I served in Germany as well, and I understand the sentiment of our member. My wife had a "run in" with a German neighbor, but it ended okay.
We were an occupying force, and they were a defeated nation, holding onto some pride. Single guys drank and made asses of themselves, in their neighborhood pubs and bars. Those places have a cultural significance.
Moving to the regular table, means you became a friend and neighbor, not a mere customer to be barely tolerated.
I absolutely loved my time in Germany (77-81). The Mosel region is comprised mostly of small towns, with the exception of Trier, whose population now is around 115K, so it's not a large city. My first two years were at Hahn AB, where free time was hard to find. A normal month would include Staff Duty Officer every 3rd day, and 2-3 times on weekends. My minimal language skills came from Berlitz, and eating out. I was never a ladies man, though I did have a lady friend that I met on the base (she was an AF E-6).
Once I moved to Battalion HQ at Spangdahlem, my free time grew exponentially (SDO a couple of times a month). I had the time to take a couple of German immersion courses, and it paid huge dividends.
One finds disagreeable people no matter where you travel. One night, I decided to dine at another establishment that had the best cheeseburgers I ever had. That night, I decided to dine in. At a nearby table, a couple of young German men were saying very unkind things about my country, and countrymen. Many words would be bleeped by the mods here...lol.
The proprietor looked very uncomfortable, as he knew my German was pretty good. I smiled and reassured him that I paid them no mind. As I was leaving, I swung by their table, and in my best German, said (smiling) "you know, there are some Americans that I know that think some Germans are real
ascheloches. The owner just about fell off his seat, he was laughing so hard. I nodded to him, said "Tschuss", and headed for home.
My best friend fell in love with a German girl a few months upon his arrival. Even he said that I was the first American he knew of that's been invited to sit at the stammtische.
The honor came in handy during my last battalion tac eval. The old man (Battalion Cdr) wanted some imagination in our briefings, and I delivered it in spades. As the Battalion S-4 (Supply Officer), I put together a resupply scenario that might be considered outrageous, including local merchants for foodstuffs and POL should our supply lines be cut. As I gave my briefing, the chief evaluator became very agitated, while my boss had a big grin on his face...he loved it.
After the briefing, the evaluator (a LT Colonel) gets in my face (I was still a 1LT at the time, though I may have been on the Captain's list) demanding where I got my information. I simply replied I was following my boss' instructions to show some imagination, that after four years in the operating area, I knew it like the back of my hand, and I knew many of the proprietors that were part of this "alternate resupply". Our battalion was 90 miles from Group HQ, my vehicle repair parts came from Baumholder, 60 miles away, and weapons systems parts came from various depots. We were isolated, and had units at the 3 air bases in the area: Bitburg, Spangdahlem, and Hahn. It was a unique, and rewarding assignment.
I suggested to the evaluator that we stop for a meal at a gasthaus the next day, so I could demonstrate I wasn't just talking BS. One of the evaluation team members stepped in, and said, "Colonel, you don't need to. I've been with the LT at that place, and we sat at the stammtische." Checkmate.
