Dining

Seating - In Germany when you enter a restaurant you do not wait by the door to be seated. Rather, you find for yourself any free place you like and sit down. Do keep an eye out for signs on the table stating "reserviert" or "stammtisch" meaning the table is reserved. However, many restaurants put those signs out to prevent just anyone from sitting down. So if you want a particular table that has such a sign, or there are no other tables open, feel free to politely ask if you can sit there. Also, restaurants in Germany are often quite small with only a few tables so it is not unusual for multiple parties to share a table. If you are a party of 4 seated at a table that could accommodate 8, don't be surprised if a group of perfect strangers come sit in the empty seats beside you. Generally, after a polite nod or 'hello', each of you carry on just as if you were sitting at separate tables.

Service - Don't go out to eat in a rush. Dining out in Germany is for those who have plenty of time to relax and chat. The service is typically quite slow compared to what you find in America. And, you rarely see your waiter or waitress. They will come by to ask for drinks, at which point you can order drinks or anything else you're ready to order. When they eventually come back with those drinks you'd best take that opportunity to order your main course otherwise you're likely not to have another chance for quite some time. The waiter/waitress will bring your food in a reasonable time, but you'll never see them again after that, unless you vigilantly canvas the room or stake out the kitchen door and make whatever amount of raucous required to get their attention once you find them. Do not expect anyone to notice if your drinks are empty. If you want another, it's your responsibility to order it. One exception to that is in a bar, where there's about a 50/50 chance that someone will come back to see if you want to order more drinks, especially if people are only ordering drinks.

Drinks - Don't expect a free glass of ice water with your meal, it's not a normal practice here. Also, if you ask for "water" what you'll get is carbonated bottled water. If you want plain water, be sure to say "stilless" or "no gas" when you order the water. Either way, it will be bottled water and you'll be charged for it. Also, forget about ice cubes. With your American accent, some places might take the liberty of including one or two small ice cubes in your glass, but normally you'll have to ask for "ice cubes" specifically, and then, you're likely to get one or two small ones. Luckily it's not that hot in September. As for other drink options, you can always ask for "cola" or "cola light" which will get you a regular or diet coke, pepsi, or something similar (you can't specify a brand). You might also like to try a couple specialties unique to Germany: Apfelschorle ("apple shorlah") - a sparkling/slightly carbonated apple juice, and Spetzi ("shpate-see") part orange fanta part cola. And, of course, it is Germany, so there will never be any shortage of excellent beers, which often cost less than a soda. Good wines are prevalent and inexpensive as well.

Food - Germans do have a word for vegetarian, but somehow it seems to mean something quite different to them. Many dishes in Germany are essentially meat with a side of meat. Your best bet for vegetarian food is to try one of the ubiquitous Thai or Indian restaurants. If you find the rare German restaurant that offers a vegetarian dish, be sure to ask a little about it before ordering. Vegetarian can often mean a fish dish, which you may or may not be okay with... or worse yet, it can sometimes mean a dish in which meat is not a primary ingredient (for instance pasta with a meat sauce). As for the meat, about 80% of the time it is pork. If it doesn't state what kind of meat it is, then it's pork. Also, most meals are served with potatoes in one form or another. French fries, broiled, and whole skinless potatoes are the most common. You never really find mashed potatoes or baked potatoes. Anyhow, as long as you're okay with meat and potatoes, you should do well because the food is always well prepared and the vegetables, when you find them, are of amazing quality.

Paying - In Germany you must ask for your bill when you wish to leave. No one will bring it without you asking. That would be considered rude, as if they were trying to rush you out. And, as stated above, you'll generally have to exert considerable effort to get the waiter or waitress in order to ask for your bill. Once the waiter/waitress brings the bill, they will generally ask whether you wish to pay together or separately. If you say separately you tell them which items you had and they tell you your total. It is not uncommon with a large group for each person to pay individually and the staff patiently calculates each person's total. Tips are handled at this point. When the waiter/waitress tells you your total, you hand money to them and state how much you are giving rather than leaving money behind on the table. For instance, the waiter might say 13.50 and you would hand them a twenty and say 15 and they'll give you back 5. You'll notice the tip amount is much lower than in the US, as is typical in all of Europe. Waiters and waitresses here are paid normal wages to begin with, rather than the meager base salary in the States where one is assumed to make a large portion of earnings from tips. Normally, people just round up, or they round up and add a euro. I still haven't acclimated to this and just cannot bring myself to give so small a tip. I normally give about two euro (which still seems tiny to me) and more if the bill is high, but my German friends often eye me and sometimes even scold me for it. Oh well, I figure generosity doesn't hurt.