No matter where we are, we all need to drink water every day. What else is there to know about drinking in Europe?
Smart travel is all about adjusting to local customs, and that includes how to keep your thirst quenched. You will probably spend a lot more money on drinks in restaurants in Europe if you want to drink the same way you do at home. You will also miss out on an important part of the culture. Cold milk, ice cubes, free water, and coffee with (rather than after) your meal are American habits. Insisting on any of these in Europe will get you strange looks, and often prove fruitless.
To save money, fill up your water bottle with free tap water (it’s great to drink almost everywhere in Europe), don’t buy drinks at restaurants, watch how much you spend in coffee shops and bars, and learn how to ask for tap water. And whether your budgets tight or a little more free-flowing, when you do order, drink the local stuff.
Europeans are known for being water experts, but they usually pay extra for bottled water with their meals because they like the taste, not because it’s good for them. It’s hard for restaurant servers to understand why you wouldn’t want good bottled water with your good food.
Luckily, its never expensive to order a half-liter of bottled water. It is served crisp and cold, either with or without carbonation. Some Americans dont like the bubbly stuff, but I do. Learn the phrase for “with gas” (con/avec/mit/con) or “without gas” (senza/sans/ohne/sin) in Italian, French, German, and Spanish, and you’ll get your point across. Acquire a taste for acqua con gas. Its a lot more fun (and read on the label what itll do for your rheumatism).
You can get tap water, but you might need to be nice, patient, creative, and know the right phrase. Different countries offer and are willing to serve different types of tap water. In Belgium, you’ll have to pay for it, and in Denmark too, unless you order something else. Giving away free tap water is sometimes seen as a special favor. A glass or carafe of it is usually served politely, but sometimes you may decide it’s not worth the trouble.
If youre a coffee lover, it pays to know the ground rules in various caffeine-loving countries.
Italy and France have some of the best coffee cultures in Europe. In fact, the American favorite espresso-based coffee style got its start in Italy. If you ask for “un caffé” (Italian) or “un café” (French), you’ll get a shot of espresso in a small cup. Espresso is the base of most coffee drinks. Hot water and/or steamed or foamed milk are added in different amounts. Before noon, locals are served milky drinks like a cappuccino, caffè latte (Italy), or café au lait/café crème (France). Tourists can get them at any time of the day. Cappuccino is a breakfast drink in Italy, and anything with milk or cream after a meal or later in the day is thought to make your stomach upset. Italians also think it’s gross to drink milk after eating anything with tomatoes. It’s only a splash of milk in a caffè macchiato (Italy) or noisette (France) after lunch. You are welcome to ask for a coffee with more milk later in the day, but don’t be shocked if you get a strange look.
Ask for a caffè americano (Italy) or un café allongé (France), which is espresso mixed with hot water. This is the closest thing to brewed coffee you can get. In Britain, Germany, and Scandinavia, coffee shops are more likely to serve brewed coffee, but there are also a lot of espresso shops in these states these days.
Turkish coffee is not a type of coffee; it’s a way of making coffee. The coffee grounds float on top of the brew, leaving a layer of “mud” at the bottom of the cup. Youll also find this style of coffee in Greece (Greek coffee) and the Czech Republic (turecká káva). Its typically drunk as a digestive after dinner and sometimes after lunch. If you want sugar in these places, you have to ask for it when you place your order, because it’s added while the coffee is hot.
In Europe, alcohol made in the country is almost always less expensive than your favorite imported brand. It’s often even less expensive than juice and American soft drinks. An American drink would cost more than an American drink in Portugal. A shot of the local hard drink would cost a dollar.
More importantly, trying locally produced alcohol can be a great cultural experience. If you go to any bar in Scotland and ask for help with what to order, you’ll find that people there are very interested in finding and describing the whisky that fits their personality. Each guy in the pub has “his” whisky. And the flavors (fruity, peppery, peaty, smoky) are much easier to actually taste than their wine-snob equivalents.
In France, geography plays a big part in the countrys liquid pride. Terroir (pronounced “tehr-wah”) is a uniquely French concept. Terroir means “somewhere-ness.” It is made up of the soil, geology, climate (both large and small), and culture (the people who work there and their craft). The French dont call a wine by the grapes name. Even though they are made from the same grape, two wines can have very different tastes because of where they come from. A real Chablis made from the Chardonnay grape is better than Chardonnays made elsewhere because of its terroir.
There’s nothing better than having a Manhattan in your hotel room with a guy from Los Angeles. Instead, drink local drinks with locals in local bars. Drink wine in wine countries and beer in beer countries. Sample the regional specialties. Let a local person order you her favorite. You may hate it, but youll never forget it.
If you’ve spent any time on the internet in the last few years, chances are you’ve seen that photo of a turkey in a kitchen sink holding a can of beer It’s one of those viral images that has been shared and meme’d endlessly across social media But where did it come from and what’s the story behind it? In this article, we’ll take a deep dive into the origins of what has become one of the most iconic and hilarious turkey photos on the internet.
The Original Turkey in the Sink Photo
The original photo depicts a wild turkey standing in a stainless steel kitchen sink clutching a can of Busch beer in its beak. Its feathers are damp and soapy, indicating it has just had a bath. The turkey is staring directly at the camera with a decidedly unimpressed look on its face.
The image first started circulating online around 2015, though the exact origins are murky. It seems to have been taken by a person who encountered the beer-holding turkey in their own kitchen during Thanksgiving preparations. They smartly pulled out their camera and snapped what has now become an immortal moment of bath time gone wrong.
Most likely, the photo is real and not staged or photoshopped. Wild turkeys, which have made an incredible comeback across North America in recent decades, are known for wandering into suburban areas in search of food. The bird probably found its way into the house and hopped into the sink looking for water. But when it spotted the tantalizing beer can, it couldn’t resist grabbing a hold of it with its beak.
How the Meme Took Off
Shortly after it was first posted online, the turkey photo went viral on social platforms like Reddit, Twitter and Facebook. People couldn’t get enough of the absurdity of this soaked bird kicking back with a brew in the sink.
The image was rapidly meme-ified with funny captions added often playing off of Thanksgiving themes
“When your family argue about politics at Thanksgiving dinner”
“POV: You’re trying to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner in peace”
“Me avoiding all my relatives at Thanksgiving”
Other captions positioned the turkey as a troublesome household pet:
“When your roommate’s pet turkey gets into the beer again”
“No Carl, turkeys don’t belong in the house”
People also had fun photoshopping the turkey into other scenarios – playing beer pong, passed out drunk on the couch, or hanging with other animals.
The meme really took off in November of 2015 when the Imgur user “Herostratus” shared it on the platform with the caption “Gone and got the bird drunk again…” That post went insanely viral, garnering over 1.5 million views in just a few days. Clearly, people couldn’t get enough of this beer-loving bird.
Brands Try to Get in on the Action
It wasn’t long before brands tried to leverage the viral turkey photo for their own marketing purposes. Busch Beer even did a mock-up of the turkey posing with a can of their product. The caption read: “That’s my boy.”
Brands like Reese’s and Netflix got in on the fun too, sharing photoshopped versions of the turkey tweeting about binge-watching shows or housing peanut butter cups.
While most of the brand tie-ins came off as amusing, some felt a little forced or promotional. However, you can’t blame the social media managers for trying to capitalize on a viral moment. The turkey in the sink was just too good of an opportunity to pass up.
Breaking Down the Appeal
But what exactly makes this turkey photo so funny, sharable, and meme-worthy? A few factors are at play:
1. Absurdity – Seeing a wild turkey just chillin’ with a beer in a kitchen sink is patently absurd. The weirdness of the situation makes you do a double-take.
2. Anthropomorphism – By having the turkey holding a beer, it seems almost human-like. This anthropomorphic quality gives the turkey some personality that people can relate to and laugh at.
3. Relatability – The captions and memes draw on shared experiences like awkward Thanksgivings or troublesome pets. This allows people to put themselves in the scene.
4. Irony – A turkey enjoying a beer is ironic since turkeys are a centerpiece of many Thanksgiving meals. Their fate is usually not to drink beer but to be eaten with beer.
5. Meme potential – With its expressive gaze, the turkey lends itself easily to funny captions and photoshops. The image is meme gold.
So the combination of absurdity, anthropomorphism, relatability, irony, and meme potential is why this photo has had such viral staying power. It’s one of those lightning in a bottle memes that the internet just can’t get enough of.
The Turkey’s Viral Legacy
Since first emerging in 2015, the iconic turkey photo has become a staple of meme culture. To this day, it still gets shared every November as the holidays approach.
People continue to come up with new creative captions and variations keeping the meme alive. And the turkey’s popularity shows no sign of waning.
It’s one of those viral sensations that has seeped into the mainstream culture. Even your grandparents have probably seen that photo of a turkey with a beer at this point. It’s now an indelible part of the internet’s visual lexicon.
So next Thanksgiving when you’re gathered around the table, give thanks to the beer-loving turkey whose absurdist photo has brought so much joy and laughter to millions. This soaked foul truly deserves its place in the meme hall of fame.
