One day at work in New Zealand there was a small commotion. Someone came running through the door exclaiming loudly that the water cooler now had a fizzy function. You pressed a button and out came sparkling water. The queues stretched down the hallway. We now officially had super fancy water... and it tasted good. For me, sparkling water is, and always will be, very fancy. It's the thing you order at a restaurant to impress rather than your normal request of 'just tap water, please'.
Imagine my surprise then at finding my world views turned upside down upon arriving in Germany. I went to buy a bottle of 'Classic' water only to hear the telltale fizz on opening the bottle. Not only is sparkling water considered the norm but no-one in their right minds would ever ask for tapwater at a restaurant. Never. In fact, bottled water is such a part of everyday life that you'll see Germans carting around huge crates of 'Classic' water to keep their fridge stocked full of the fizzy stuff at all times. Does that make the Germans very, very fancy? I'd say so.
It’s that time of year again - the World Cup (WM) has hit the streets of Berlin. Where will you be watching it? Here are a few recommendations and also, of course, a few handy German words.