Lighting in Beer Bars/Restaurants

Reminds me of a quote:


"Many a man has fallen in love with a girl in a light so dim he would not have chosen a suit by it."


Maurice Chevalier

 

I love that this post was "liked" by @DarkerTheBetter , but what's in a name?

 

Shhhhhhhh!!!

 

You should do yourself a favor and buy a miner's helmet with attached light. I wear one to almost every bar I go to. I also wear a huge ring-mounted jeweler's loupe so I can get a good look at the sediment, so pick one of those up. Lately I've been bringing a **** whistle too, because with my gear on I am hard to resist (I blow it every 30 seconds preemptively.)

 

Well a critical thing to think about is that culture to humans is somewhat like water is to fish. We often don't notice some things about our own culture until we are in a different environment. Did you find that the Japanese have the same drinking culture that you have experienced in the US and are describing in your earlier reply to my first post? (I.e., semi-darkness, lack of windows, loud music, pressure to consume or leave?)

That’s certainly not as common in the UK, Germany or Austria as it is here in the US, especially when you get away from the center of the city and into the neighborhoods or countryside. I've been in places in each of those countries where you could sit and read or chat with friends and there was neither TV nor music and there was enough light to see to read without difficulty. Yet marketing researchers in each of those countries are as well aware of the data you (and others) refer to since researchers in those countries have themselves contributed to doing some of that research.

My overall point is that lots of the factors people are mentioning are not unique to the US (e.g., pupil dilation when interested in something), but the attitudes towards drinking and drinking culture are.

 

I live in a place where "beer bars" are virtually non-existent. We have bars. Every single bar, no matter how divey, has a few good beers. As has been mentioned, American bars tend to be dark.

 

I'm taking my first trip to Germany this August. When you move a fish from one tank into another you have to put it in the new tank in a bag filled with water from the old tank, otherwise the shock could kill it. How long do I have to wear my bag for after I touch down in Berlin?

 

Not to mention, the same effect occurs after a few beers. This is why you only find stunningly attractive people in bars.

 

Until the next morning....YIKES!!!

 

We're much more adaptable than fish so that’s one place where the analogy breaks down... :-)

I think you'll enjoy your trip and will adapt to your new environment quite nicely. Most people will spot that you are an American (even if your German is good) and that you are a tourist. They will probably be eager to speak English with you and most people you'll run into will be happy to answer questions, etc.

So long as you can avoid being the "ugly American" and acting as if you have nothing to learn from the locals it should all go well. :-)

 

I visited a few bars in Washington state a long while back, but the one that sticks out in my mind was a dive bar in Bremerton. I was passing about an hour of time waiting for someone to get off work, so I stopped in a place. I ordered a White Russian and everyone looked at me like I was speaking in an alien tongue. What I didn't know at the time was that there were "beer only" bars???? Basically, I outed myself as one from another land. It was all good though after I mentioned that I most definitely was NOT from California. Apparently 1995 in Washington state, Californian migration wasn't appreciated.

Too bad you don't have a few beer bars. We have some really great ones in the RVA that offer ample lighting and ambience simultaneously.

 

Which is also why Mickey Gilley made a big pot of money with his song, "Don't the girls get prettier at closing time."

 

Lots around here as well. I've not been in a too-dark bar in a good 20 years or so... :-)

 

I like mine just bright enough to read the menu, no more, that's it.