Liquid has a place.

I've just come to a realization and decided to share.

In the United States of America, when dining out the question of what to order for a beverage typically meets a simple, "Just water, please." Maybe a different variation, "Water with lemon." or even sometimes (for the strange), "Water. No ice please!"

However, seeing as you have to pay for the tap water that they fill your opened glass Bonaqua water bottle, ordering drinks becomes a much more intense experience in the Czech Republic. The options are suddenly open. No longer can you cheap out by not getting a drink, now there are other options, some even cheaper.

Beer? Big or small? This kind or that? Vino? Red or white? Coffee? Tea? Coke, Fanta, or Sprite?

This brings a whole new angle to eating out. As you sit down and pick up the menu you have to not only judge your hunger, but you have to judge your thirst. Are you getting something spicy or salty? Maybe you should get a big beer then. But, two cokes added, is that cheaper than a big beer? The beer will fill you up too... good point, maybe I'll just get water.

Up until this point, I've been in Praha for 3 months, I've always thought it an annoyance that I had to order a drink. Now I see it as an opportunity to better understand the dining out culture.

Na zdraví!