>The Hollywood scene where girls hang around alone by the bar waiting for guys to hit on them doesn't exist here.

I don't know that it exists anywhere anymore. It can be dangerous for a woman to out drinking alone.

But ladies do go out in groups. As a guy you just have to be nice and chat up the group and don't get hyper focused on any one person. None of them are probably going to drop everything and go home with you that night. But you can often get a phone number (or two) and go on a real date from that.

Your bars don't have pool tables?

If you want to go to a bar and meet other people, go to one with a pool table. Hitting on women is much smoother when you meet their girlfriend's boyfriend first, and better tolerated whether she's interested or not.

In Germany/Switzerland it's not common to go to pool bars and talk to "meet other people". People will look at you funny if a random stranger from the bar talks to them for no reason. Here at bars, you're expected to bring you own group of friends and stick with them. Not every country/culture has such warm/welcoming social etiquettes as US/UK/etc/

It matters a lot actually. The noise level is a big deal and also different bars attract different groups and income levels