Difference #3: Liquor
While you can buy alcoholic drinks in any supermarket in Germany, you have to go to a designated bottle shop here in Australia. They are all over the city, have names like “Liquor Legends” and are often even drive-through.
Like groceries, liquor is really expensive here. A pack of 6x0.375l beer costs around $10-$15 and that’s not the fancy stuff. Beck’s and other European beers run at around $25 for a six pack. A bottle of Jack Daniels is yours for about $45 and a bottle of Scottish single malt goes over the counter for something around $80.
The only thing halfway affordable is wine. You get a bottle of decent 2008 Sauvignon Blanc for about $7-$8. A bottle of Shiraz starts at $12.
For many backpackers (the young ones) the favourite weapon of choice to get hammered is goon, the cheapest possible “wine”, shipped in boxes. It runs for about $14 per 4l box. The only reason to drink it is to get wasted, taste is usually not of interest. See my French buddy Nico try some goon in the photo on the right.
He’s probably used to better stuff, just mumbled something about “disgusting shit”.
Another important fact about alcohol in Oz is, that it is forbidden to drink alcohol in public. If you get caught here in Queensland, you have to pay a $100 fine on the spot (twice that amount on public holidays).
Not to forget, Aussies have a wide range of expressions for getting drunk. They get pissed, wasted, hammered, shit faced, they are tipsy, they go retard. And it all started with having a cold one.