Altbier

There is a rivalry between Dusseldorf and Koln (Cologne, and yes I know I'm missing umlauts all throughout this site, but that's because I don't know how to type them, and what do Americans care anyway?) that dates back to the industrial revolution, when Dusseldorf rapidly industrialized and became wealthier than Koln. If you believe wikipedia, the clash between the two cities may even date back to the 13th century, when Dusseldorf shook off the rule of Koln and became it's own city.

This rivalry is mostly exhibited in sports and beer, apparently. In Dusseldorf, they drink Altbier, and "old" style of ale, and in Koln they drink Kolsch, a lighter, milder ale. You don't order one on the other's turf. Much like Boston and New York, the Koln-ians take the rivalry more seriously, so definitely don't go ordering altbier in Koln.

We wandered down that packed street you saw a few pages ago to one of the bars/stalls selling beer and bought a few bottles. There's not a lot of seating, just some tables out on the sidewalk of some of the bar/stalls. I'm calling themm bar/stalls because they're really what you would expect from an ice cream stand, just a hole in the wall you order from and that's it, maybe 7 feet across. Some of the places are bigger and more like bars, but people seem to treat them as just windows you order from.

The altbier has a reusable ceramic cap and was a seriously durable bottle. That's why you pay a euro deposit for it. When you're done, you return the bottle and either order another one, or just give it back and get your euro.

It is totally acceptable to drink in the streets, so there's huge numbers of people just wandering around with beer, hanging out, and talking.