you don't need a bar to drink a beer

one of my favorite things about germany is that public drinking is not a right, it's practically a duty. and it seems you don't need a fancy bar with a liquor license to sell beer to patrons, all you need are some chairs.
since the finally above freezing weather has come about plastic chairs and tables are popping up left and right, notably in front of each little store, also called a kiosk, or spätkauf.
this kiosk in my building is great. in the winter they set up a little drab room with chairs and tables with doilies and a little CD player and a laptop in the corner, presuming you'll order a moccachino from the automated coffee machine thing and hang out and watch a movie or something.
now that it's nice out, the owners have moved the chairs outside and hang out every day, all day with their adorable pit bull Apollo who has now started to recognize me every time i come home. they spatkauf dudes say hi, hide their weed (i have a job, i guess that makes them think i'm uptight) give me whatever packages they've signed for during the day and ask what it is, apollo's tail whaps the pavement. i love coming home.
they've started to hand out expired soy sauce with every purchase, and sometimes, a kinder egg.
the spätkauf we went to after a frisbee game was special. literally PILES of beer. no pit bull, but a very nice smelling collie. and it was russian-owned, which meant vodka. don't believe me? piles of beer.

don't forget, there's a 20 cent deposit returned for empty bottles...keep drinkin'...