"In Italy every one drinks vino, but in Germany men, women and children drink beer. For an Italian to eat a meal without wine or a German without beer would be considered in these countries as extraordinary as if a man should bathe his feet with his shoes on. It is a common enough thing to see a pretty German girl of eighteen calmly drinking a schooner of beer instead of the afternoon cup of tea of her American sister. Absolute prohibition has no more chance in Europe than the snowball of the classic simile, and one might as well talk to a turtle on the subject as to these liquor-drinking but temperate peoples."
From Munich to Vienna is about a day's journey and the third-class accommodations are the poorest I encountered in Europe. I sat in one of these compartments with three Austrians for the entire distance without saying a word, assuming that none of them spoke English. As our train was drawing into Vienna I unthinkingly enquired the time of the man opposite me. He replied in excellent English and we both smiled to think that all day we had sat in silence although communication would have been possible if we had only known it.
"You are an American, are you not?" he asked.
"Yes," I replied.
"What are you doing away over here?"
"Just knocking around the country," I informed him. "Do you know where I can find a cheap hotel in Vienna?"
He said that he did and, when we arrived at the station, very kindly conducted me to a clean and modest hostelry.
"What are your plans for the evening?" he enquired.
"I have none," I said.