I never understood the allure of Irish Pubs until moving abroad. Sure, I had been to Irish Pubs before, but I knew nothing of the culture nor the drink offerings. I was 6 weeks into my stay in Germany, when I heard my first English-speaker on the tram - a young guy talking on the phone. I am not normally one to chat up the nearest person, but it was about time I made a friend in Karlsruhe. I anxiously eavesdropped until I heard him end the call. The question "Hey, where are you from?" blurted out of my mouth and a quick exchange later, he offers, "I am on my way to a pub; everyone speaks English there if you want to come." It was already late and a 7 am au pair shift the next morning awaited me, but I was not going to miss out on this opportunity to make friends. This evening, I found myself conversing with Australians, Germans, and my new Indian friend, all in English, with ciders, stouts, and of course some German Jaegermeister flying about. Nearly two years later, I found myself working at a local Irish Pub in Karlsruhe. Two months after that, I booked an Irish road trip and experienced my first authentic Irish pub in Killarney, Ireland, and then many others every night for the remainder of the trip.

The Irish Pub can be an intimidating concept when you are versed in the culture, so here's a Guide to the Irish Pub Culture from someone who is zero percent Irish.



For starters, you should know the Irish (or Gaelic) word for Cheers: Slaínte! It, like many other words for cheers, means health, and is pronounced, "Slahn-cha".

Next, come the beers.

Stout

Stout is the most well-known of all the Irish beers because of Guinness, the world's most famous stout. Stouts are dark, nearly black beers, with a creamy foam on top, that often have a slight hint of coffee taste. Although the color may be intimidating and the name might imply a strong taste, stouts are actually quite light. Shockingly enough, it is also one of the lower calorie and carbohydrate (non-light) beer options. It's also packed with phenols, which are antioxidants that also may prevent cancer. Another famous stout is produced by Murphy's.

Ale

Ale is that reddish-brownish beer you've seen but maybe never tasted. It usually contains a fuller, more flavor-packed taste. Originally, it was brewed without hops, but now many ales contain some, but a lower content than their beer friends. Some famous Irish ale selections are Kilkenny and Smithwick's, with Killkenny on the creamier side and Smithwick's the more traditional red ale.

Cider

Cider, my Irish Pub drink of choice, is not actually a beer, but rather just served like one. It is traditionally made from fermented apple juice, and tastes much like an adult carbonated apple juice. Ciders also come in other flavors, like the popular pear cider ("Perry Cider"). Bulmer's (branded Magner's outside of Ireland) is the cider to drink around Ireland, although many Irish Pubs also serve, Strongbow, an English cider and the most sold cider worldwide.

Pilsner

Pilsner is a light-colored lager and is the beer you are probably most familiar with, which also makes it the most boring order at an Irish Pub.

Black & Tan

A mixture of ale and stout. A pint glass is filled to around 60-70% with ale, and then topped off with stout. These are also sometimes made with a lager.

Black Velvet / Tom & Jerry

Originally a mix of champagne and stout, Irish pubs serve up this treat mixing half cider and half stout. This version made with cider can be referred to as the "poor man's" black velvet.

Editor's Note: Tom & Jerry can also refer to egg nog mixed with brandy and rum, so keep this in mind.

Snake Bite / Diesel

Snake bites are a mix of lager and cider, but have become more and more popular in their "black" version, which is adding a bit of blackcurrant juice, giving it a pink color.

Editor's Note: Blackcurrant juice is often added to stouts and ciders, upon request, to sweeten things up.

In addition to the beers and fun mixtures of all of them, there are some other popular Irish pub alcoholic beverages.

Irish Coffee

A warm coffee drink with a helping of whiskey, sugar, and topped off with cream.

Baby Guinness

Named for their resemblance to the famous stout, these shots are my personal favorite, Kahlua (or another coffee liqueur) topped off with Baileys. It's like having a piece of candy - candy that makes you feel really good.

Whiskeys

People write massive books on whiskeys, and I am no pro, but I can tell you that Irish whiskeys, spelled with the "e", are usually lighter and smoother, while Scotch whiskies (no "e" in whisky), usually contain that more peaty flavor. If you are looking for somewhere to get started, I really enjoy the Green Spot Irish Whiskey. It contains a light green apple flavor.

I will leave you with my favorite insult I learned in Ireland and special giveaway to Amazon (my favorite "shop" in the world) for whoever stuck with me: "Sorry lad, I wouldn't get up on you to hang wallpaper".

What do you order to drink at a pub? Do you ever hang out at Irish pubs outside of St. Patrick's Day?

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This post first appeared as a guest feature on VTIM, but I've udpated and edited it for its Speaking Denglish debute.

It took me awhile to consider myself an expatriate. My initial plan was to au pair for one year and get back on the life track I always grew up with: high school, university, career, marriage, children. Germany had different plans for me though, and now that I'm going on three years with no true plans of leaving, I think it's safe to say I'm an expat. Since I did not actually plan on expatriation, there are definitely some things I would have done more or differently.

HifX contacted me asking for one piece of advice for expats for their expat tips page (see here). Oh man, I have lots of tips, like porting your number on Google Voice, but that did not seem to fit the bill for everyone. Here is what I ended up contributing:

Don't be shy. Introduce yourself, ask questions, walk in and ask if they're hiring, consult other expats and locals, and do not jump at the first opportunities you see: whether it's a bank account, cell phone deal, or apartment rental, talk to others who already learned the hard way so you do not have to.

Be a Yes (Wo)Man

Yes, I want to go to this meet up. Yes, I want to learn the language. Yes, I will go salsa dancing with you even though I hate that idea. Moving to a new country is a chance to "abroaden" your horizons (see what I did there). There will be plenty of offers for things you would NEVER consider doing in your home country, but this is how you will experience a new culture and make new friends. Put yourself out there. Embrace the changes and opportunities.

Oktoberfest is probably the easiest YES! of all.

Do Not Jump into Commitments

Following my contributed piece of advice, it's best to do your research. Yes, you need a bank account, a cell phone, furniture, but shop around. Do not just walk into Vodafone because you've heard of it; it may have poor signals in your city. Do not just go to IKEA; there could be upcoming flea markets (or heck, heavy trash day in German is a gold mine). Things like furniture, bank accounts, cell phone contracts, train cards, and health insurance are a pain in the ass to change and can cost you unnecessary money. Talk to locals and expats who've been around the block or two before you dive into a commitment.

Embrace the Blogosphere

This goes hand-in-hand with my previous point, but do your research. You do not have to join the blogosphere to utilize it. Every traveler dreams of insider tips and bloggers are insiders spilling the beans left and write (there, I did it again). Find experts on living in your country and fellow travelers who've already done what you are set out to do. Within the blogosphere lies loads of valuable advice, you just need to know where to look.

Travel

Places that were merely far off lands that you'd have time and money to visit when you retired are now at your doorstep. For me moving to Europe, my vacation time increased and budget airlines made other countries wallet-friendly. A 2.5 hour travel weekend trip to the river in Texas became a jaunt to Portugal. How could I not take advantage?

Side Note: Find out which local deal sites are available. The sites are probably written in the local language, but you can discover some killer vacation packages. Ask other travelers where they find travel specials.

Just your average day as an expat (ha, not at all)

Expats Are Your Friends

I know it's easy to move to a new country and think that you only want make friends with locals. No one wants to be THAT expat or THAT tourist. Listen here, you're starting a new life. This is your chance to not give a crap what other think and do what feels right.  There's some things that only your fellow expats can understand and there are some things you can only experience knowing locals. Find a happy balance of friends and keep making new ones. The tough thing about expat life is watching people come and go. Cherish your time and don't shut yourself off from new relationships.

It Ain't Always Pretty

Expat life is tough. Things that were once mindless tasks, like depositing money at the bank or buying steaks, become overwhelming. Don't even get started on things that are already difficult in the US, like repairs and taxes. Then there's the things you've never had to deal with, like staying in touch in different time zones and just thinking about visas makes me sick. Life is hard no matter where you are, so do not let these things bog you down. Try and enjoy the challenges you face every day and learn from your mistakes.

What advice would you give someone before moving to another country?

Germans do many quirky things, but their unique drink mixtures is one of my favorites. I am not talking about mixing cocktails because we all know Germans enjoy beer over the former; I am talking about carbonated drink mixtures. This surely stems from the unanimous preference for mineral (fizzy) water over the less superior still water, and don't even mention the stuff straight from the tap! Ok, I am exaggerating a bit here, but to prove my point, here are some German staple drinks.

Radler

The Radler (translation: cyclist) is a mixture of Sprite (or any other lemon soda) and beer, particularly a Pilsner. It is extremely popular during the warmer months as it can turn a bitter Pils into quite the thirst-quencher. In the UK, this popular drink is also available, but called a Shandy. They are available bottled, but often mixed 3:2 beer:sprite at bars, pubs, and beer gardens from a tap. This usually brings the alcohol percentage of the beer down to 2.5-3%.

Weinschorle

Weinscholre (translation: wine spritzer) is typically a dry white wine mixed with mineral water. However, there are really a million ways to do it and it is often mixed also with rosés and even red wines. Some people even drink their Weinschorle süß (translation: sweet) with Sprite. This is a popular way to drink wine during the day.

Apfelschorle (and other Saftschorle)

Apfelschorle, a mixture of apple juice and mineral water, is maybe the most popular non-alcoholic beverage in Germany. Germans love apples, so why not mix it with their beloved soda water for a day at the park. If you walk into any German household, Apfelschorle will surely be one of your drink offerings. Heck, they've even bottled it up so you don't have to mix your own.

Spezi

As a child, I remember my goofy self walking up to the fountain drink machine at Fudrucker's and holding my cup under several sodas and drinking whatever came out. My only successful mixture was pink lemonade and Sprite, but the Germans seem to have found another: Spezi, a mixture of cola and orange soda. Pepsi markets it as Schwip Schwap while Coca-Cola markets it as Mezzo Mix. I market it as a don't buy, but it sure is "spezi" to some people.

Cola-Weizen

Cola-Weizen is another popular beer mixture, but a bit opposite the aforementioned Radler as it is a wheat beer mixed with cola. I normally steer clear of the wheat beers as they are a little much for me (and someone once told me they give you gas), but Cola-Weizen is delicious, and I am newly a fan of Bananen-Weizen, which is a wheat beer with you guessed it, banana juice. It's the perfect breakfast beer, I must say.

What do you think about the Germans' quirk: ja oder nein?

Yep, nearly a week ago I mentioned that the sunshine is getting in the way of my blogging... and not just my blogging, but also my afternoon Gchat sessions with friends at home, my itinerary planning, and general room cleaning apparently as the Freund commented that my place is starting to look like his (he lives in a disaster zone).

Anyhow, the guilt is finally catching up with me, and here I am to tell you about the madness that was St. Patrick's Day. When I decided to give up drinking for Lent, I did not even consider the fact that St. Paddy's fell within the 40 day period. I immediately decided to make this holiday an exception. I know I am not Irish, but I have put in the hours at the Irish pub and you bet I was not going to miss celebrating this holiday properly.

Germany does not do St. Patrick's Day quite like the USA. No one will pinch you if you are not wearing green. Heck, we had people show up at the pub saying they just saw it packed and wanted to see what was going on, completely unaware what we might be celebrating. I actually had to work this evening, but it was one of those rare, all-hands-on-deck evenings, so we could enjoy ourselves while also making sure customers had drinks in their hands, too.

I did not have to work until 6, so I decided to hit Flynn's Inn, the Irish pub in my neighborhood, for their festivities, which involve teaming up with Scruffy's Irish Pub for a parade. The weather was simply perfect, as per the standard lately, and all the pub-goers decided to take their drinking to the street. I enjoyed myself the only Guinness of the day here, as I am normally a cider-drinker in the pub scene. I had to depart for work before the parade, but I hear it was fantastic.

Upon arrival at work, I enjoyed a quick bowl of seafood chowder before joining the madness. We opened the beer garden for the first time this season and it was as packed-as-ever in anticipation of Seán Treacy. Seán plays in an awesome cover band throughout Germany, but he brought his Irish roots right into his local hangout to celebrate the day. Seán also has some original songs, and I'd been encouraging him to sing "Search 'Till You're Blue" for sometime. He invited my coworker and I up to sing along, since we know every word from it being on the pub playlist, and it was incredible!



After Seán's show ended around 23:00, things began to chill out on the random-customer end as non-creatures-of-the-night like we pub-people had to work Tuesday morning, but the party certainly did not stop. The regular customers hung around, and the guys from the neighboring bars, whom we usually keep up after hours, kept us open extra late instead. The night ended at 6 am, with me somehow managing to close the pub. My bike ride home was slightly different from the average 3 am cruise, with people already out walking their dogs and buying warm bread at the bakery.

Oh, and how was drinking again you ask? It ruled. I enjoyed my fair share of free cider, Green Spot whisky, and Baby Guinness shots. The following day certainly made it easy to go back to not drinking for a bit though. I will write a whole post on being around drinking all the time and not drinking when this is all said and done, but not drinking, especially during certain occasions, sucks, so I'm glad I made this holiday the exception.

Did you celebrate St. Paddy's Day?

Since I arrived in Germany two-and-a-half years ago, I've heard about the proximity of skiing and how people just hit the slopes after work. A quick after-work ski seems pretty unbelievable in a city as flat and bike-friendly as Karlsruhe, but when Shayla came to visit, it was time to finally give it a run.

Full disclosure: Since graduating college and moving to Europe, I no longer find downhill skiing an enjoyable activity - maybe it is because I am out of shape, or maybe I am just uncomfortable on the European mountains, but I prefer sip drinks and enjoying the scenery then flying down it these days (because it actually scares the crap out of me).

Warm weather characterized this winter in Germany, and I am not AT ALL complaining, but it did make picking a nearby ski location more difficult. The Black Forest offers a plethora of ski hills and cross-country trails during a typical German winter, but this atypical German winter left many ski resorts runs closed. Fortunately, one nearby mountain, Mehliskopf, opened on Shayla's last day in Germany. We just hopped on the S-Bahn in Karlsruhe to Bühl and then from there hopped on the city bus to Mehliskopf. It look just over an hour to get there and cost us each only €13 round-trip, not too shabby. Since Mehliskopf was open, we headed out there on a Friday morning to hit the slopes.

Or at least I thought we'd be hitting the slopes.... there was actually precisely one slope to hit. I was a bit surprised that THIS was the nearby skiing everyone chatted about. Sure, it's convenient, but coming from someone who only knows the likes of skiing at Colorado resorts, I was a little shocked. Fortunately, the prices reflected the size, and we still enjoyed our few runs and the only blanket of snow I've seen all winter.

On the slope, there was one T-bar to the top and one that went halfway up. We started with the halfway T-bar to warm up since it'd been awhile since either of us had been on skis. Well, apparently it'd also been awhile (read: never) since we'd been on a T-bar and not a chairlift, because we both successfully took 3+ tries to properly mount the T-bar. We both fell round one trying to get on together, I then fell and the T-bar dragged me while trying get on solo, and then Shayla fell two more times. The sixteen year-old working the ski lift was wildly amused; it's safe to say we made his day.

Eventually, we learned from our mistakes and were able to dismount fairly successfully and then glide down the slope with ease for the remainder of the day... or at least until our legs and knees begged us to stop and our mouths lead us to the restaurant for some Après-ski, which this particularly day was a lovely glass of Bananenweizen.

The mega-advantage of skiing at Mehliskopf on a weekday was that we were basically the only people there! There were a couple expert skiers there who just zoomeddown, getting in the equivalent of their afternoon run, paired with a couple of children learning the ropes, but other than that, the mountain was absolutely empty.

Incase you ever wondered while I am always in sunglasses, now you see why: even if it is overcast, my eyes are too sensitive to sunlight. P-A-R-T-Y.

What activities do you have right in your own backyard?

You know when you arrive at a party and realize you are probably not cool enough to be there? That's a Turtleneck Club party. Somehow, by the grace of God, or perhaps by the sheer un-compensated amount of work we've poured into Karlsresource, we were invited to a gathering of Karlsruhe's elusive Turtleneck Club. Naturally, we jumped at the opportunity to be a part of this spectacular evening. Karlsruhe lacks the cool factor of other German cities like Berlin and Hamburg, but there are some people that appreciate Karlsruhe enough to bring some special events of their own to this gem of a town. So, what is the Turtleneck Club?

Simply put, the turtleneck reminds us of a time when letters were written by hand, when a glass of booze had bite, and wearing one meant the hammer was cocked and it was time to get it on.

The Turtleneck Club was founded in Karlsruhe, and yes, you do have to wear a turtleneck to the gatherings. My mother found this hilarious as she could not force a turtleneck over my head as a child and yet here I was, wearing one for a night out. Craig and gang executed everything flawlessly. We met at The Commodore Room for some good ole fashion socializing with Hendrick's Gin-based drinks: classic gin and tonic with cucumber, basil smash, and the third is escaping me. Mid-way through the gathering, Craig, the founder, opened up another room for a photo shoot by Sebastian Heck. We are still awaiting the mass of photos from the shoot, but luckily we've received a few teasers I can share with you. Then, we were whisked off to another location on a tram from the 1930s. We were not transported empty-handed either, but with roadies packaged especially for the event by Der Kofferraum. We arrived at HubBar for you guessed it, more gin. This luxurious night was not only packed with premium drinks, but premium people. I have been in Karlsruhe sometime now, and lately I've been pretty lazy when it comes to expanding my social network, but nights like this remind me how much I love making new friends.

official Turtleneck Club membership pin

photo credit: her.self photography

photo credit: her.self photography

photo credit: her.self photography

photo credit: her.self photography

photo credit: her.self photography

photo credit: her.self photography

photo credit: her.self photography

photo credit: Sebastian Heck

photo credit: Sebastian Heck

Craig packin' heat.

photo credit: her.self photography

photo credit: her.self photography

photo credit: her.self photography

photo credit: her.self photography

photo credit: her.self photography

Cheesin' hard

The next day was spent in bed with my first pizza delivery in Germany. I'd put it off long enough and this Sunday afternoon required not moving out of my biscuit.

Thank you Craig, Turtleneck Club, The Commodore Room, and HubBar for a fantastic evening!