Franconian Beer Message Board

Schwemme...von
Posted by DonS on 2011-01-29 15:08:08
The babelfish website isn't a patch on Google's translator (translate.google.com). Yet another example of why Google has pretty much kicked Yahoo!'s @ss in just about every endeavor. Google's translation: Probably the most accurate interpretation of the term is probably among the facts of a more obnoxious custom: Until the early 20th century in many Bavarian restaurant in the guest room that housed most of the tables, as well as the so-called Stammtisch, urinating directly under the table. In the evening, or in between one tipped a bucket of water under the table to expel the stench. In the middle of the room was a drain. BTW, the custom was hardly restricted to Bavaria. I've been to the old Brick Tavern in Roslyn, WA, dating from the late 19th century. It has a trough running around the bar, near floor level, thankfully no longer in use. What's disgusting and nauseatingly smelly to us now wasn't at all uncommon back in those days. They say you could smell cities like Berlin, London, or New York long before you ever actually reached them.