The student centre at University of Wisconsin Madison is called Memorial Union and it is amazing. The best part about it — at least during warmer weather — it the huge patio or the Terrace as it is called.

Just outside the building’s Bavarian style pub the Rathskeller and the addition the Stiftskeller is a patio that extend out onto Lake Mendota, the largest of Madison’s five lakes.

Because of what I guess are more relaxed liquor laws, the space is not enclosed by fences or barriers and so the space where you can take your jug of beer is huge. Here is a rough comparison with Waterloo’s UW’s Bombershelter pub.

The patio has distinctive orange, yelolow, and green furniture. There is a bar in the Stiftskeller, one outside, and early last week there were also three trailers with beer taps. The trailers weren’t in use last week, but they indicate the kind of maximum flow that they at times need to provide.

It is also a gathering place for people in the city. You see loads of children and families there enjoying the weather and the water.