never have to wait for a beer.

-Steve

In a Cologne Braugasthof, which typically has table service, the Kobe (the local slang for waiter) will replace your empty glass with another, generally unbidden. The philosophy is rather the opposite the British pub style: in the UK, you ask for another. In Cologne, you tell them to stop bring you any more.

This style of service is also the rule in Duesseldorf.

You have enough time. It's only a half-hour to Duesseldorf if you take a high-speed InterCity or ICE train.

You have to make eye contact these days? I suppose the might be necessary if they're extra busy. Usually, I have to make sure to stop them from replace glasses unbidden.

Ain't it simply wunnerful how they do that? It's just as easy and quick to down five little glasses of Koelsch as a liter Mass of Muenchner Helles. Fun, too, when your waiter has to tally up the

I am going to book an ICE train A'dam to Koln return. Is it possible to "stop off" in D'dorf using this return ticket? In the UK we call this "breaking a journey". But I may not have enough time to visit D'dorf. Wed & Thurs I am in Koln. My flight is from A'dam Sat PM. So I plan to get back to A'dam on Friday PM.

Bruce

Sure - just ask. If not, book a regular IC train. Either way, the journey's only about 3.5 hours.

It's not a long journey. Stop over in D'dorf, store your bags in either a train-station locker or at the left-luggage service, then take the U-Bahn or tram to the Altstadt. You'll have time to visit a few place there, and Zum Uerige is highly recommended. You can still make it back to Amsterdam in time for a late-ish dinner on Friday PM, or have a hearty late-afternoon meal in D'dorf, so all you care about in A'dam is drinking more beer - at the Wildemann, perhaps.

I think you've probably got enough on the German side. In the Netherlands, their are two glass sizes: fluitje and vaasje. The fluitje is generally 25 cl and the vaasje is larger, up to 35 cl.

I should warn you that both words are very difficult to pronounce correctly, so you would be better off asking for a small or large beer (in English). Of course, if you'll be drinking bottled beers, say, at 't Arendsnest, you needn't worry about glass size.

BTW, if the weather is very warm when you get here, you might want to try a Heineken on tap. It's actually not bad.

m.

Well, in this case, no, since Düsseldorf is not on the route between Amsterdam and Köln. In principle, though, you can break your journey, especially on international tickets.

Well, let's see. You don't say whether you are arriving in Köln in the morning or evening. Either way you could still fit in a short trip to Düsseldorf fairly easily.

Wed evening: Drinking in Köln

Thur AM: Sightseeing in Köln

Thur late afternoon: Hop on a train to Düsseldorf, visit bars in Düsseldorf.

Thur late evening: Return to Köln and have a late Kölsch before bed.

Friday: ...

There is a train to Düsseldorf IIRC every twenty minutes and you don't even need to take the ICE, the normal RE train only takes half an hour. Just don't get the S-Bahn commuter train which takes twice as long because it stops everywhere.

It is only three hours from Köln to Amsterdam, so you only need to get back to Amsterdam on Friday if you intend going out on the town in Amsterdam. Otherwise Saturday will still give you plenty of time.

Actually, it is possible. The ICE from Amsterdam to Köln stops in Düsseldorf. Check out

(Rest of the message is correct.)

Fred Waltman

Everything is correct, however, bear in mind that the ICE, like most International high-speed trains in Europe require a seat reservation. If you stop off along the way, your seat will be lost. Not fatal, but you'll probably have to continue the journey on a normal IC or regional train.

m.

Yes it is.

"m.berger" skrev i meddelandet news:210920032115244982% snipped-for-privacy@ftc.gov...

I though we are talking about beer in this group but you mention Heineken. I think there must be a group talking about different types a water, join them

My mistake. You are quite right. I have the route to Brussels too deeply etched in my brain. 8-)

Have you tried it from a tap in Holland? It is, since the 1996 or so, all-malt with no adjuncts for the local market. It is certainly no PU or on a level with some of the better German pilsners, but, OTOH, it is a lot better than Stella and other swill of that sort. If you want to taste bad, try a Leeuw Pils.

Hey, what do you expect from a country where one of the best witbieren is one contract brewed for a supermarket?

m.

One thing not mentioned in this discussion is the fact that the beer in Dusseldorf is much tastier and more interesting than in Cologne. If you have but a short time in this part of Germany, I'd recommend at least 19 times out of 20 that you spend your valuable beer-drinking time in Dusseldorf.

While I'd agree with you 19 times out of 20, be careful saying that while in Cologne :) They take their beer seriously!

Fred Waltman