Last Thursday I went to enjoy the first Latzenbier of my life. It’s a very local event, hosted by the brewery Schuhmacher in Düsseldorf. Three times a year, always on the third Thursday of March, September and November a special stronger ale is sold in the patio of the brewery. There's a life band, and you can get some typical German snacks. While the ingredients to a nice evening are all there, it's nevertheless kind of surprising that so many people go completely crazy for a couple of strong half pints and meatballs... It was so packed you could hardly move, the last time I had been so close to people I had never seen before was probably at a concert of "Die toten Hosen" when I was about 13… I knew that people from my area are no party-poopers, however, after 10 years in Calvinistic Amsterdam, it can still surprise me how easily every opportunity for a great evening is used to the max…
It’s also good to know that people still dare to go to this kind of event, considering that last week our Interior Minister and the champ who’s in charge of defense were painting pictures of dirty (nuclear) bombs and aircrafts captured by terrorists that will need to be shoot out off the sky… The message was clear: we are not safe! Nowhere! And what a wonderful target this couple of thousand beer lovers, men and women squeezing against each other, singing along to loud unsophisticated party music would have been to some Muslim fundamentalists… Honestly, while I was having my share of half-pints that thought did not even cross my mind, but the next day, when I listened to the evening news, where Mr Schäuble was talking about all the danger surrounding and infiltrating our fragile society, I understood that drinking beer in a public place almost turns into a political statement these days. Cheers to that thought! The next couple of beers will taste even better!
