O'Carroll - Cold Beer Warm Hearts (4)

O’Carroll is disputing why Irish Pubs and Eckkneipes are always classified as opposites, why when asked what the Irish Pub is like, the answer is usually given: it’s not an Eckkneipe.

These (Irish Pubs and Eckkneipes) are two (of many other) types of drinking establishments found in Berlin, Germany. Both are what are considered to be local watering holes for town folk that like socializing and having a place to go where you’ll have someone to talk to. From O’Carroll’s work, I gather that there is not much difference between the two types, perhaps a slight income variation, but the major distinction would be the up keep of the bar and its physical and mental cleanliness.

In Sydney, there are a number of different bars, but two that compete on many levels, much like the way Irish Pubs and Eckkneipes compete (in marketing terms) would be Smooth Herman’s and the Capri. In comparison with this article (my thoughts only) I would compare the Capri to the Eckkneipe and this may be a stretch, but Smooth Herman’s to an Irish Pub in how the Capri always gets an evaluation (myself included) that is not the best, where it is considered, dirty, unhealthy, dingy, where Smooth Herman’s (my bar of preference) also is assessed as perhaps, lower-class but is always deemed to be cleaner or lacking in “pollution” as opposed to the Capri. However, at the end of the night -early morning- when the lights are turned on, they both look the same with haggard twenty something’s leaving the bar with most of them having enjoyed themselves.

Where this is coming from is that the two types of bars mentioned by O’Carroll are not much different than two bars that may be found in other cities throughout the world. They get paired as opposites but when broken down and possibly cleaned up a little, they’re serving some similar people with similar stories, just looking for a place to enjoy themselves.

Basically, if Irish Pubs were a little dirtier and Eckkneipes were a little cleaner, adjust a couple prices, and you’d have almost no comparison left.