learning to party, German-style

**Warning: The following entry contains a lot of talk about alcohol.  The purchase of and consumption of this entry is prohibited in the U.S. to people under the age of 21...but this is Europe, so go ahead and have a couple drinks, minors!**

Last week, I received a few questions on the subject of St. Patrick's Day.  Originally I had planned to be out of Germany and exploring the rest of Europe by train (gotta use my EuRail pass sometime!), and had thought it might be cool to go to Ireland for St. Patrick's Day.  Unfortunately, fate and German bureaucracy were against me.  So, I'm still in Germany and haven't left once.  So how do the Germans celebrate St. Patty's Day?  Answer: they don't.  At least, they don't seem to celebrate it in this town.  I saw no one wearing green or shamrocks.  There were no paper leprechauns adorning office halls and windows.  No parades.  No green beer.  Nothing.  It's not that I expected there to be any mention of the holiday.  I'd always heard that it's a far bigger holiday in the U.S. than even in Ireland itself, so why would anyone in Germany care about the 17th of March?  After all, they're probably still hungover from all the normal-colored beer they had at Oktoberfest.  So, to answer your questions: no, St. Patrick's Day is not celebrated in Germany... or at least not in Giessen.

Though I may not have been celebrating Irish-style on the 17th, I did hear about a club, which I visited this past Saturday night.  It was rather crowded, cost 3 EUR to get in, and I didn't know half the songs they played.  Not the worst party I've ever been to, but I think I prefer American college parties.  I might give the place another shot in a few weeks, though, after I've met some more people in the area. 

On a non-German alcohol note, I tried Tokaji wine for the first time this past Saturday.  (It's Hungarian.)  Now, I'm not much of a wino...but that Tokaji is some good stuff!