Rothenburg Drinking Water

April Fools day is still a couple of weeks away but I'll play along:)
The tap water is very safe to drink.

If you are worried about the water, drink beer.

very safe.

It's quite safe. But are we to understand that you are only going to Rothenburg? Or is that the only town you are worried about?

Not sure why you would be concerned, this is Germany not some third world country, people been drinking the water there for hundreds if not thousands of years, but if at all concern, buy bottled water, but the beer option is better!

I've never had a problem drinking the tap water in Gemany, but my relatives seem aghast. They only drink bottled water ( mit or ohne gas or fruit juice. I think it dates back to a time when tap water in Europe was not safe to drink. But, I think the tap water is now safe, it is just a tradition.

"Not sure why you would be concerned, this is Germany not some third world country, people been drinking the water there for hundreds if not thousands of years" Not exactly an accurate statement, because in much of Europe, the water wasn't safe to drink until the 20th century. But as the others have pointed out, tap water is perfectly safe now. People here tend to prefer bottled water, though, because the tap water can have an astringent taste to it.

This is your entire trip? To Rothenburg?

James, As the others have said, Germany is a modern country with excellent drinking water standards. I've never had any concerns with the drinking water in Rothenburg (or anywhere else in Germany), although I sometimes let it run for a few seconds before filling the glass. Happy travels!

My point was the water is perfectly safe, but I decided on a more succinct answer. I'm well aware that standards have changed from the past, yes the water wasn't always safe, my point about the past is they still drank water, they just had cleanse it, when typing my response to the original question it didn't seem worth the time to go into this history of water in Europe,. If he asked about the history of water in Germany I would had given a more precise answer on that subject, but I digress.

This one asks for 'das Bier' or 'der Wein' in an eating establishment ;-) To answer your question, no problem with the water - some places in the world the water is 'fine', but your system may take a few days/weeks to get accustomed to it. Not Europe.

My 'gut feeling' is that the tap water in Europe is safe to drink. I always do. But my relatives there drink only bottled water and seem aghast they I would drink the tap water. I don't know, in 2002, on the last trip with my wife to Germany, for a week she ate basically the same food as I did, but she got violently ill. Tap water, coincidence, I don't know?

For years I have been drinking the tap water all over Germany. No ill effects. Then last may in Rothenburg two waiters told me that no one in Rothenburg drinks the tap water. Concerned, I posed the question to some local residents who laughed and said that everyone in Rothenburg drinks the water and that The waiters were obviously trying to sell me their bottled water.

I never buy bottled water unless I really have to. Have been drinking the tap water here for over 20 years. Sometimes it is hard water, but it isn't unhealthy nor impure. The EU has very strict laws on this. I ask for tap water in restaurants too, though I am also usually drinking something else too, like coffee or a bitter lemon.

Most Germans don't drink tap water because they prefer carbonated water. And if I'm visiting somebody they often feel they don't act like good hosts if they give me the tap water I'm asking for. It has nothing to do with the quality of the tap water. It's perfectly fine for your health - and the health of your wallet.

You get what you pay for, in the U.S. we don't have to pay to use a restroom, whereas in Germany it's pretty much a given to pay for natures call.

Your concerns with German drinking water should be no different than if you were traveling to any other city in the US. However, but for what it's worth...I discovered my love for beer in particular the wonderful fresh tapped dunkel (dark beer) had an equal affect on my system. It slammed my gut as if I had drank gallons of tap water in Mexico City. To this day even in the US I have a problem with dunkel. I acquired the taste for it in Germany and it brings a tear to my eye as I write this that I can't fully enjoy this great Bavarian brew.
As a weird but useful side note to my stomach dilemma, I found the public and certainly private bathroom in Germany were extraordinary clean, spotless, the exception being Octoberfest but that's not a fair comparison. Places in the US we as use to being grossly unsanitary were amazingly clean and sanitary. I had to have my family stop at a moments notice at gas stations, convenience stores, etc... As we traveled south into Italy though the restrooms were quit the opposite of Germany.