Thank you for this guiding tour!
It seems that you are down to earth in how you perceive what you encounter. The Hamburger deluxe was certainly the result of a very happy cattle, which during its lifetime believed itself to be in the good company of its fellow cattle and which was treated well in life as in death. At least that's my hope.
As a US-American, you are probably amazed at some of the meager European portions and that water is not served free of charge. During my stays in the States, it was my turn to be astonished by the impressive size of the cups, which did not exist here in Germany until recently.
So, what kind of conspiracy were you guys up by finishing your meetup?
Finally, I know now your name and I am delighted to say, I am pleased to meet you, Rob :-)
Oh lordy, hamburger deluxe... If only. It was a lousy hamburger lol. It's a funny to me that I made this whole post and almost all my comments are about the hamburger. Lol. I took the wrong pictures!
I've been to Europe a few times, I've never found the portions to be all that small. Paying for water is stupid, but paying $7 for it is more a shame on me then anyone else lol.
What conspiracy we're we up to? You will have to find out.