American Helene Sula vividly remembers the first time she discovered tap water was a different ball game in Europe.
Sula, from Texas, was at a restaurant in Germany. When the server asked for her drink order, Sula requested water.
âThey kind of scoffed at me like, âYou can get water. But why would you?ââ Sula recalls.
She remembers glancing around and realizing everyone else in the restaurant was enjoying glasses of wine and pints of beer â no water to be seen.
Sula repeated her water order and the server demurred. But, when the water arrived, it wasnât the giant glass of free tap water, sloshing with ice, Sula was expecting.
Instead, she was served a single glass liter bottle of sparkling water, accompanied by a tiny drinking glass and 2 Euro price tag.
Sula couldnât believe it.
âIn the U.S., you sit down at the table and youâre given a huge glass of water with ice and itâs not even a question â itâs just plopped on the table. No matter if youâre at a fancy restaurant or a casual restaurant, youâre going to get a huge free glass of water,â Sula tells CNN Travel.
A few years later, when Sula and her husband relocated to Germany â the couple observed another water-related cultural difference.
Whenever they went out hiking, biking or walking the city, Sula and her husband would pack large water bottles â sometimes even CamelBaks, a type of water backpack (âSo we can drink water at every possible moment,â Sula explains).
Meanwhile their European friends often went without water entirely, holding out until they decamped to a bar that evening â and even then, theyâd usually opt for wine instead. Sula couldnât believe it.
âI just figured, maybe Europeans just donât get as dehydrated as we do,â says Sula, still audibly baffled after several years living in Europe.
Understanding European water habits
If youâre thinking: âWait, this is just one personâs opinion and itâs a pretty broad generalization,â youâd be right. After all, there are many different countries within Europe, each with their own culture, dietary habits, traditions and water-drinking habits.
And of course the U.S. isnât a cultural monolith either. Sure, some Americans take pride in their enormous Stanley cups and undertake water-related daily challenges, but others would always opt for soda if given the choice.
And while many Americans are conscious of the environmental impact of plastic water bottles, others actively eschew water from the kitchen faucet and keep their fridge stocked with bottled water.
Nevertheless, Sula isnât alone in her observations. U.S. travellers sharing hot takes on European tap water consumption (or lack thereof) has become a bit of a social media trend over the past year or so.
Take TikTok user br3nnak3ough, who in summer 2023 uploaded a video depicting her friends downing large bottles of water, overlaid with the text: âUs the moment we can find water because Europeans donât believe in water.â
This video been viewed 10.9 million times and attracted 13,800 comments â both from Americans in agreement (âI was so dehydrated when I went lol, the heat + lack of ac and water/ice had me dying..â) and Europeans vehemently disagreeing (âWhat are you talking aboutâ)
Meanwhile, Rob Murgatroyd, an American living in Italy, recently uploaded a TikTok commenting that the difference between U.S. and Italian water consumption had âblown his mindâ since moving to Florence.
âWhere I come from, weâre practically wired to drink water non-stop, as if itâs our main gig, while here in Italy, spotting someone with a water bottle is like finding a needle in a haystack,â Murgatroyd captioned the video.
There are TikToks marveling at the size of European water glasses, Instagram Reels chronicling the often ill-fated quest to order a jug of tap water in a European bar and posts on X bemoaning paying for bottled water in restaurants.
Sula, who chronicles her life abroad on the blog Helene in Between, has weighed in on the great European tap water debate a couple of times â including at the end of last year:
âTap water is not free at (European) restaurants,â Sula asserted in a November 2023 TikTok video. âAnd if you do get it, it comes in a miniscule glass.â
Plenty of commentators were dismissive: âItâs free. Theyâve seen you coming from a mile off,â read one response.
Others echoed Sulaâs experience, adding that while tap water is usually available â bottled mineral water or bottled filtered water is more commonplace in many European countries.
âI think itâs a really interesting conversation,â says Sula. âThe world can feel very small sometimes, because weâre all online and itâs such a global society now ⌠so I think itâs interesting to have these conversations, to talk about the differences.â
A water expert weighs in
To get a sense of whatâs really going on beyond just the anecdotal evidence, CNN Travel called up Stavros A. Kavouras, a professor of nutrition at Arizona State University. Kavouras is director of the universityâs Hydration Science Lab, which focuses on the impact of hydration on health and performance.
Kavouras is also a Greek expat whoâs lived in the U.S. for 20 years, so heâs pretty well placed to comment on transatlantic culture clashes.
First off, Kavouras emphasizes the myriad of differences between the countries that comprise the European continent. He highlights, for example, the contrast between âNorthern European foods versus French, Italian, Greek cuisine, and dietary preferences.â
âI donât like the generalizations,â says Kavouras, who says while itâs tempting to set up a Europe versus the U.S. dichotomy, it doesnât usually stand up.
Kavouras also points out that Americans who visit Europe (and post about it online) donât represent the majority of the U.S. population.
âItâs not the average American,â says Kavouras. âThe skewed population that you see coming to Europe â they are people that are more educated, wealthier, higher socioeconomic statusâŚâ
This is relevant, states Kavouras, because thereâs data to suggest Americans of lower socioeconomic status drink less water.
But after laying down these parameters and qualifications, Kavouras agrees there are some potential differences between the U.S. and Europe when it comes to âwhat people drink, what people like, and how hydrated they are.â
âFor instance, if you go to Germany and you ask for water, you get sparkling water. Thatâs the default,â Kavouras says. âAnd so if you served tap water in Germany, to every human, people would be like, âOh, I donât drink this water.â So why would you do it?â
Kavouras also notes that paying a few euros extra for a liter glass bottle of water at dinner is more accepted in Europe than the U.S. While Americans might be shocked, itâs something many Europeans wouldnât think twice about, says Kavouras.
He suggests Americans perturbed by the extra cost could look at it as âthe equivalent of the American tip that you have to pay guaranteed 17 to 25% nowadays in the United States.â (Tipping culture in Europe is quite different â and usually involves much smaller percentages)
As for whether Europeans are generally more dehydrated than Americans, Kavouras says itâs interesting that thereâs a difference between the dietary guidelines for water intake in the U.S. and Europe.
âIn the United States, the guidelines are 2.7 liters for females, and 3.7 liters per day for men. And in Europe, the equivalent numbers are 2.0 and 2.5,â he says. âSo these are the guidelines â it doesnât mean this is what people drink â but this is what is recommended.â
And as for the American TikTokers joking about tap water served in tiny âshot glassesâ in Europe, Kavouras suggests this could be part of a more general difference between the US and the rest of the world.
âI mean, you know the stereotype â the US does it bigger for everything â cars, houses, everything is bigger, servings in restaurantsâŚetc. I think it might be a little bit of that,â says Kavouras â adding the same applies for the âthe water carry containers that Americans carry around.â
Kavouras always finds it amusing when he spots his colleagues coming into work with âa tiny barrel of water, like thereâs no water in the building.â
Giant water containers are âunnecessaryâ in Kavourasâ opinion. That said, Kavouras advises everyone should find a way to ensure theyâre well-hydrated throughout the day â whether theyâre working in an American office or walking around a European city.
âWater is a critical component of every healthy diet. So being adequately hydrated, itâs very important, especially in the summer,â he says.
Advice for Americans
If youâre an American traveller heading to Europe this summer and panicking about the water situation, Kavouras advice is to, first off, take all the viral social media posts with a pinch of salt.
Itâs worth researching the specific destination youâre heading to, and finding out whatâs the norm there â rather than assuming every country in Europe is the same. Familiarize yourself with the words used for sparkling, still and tap water in your destinationâs language, so you can make sure to order your preference.
And if you want to skip bottled water at restaurants, Kavouras suggests staying hydrated by stocking up at a grocery store instead: âBottled water is not as expensive if you plan a little bit and buy the water from the supermarket, versus buying it always in restaurants.â
And Kavourasâ final piece of advice? Pack a reusable water bottle in your suitcase and carry it with you throughout your vacation â not only on your travel days.
âTap water in most European cities is potable, itâs safe, and you can drink it,â Kavouras says.
Many European cities have fountains across the city where people can stop and hydrate. Hotels, cafes and restaurants will usually fill up your bottle for you if you ask.
âBring an empty water bottle â it really doesnât have to be a gallon,â says Kavouras. âJust bring a normal size water bottle so you can refill it whenever you have a chance."