Having spent the last spring and summer abroad, I often find myself reminiscing about my golden days in Europe. Yes, the scenery was beautiful, the art collections were often mind-blowing, and the accents were charming, but that’s not what I find myself dwelling on most often. It’s drinking in public.
How many times have you found yourself in a beautiful park, on the front lawn, or maybe just on the front steps of your friend’s house, wishing you could knock back a bottle of wine in the fresh air without worrying about all those pesky open container laws? While this may not be everyone’s idea of an ideal Friday night, you have to admit— it sounds nice.
In Europe, drinking in public is not only acceptable, but cultural. Between dinner and going to bars, after bars close, and at all hours in between, crowds in all states of inebriation gather in piazzas, public squares, or really any outdoor space where there is room to sit.
Popular among teenagers and college-aged groups, the piazzas often also attract artists, musicians, or street performers looking to take advantage of the crowds. It is nearly impossible to find a bar or club that beats sitting under some of Europe’s most famous architecture in the moonlight, listening to a guitar play while drinking some of Europe’s finest selection of grocery store liquor.
Of course, the evenings spent drinking in public are not always idyllic. I have seen my fair share of the rowdiness, smashed bottles, and minor sexual harassment that are generally the reason why open container laws exist in most areas of the United States. However, in most of Europe (barring some cosmopolitan capitals), drinking on the street is completely legal—as is drinking on trains, on beaches, or in any other public area. And where it is not legal, these laws often are not strictly enforced.
This, of course, is not the only area in which European laws regarding alcohol are much more relaxed than their American counterparts. In countries such as Austria, Germany, Belgium, and Italy, teens as young as 16 can buy beer. In most other countries, the legal age is no higher than 18. But again, depending on where you are, there’s probably a good chance you wouldn’t get carded anyway.
It is often much more common in Europe than in the U.S. for teenagers to be allowed to drink at home with their parents long before they are of legal drinking age. It is overwhelmingly evident that this practice – in contrast with the American tradition of restricting all access to alcohol before the age of 21—leads to much safer drinking habits by the time teenagers are legal. De-mystifying drinking also leads to a much healthier attitude toward alcohol by the time teenagers head to college, a fact that many American students who were allowed to drink growing up can also probably attest to. After all, how cool can something really be when you’re used to doing it with your parents?
A lower drinking age and more relaxed drinking laws also cause European cultures to regard their teenagers as adults at an earlier age. In Hungary, where I spent last summer, the year someone turned 18—the drinking age, as well as the legal age at which one could buy cigarettes—was generally regarded as the age at which one became an adult. In American culture, the date at which this transition occurs is much more difficult to pin down.
While they may not be ready to accept the responsibility that comes with the term (as the U.K.’s recent issues with binge drinking among youths can attest to), being able to purchase and drink your own alcohol is an important step on the road to adulthood. Adults often complain that our generation of Americans needs to grow up; perhaps they should be given that option earlier.
America’s drinking laws, however, are as deeply ingrained into our culture as drinking in piazzas is in Italian society. And although there are pros and cons of both cultures, I will probably stick to dreaming about piazzas for now.
