About Germans and Wasser ohne Kohlensäure

I am still to be proven if this kindof water exists.

So I am in Germany. Enjoying the lovely sun (and 23 degrees in the friggin start of April - lovely!), and of course of this heat is making me thirsty. I found it somehow funny that the fact that I don't drink bubbly-water surprised the people I was staying at - yes - they even laughed about it! But ok, they sent with me a bottle with "Wasser ohne Kohlensäure", and happily I go on with my day and what more it has to bring.

When I later decide to take a sip of what I believed to be natural (=bubbleless) water. I pick the bottle up from my backpack, and open it. What comes isn't the silence you have when usually opening a waterbottle, no, the sound is something like "tshhhhh" - the very same sound you get when opening a Cola, or a water that indeed has bubbles in it. I taste nevertheless - maybe the German bottles has some interesting opening-mechanisms and therefore sounds that I don't know from Norway. I taste - and I do not get surprised - the liquid coming into my mouth isn't of the type that you get from the brook when walking high, high in the mountains, it's indeed not from the untouched, pure water. Yep, that's what I'm sayin', it was full of bubbles.

Now, I give it to my German friend saying that, "ehm, I'm sorry, but was this supposed to be without bubbles?". He takes a sip. "Pfff, you cannot say that it is much bubbles in this!". The amount of bubbles wasn't what I was questioning either, I was more referring to the fact that the water is no longer water, it used to be, before someone added full of bubbles that comes in it. This leads me to another question. Why on earth would they put the label with "Natürliches Mineralwasser" on water with lots of added stuff.

I go: Erhm.. What is so natural about this? Full of bubbles is added?
Him: Yes, it is natural!
Me: But.. natural is when it's just water?
Him: Yes, it's natural.
Me: But they added bubbles?
Him: Yes, it's natural water that they just added bubbles to!
Me: But it's supposed to be natural?
Him: It is natural.
Me: Natural is when you find a waterfall, put a bottle underneath, fill it up with water and then later drink this NATURAL water.
Him: But it is natural, they found a waterfall, put a bottle underneath, filled it up with water.. and then added bubbles..

As you can understand, I eventually give up discussing this, seeing that Germans doesnt know true, natural water, like we Norwegians do. I shake the water til the bubbles are out, and survive with the very un-watery taste since I'm thirsty. However, I do not understand that this so-called water, more the liquid that looks like water but tastes like salt, really removes the thirst from people - mostly I get more thirsty. But you know.. Desperate times leads to desperate actions?

At least this experience lets me tell my friends fun stories about Germans and Wasser ohne Kohlensäure, it gave me motivation to write a blog, and it makes me apreciate the water we have here even more. Ahh.. The pure, clean, NATURAL water. It tastes like heaven, if heaven is a thing you really can put a taste on.. :)

Fun fact; As I came home from a longer stay in Germany, bubbly water was among the things I missed the most. Not because I liked it or anything, mostly because it was charming!

Note: This is not me making fun of Germans - I love them for all its worth.