Just took a group of adult Swiss to NYC. Wonderful trip, fantastic city and lovely group of travellers.

We went to a Mets game. They loved the show, entertainment and the last inning finally offered real baseball action.

However, they left their passports in their room and were shocked when they couldn't buy beer without showing proper ID. They were aghast. Culture shock. These are people are their 50's. I showed my ID and everyone got their beer.

They were also shocked when they realized alcohol would not be sold from the 7th inning onwards (baseball has 9 innings). No beer at a sports event?

Anyway, just wanted to show a culture shock involving the Swiss away from home.

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Faith isn't about everything turning out okay. Faith is about being okay no matter how things turn out.

Nice story and one in the eye for those who think the Swiss blindly followed rules...

64-dollar question:
Which city forbids open consumption of alcohol in the streets?

[ ] New York
[ ] Teheran
[ ] Both


If it wasn't so sad, it would be funny.

Melbourne? Sydney? In fact on any street in Australia?

Coming from a booze country of the world, honestly, allowing people to drink on the street makes no difference (other than racking up the world beer record). But only a few will, anyways, it's not very convenient.

Thanks, Olygirl for reminding us. Last I got carded was here a few months ago, and I am close to 40 than 30 now, it's embarrassing.

Take it as a true compliment

Sigh, thanks, I know. But it is also embarrassing for the poor shop people when they look at my driving license and feel like they have to backpaddle..I should get some thicker makeup or something. The strict teacher glasses help a little.

Erm...London. And I'm in favour of it. Switzerland isn't at a stage where they need to yet, but they'll get there - from what I've noticed I'll give it 10 years in Zurich before they really need to introduce such a law. Anyway, smoking, drinking, eating on the street - terribly uncouth.

Toronto, probably most places in Canada... I miss this law, and also the law prohibiting the sale of alcohol to already drunk people. I find that allowing public drinking contributes to very low expectations and standards of public behaviour, not to mention cleanliness.

I don't think it is sad at all. I prefer not to have to deal with drunk fools walking around all the time, at least with open containers being prohibited on the streets, this happens a bit less often.

Secondly, I know that in Daytona Beach area at least, part of the law has to do not just with the alcohol itself but also with the litter issue. Most soft drinks in the US are sold in plastic bottles or cans, the same is not true of alcohol. Limiting / prohibiting open containers helps reduce the amount of broken glass everywhere. (No glass containers allowed on the beach at all, alcohol or no.)

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The Joys of Opticianry

I wish the law was here at times since I live close to the busiest bar in town and due to no indoor smoking, half the time people just drink their beverages outside, scream, fight, puke and all the rest, almost every night between 10pm and 4:30am.

I think, it just leads to an infantilisation of people.
AFAIK, in Iran people fill "real" beer into bottles/cans of alcohol-free beer (which is freely available).

In Germany (and Switzerland to a part), we usually put a tax on something when we want to reduce consumption.
Is there no duty on spirits in the US (and elsewhere)?

I know it's a bit a silly argument if you look at the smoking ban in restaurants - but smoking is really a bit different, because it directly impacts the people in a room, whereas I don't get drunk from somebody else next to me drinking a vodka...
BTW: Geographic or time-limited bans on alcohol do exist in Germany (and Switzerland) nevertheless (apart from the age-limitation) - but they are usually handled with a sense of proportion and not with quasi-religious zeal, like it is in the US (and some Islamic states).

In any place where jurists effectively make laws, there is a tendency to see a law as a cure to a problem.
From our European point of view, the US is just the extreme version of it.
This is probably why we like Switzerland (if we like it...) - while it results in a lot of populist action (hello anti-minaret initiative), it also reminds the law-makers that they can't hide behind laws but have to show results.

Pretty impressive! I've been told to take it as a compliment.

Last time I got carded (for buying beer at Coop), the cashier actually took a couple seconds to count in her head if 1981 made me 30 or younger than 16..The moment when it clicked in her head was hilarious to watch, utter embarrassment.

They have no beer in the USA unless its imported from Canada And who was playing?

Talk about blind adherence to rules.

Two years ago I visited the USA with a Swiss friend and we were on the train from Atlanta to New Orleans.

We went to the cafeteria car for a bite to eat and a beer.

Apparently the train route crosses some dry counties in which the sale of alcohol was prohibited and the rules over whether or not we could buy a beer or indeed drink it changed almost by the minute. The barman followed the rules with almost religious zeal and didn't think there was anything funny about it and neither did any of the other folks in the bar.

That is very common in the Bible Belt!