Introduction
Story-book charm, cultural clout and a whole lot of gravitas. Germany wears its riches well: elegant big-city charm, small picture-postcard towns, pagan-inspired harvest festivals, a wealth of art and culture and the perennial pleasures of huge tracts of forest, delightful castles and fine wine and beer are all there for the savouring.
Deep in the heart of Europe, Germany has had a seminal impact on Continental history. From Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire to Otto von Bismarck's German Reich, Nazism and the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall, no other nation has moulded Europe the way Germany has - for better or worse.
"The reason there is so little crime in Germany is that it's against the law." - Alex Levin
Geography:
The lowlands in the north of Germany stretch from the Netherlands eastward to Poland, touching southern Denmark midway up the peninsula that separates the North Sea from the Baltic Sea. The industrialised central belt cinches Belgium and Luxembourg to the Czech Republic's western prong. The Rhine and Main Rivers, long crucial for inland shipping, power through the troughs and gorges which cut through the Central Uplands. To the south, the Danube River drains the Bavarian highlands from the Black Forest, near the French and Swiss borders, to Munich. The southern reaches of the Bavarian Alps give way to Austria.
Destination Facts
Capital: Berlin
Chancellor: Angela Merkel
President: Horst K ö hler
Government: Federal republic
Time zone: GMT +1
Area: 357021
Population: 82398000
People: Predominantly Caucasian, with a significant Turkish minority. Germany has also absorbed many refugees from the former Yugoslavia.
Languages: 34% Protestant, 34% Catholic, 4% Muslim, 28% unaffiliated or other. There are at least 105,000 Jews, most of them post-1990 immigrants from the former Soviet Union (the pre-Holocaust figure was over half a million).
Currency: Euro (€)
GDP: Approx. €2160000000000
Major industries: Motor vehicles, engineering, chemicals, iron, steel, coal, electronics, environmental technology, food, clothing
Major Trading Partners: EU (esp. France, Netherlands, Italy, UK, Belgium/Luxembourg), USA, Japan
Daylight Saving: From last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October
Country Dialing Code: 49
Getting there and away
The main arrival/departure points for flights in Germany are Frankfurt-am-Main, Munich and D ü sseldorf. Frankfurt is Europe's busiest airport after Heathrow. An airport departure tax is included in ticket prices. Thanks to the spread of low-cost airlines, it is now often cheaper to fly to Germany from around Europe than to take the train. While train travel is often more expensive than catching a bus, it's generally faster, more comfortable (particularly for overnight travel) and more efficient. Germany is served by an excellent highway system connected to the rest of Western Europe. Roads from Eastern Europe are being upgraded but some border crossings are a little slow, especially from Poland. To enter Germany with a car or motorbike, you must have third-party insurance. Ferries run between Germany's northern coast and Scandinavia and the UK.
Getting around
Getting around Germany is easy. Domestic air travel is extensive but unless you're in an awful hurry, you might as well save your money - the German train network is wonderful. The eastern and western train systems have now been fully merged. Numerous fares and ticket passes, including Eurailpass and GermanRail Pass are available. There is usually a surcharge for the InterCity Express (ICE) trains but it's worth it to travel 300km/h (190mph) through the German countryside. Forget about buses until you're in train-unfriendly terrain. German roads are excellent, and motorised transport can be a great way to tour the country, although most towns have problems with car-parking. The national and (in)famous motorway network known as autobahnen can be wonderful - or it can be a nightmare: speed-of-light Porsches and BMWs looming monster-size and impatient in your rear-view mirror are one factor, soul-destroying traffic jams are another. Technically there is no general speed limit on the autobahnen, but, in an effort to increase safety and curb noise pollution, many segments have speed limits ranging from 100km/hr (62mph) to 130km/hr (80mph). On other parts of the autobahn system, high performance sports cars will pass you in excess of 250 kmh (155mph). Be careful! Bicycle touring in Germany is very popular. There are often separate cycling routes in the cities, towns and in the countryside, but cycling on the autobahnen is strictly verboten.
Weather
Germany is not prey to dramatic climatic extremes, although there are regional differences. The most reliably good weather is from May to October, with high summer a good bet for mid 20 ° C (low 70 ° F) shorts-and-t-shirt conditions, even in the north. Autumn is a good time to visit Germany. As the tourist scrum disperses and the forests turn golden, it's not too stifling to be active but still warm enough to leave you thirsty for a few well-deserved steins. Winter is frosty and wet, especially in the south, with snow rarely settling for long except in the high country.
Places of Interest
From the heights of city slickness to the depths of the woods.
Germany's landscape is straight from the Brothers Grimm: castles in the air, deep dark forests, fabled rivers. Its capital Berlin has history that encroaches achingly on the present and a culture so now it's almost tomorrow, and its other major cities are havens of fine art and fine living.
Germany wears its riches well: elegant big-city charm, small picture-postcard towns, pagan-inspired harvest festivals, a wealth of art and culture and the perennial pleasures of huge tracts of forest, delightful castles and fine wine and beer are all there for the savouring.
Deep in the heart of Europe, Germany has had a seminal impact on Continental history. From Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire to Otto von Bismarck's German Reich, Nazism and the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall, no other nation has moulded Europe the way Germany has - for better or worse.
Events
Germans love to party, and kick up their heels at everything from pagan harvest romps to black tie opera galas. The Winter Carnival (Fasching) season occurs throughout Germany, with big cities such as Cologne (K ö ln), Munich and Mainz erupting into commotion just before Ash Wednesday. Germany's rich musical heritage is showcased in a plethora of festivals. Some towns concentrate on a particular composer, such as the Thuringian Bach Festival in Erfurt in March or the Richard Wagner Festival in Bayreuth each July, whereas others focus on a particular style. The jazz festivals in Stuttgart (July) and Berlin (early November) are lively and popular. Autumn is a great time for harvest-inspired mayhem, especially in the Rhineland, where the five Rhine in Flames extravaganzas feature barges laden with fireworks. Mention must be made of Oktoberfest, Munich's annual lager frenzy, but it's a bit like being stuck in an endless soccer crowd and is more an example of mass tourism catering to the lowest liquid denominator than a display of German culture. Christmas markets, with their twinkling lights and steaming mulled wine (Gl ü wein) are embraced wholeheartedly by German families; they occur in Munich, Nuremberg, L ü beck, Berlin, M ü nster, Heidelberg, R ü desheim and Stuttgart, amongst other places.
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Story-book charm, cultural clout and a whole lot of gravitas. Germany wears its riches well: elegant big-city charm, small picture-postcard towns, pagan-inspired harvest festivals, a wealth of art and culture and the perennial pleasures of huge tracts of forest, delightful castles and fine wine and beer are all there for the savouring.
Deep in the heart of Europe, Germany has had a seminal impact on Continental history. From Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire to Otto von Bismarck's German Reich, Nazism and the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall, no other nation has moulded Europe the way Germany has - for better or worse.
"The reason there is so little crime in Germany is that it's against the law." - Alex Levin
Geography:
The lowlands in the north of Germany stretch from the Netherlands eastward to Poland, touching southern Denmark midway up the peninsula that separates the North Sea from the Baltic Sea. The industrialised central belt cinches Belgium and Luxembourg to the Czech Republic's western prong. The Rhine and Main Rivers, long crucial for inland shipping, power through the troughs and gorges which cut through the Central Uplands. To the south, the Danube River drains the Bavarian highlands from the Black Forest, near the French and Swiss borders, to Munich. The southern reaches of the Bavarian Alps give way to Austria.
Destination Facts
Capital: Berlin
Chancellor: Angela Merkel
President: Horst K ö hler
Government: Federal republic
Time zone: GMT +1
Area: 357021
Population: 82398000
People: Predominantly Caucasian, with a significant Turkish minority. Germany has also absorbed many refugees from the former Yugoslavia.
Languages: 34% Protestant, 34% Catholic, 4% Muslim, 28% unaffiliated or other. There are at least 105,000 Jews, most of them post-1990 immigrants from the former Soviet Union (the pre-Holocaust figure was over half a million).
Currency: Euro (€)
GDP: Approx. €2160000000000
Major industries: Motor vehicles, engineering, chemicals, iron, steel, coal, electronics, environmental technology, food, clothing
Major Trading Partners: EU (esp. France, Netherlands, Italy, UK, Belgium/Luxembourg), USA, Japan
Daylight Saving: From last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October
Country Dialing Code: 49
Getting there and away
The main arrival/departure points for flights in Germany are Frankfurt-am-Main, Munich and D ü sseldorf. Frankfurt is Europe's busiest airport after Heathrow. An airport departure tax is included in ticket prices. Thanks to the spread of low-cost airlines, it is now often cheaper to fly to Germany from around Europe than to take the train. While train travel is often more expensive than catching a bus, it's generally faster, more comfortable (particularly for overnight travel) and more efficient. Germany is served by an excellent highway system connected to the rest of Western Europe. Roads from Eastern Europe are being upgraded but some border crossings are a little slow, especially from Poland. To enter Germany with a car or motorbike, you must have third-party insurance. Ferries run between Germany's northern coast and Scandinavia and the UK.
Getting around
Getting around Germany is easy. Domestic air travel is extensive but unless you're in an awful hurry, you might as well save your money - the German train network is wonderful. The eastern and western train systems have now been fully merged. Numerous fares and ticket passes, including Eurailpass and GermanRail Pass are available. There is usually a surcharge for the InterCity Express (ICE) trains but it's worth it to travel 300km/h (190mph) through the German countryside. Forget about buses until you're in train-unfriendly terrain. German roads are excellent, and motorised transport can be a great way to tour the country, although most towns have problems with car-parking. The national and (in)famous motorway network known as autobahnen can be wonderful - or it can be a nightmare: speed-of-light Porsches and BMWs looming monster-size and impatient in your rear-view mirror are one factor, soul-destroying traffic jams are another. Technically there is no general speed limit on the autobahnen, but, in an effort to increase safety and curb noise pollution, many segments have speed limits ranging from 100km/hr (62mph) to 130km/hr (80mph). On other parts of the autobahn system, high performance sports cars will pass you in excess of 250 kmh (155mph). Be careful! Bicycle touring in Germany is very popular. There are often separate cycling routes in the cities, towns and in the countryside, but cycling on the autobahnen is strictly verboten.
Weather
Germany is not prey to dramatic climatic extremes, although there are regional differences. The most reliably good weather is from May to October, with high summer a good bet for mid 20 ° C (low 70 ° F) shorts-and-t-shirt conditions, even in the north. Autumn is a good time to visit Germany. As the tourist scrum disperses and the forests turn golden, it's not too stifling to be active but still warm enough to leave you thirsty for a few well-deserved steins. Winter is frosty and wet, especially in the south, with snow rarely settling for long except in the high country.
Places of Interest
From the heights of city slickness to the depths of the woods.
Germany's landscape is straight from the Brothers Grimm: castles in the air, deep dark forests, fabled rivers. Its capital Berlin has history that encroaches achingly on the present and a culture so now it's almost tomorrow, and its other major cities are havens of fine art and fine living.
Germany wears its riches well: elegant big-city charm, small picture-postcard towns, pagan-inspired harvest festivals, a wealth of art and culture and the perennial pleasures of huge tracts of forest, delightful castles and fine wine and beer are all there for the savouring.
Deep in the heart of Europe, Germany has had a seminal impact on Continental history. From Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire to Otto von Bismarck's German Reich, Nazism and the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall, no other nation has moulded Europe the way Germany has - for better or worse.
Events
Germans love to party, and kick up their heels at everything from pagan harvest romps to black tie opera galas. The Winter Carnival (Fasching) season occurs throughout Germany, with big cities such as Cologne (K ö ln), Munich and Mainz erupting into commotion just before Ash Wednesday. Germany's rich musical heritage is showcased in a plethora of festivals. Some towns concentrate on a particular composer, such as the Thuringian Bach Festival in Erfurt in March or the Richard Wagner Festival in Bayreuth each July, whereas others focus on a particular style. The jazz festivals in Stuttgart (July) and Berlin (early November) are lively and popular. Autumn is a great time for harvest-inspired mayhem, especially in the Rhineland, where the five Rhine in Flames extravaganzas feature barges laden with fireworks. Mention must be made of Oktoberfest, Munich's annual lager frenzy, but it's a bit like being stuck in an endless soccer crowd and is more an example of mass tourism catering to the lowest liquid denominator than a display of German culture. Christmas markets, with their twinkling lights and steaming mulled wine (Gl ü wein) are embraced wholeheartedly by German families; they occur in Munich, Nuremberg, L ü beck, Berlin, M ü nster, Heidelberg, R ü desheim and Stuttgart, amongst other places.
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