Brno – Czech Republic

Axiom Bar has an astonishing range of beers. One almost gets intoxicated just by looking at the refrigerators filled with colourful cans. Most of them come from the bar’s own brewery.

Alina is from Novosibirsk in Russia and is sitting with two friends from Bratislava in Slovakia, so things suddenly become rather international when the old man from Sweden approaches with his proposal to buy them beer. Rather unusually, they accept immediately, and the conversation at the table rises and falls in waves.

Eventually my new friends leave the bar. Later, when I go to the bartender to pay the bill, it turns out that one of the Slovak guys had quietly gone up earlier and paid for everything. Says the bartender with a smile.

Györ – Hungary

“Well, you see, I’d like to try many different beers tonight, but I’m an old man and can’t handle drinking that much. So if I buy a beer and bring two empty glasses to your table and pour most of it for you, there won’t be that much left for me.”

When they hesitate slightly, I add: “And of course I’m paying.” That settles the matter.

Prague – Czech Republic

At Beergeek the rules at the taps are not so rigid. Instead of buying five small beers, the girl behind the bar simply fills five small glasses straight from the tap, roughly measuring them so that together they correspond to a one-litre mug in both volume and price. There will be many such “mugs”.

Luxembourg – Luxembourg

Here it is cans that dominate, from legendary breweries like Fuerst Wiacek and Basqueland. The girls do not hesitate for a second when I present my offer of free beer, and once again my intention of leaving the victims in peace proves impossible to keep.

Riga – Latvia

This group has Eastern European drinking habits, so here it is not enough to buy just one bottle of each kind. It turns into a long evening, and they protest loudly when I try to withdraw and leave them in peace after handing over the beer. The green-haired girl takes out her phone and shows countless pictures of her cats.

It is getting dark when I finally leave the company, take my Brompton and head back to the hotel. Or rather — now that I think of it — I led the bicycle along the pavement, just to be on the safe side.