Germany

With 407 million overnight stays in 2012, which included 68.83 million foreign tourists, Germany is the 7th most visited country in the world. More than 30.4 million international tourists came to Germany in 2012. Berlin is now the third most visited destination for city trips in Europe and more than 30% of Germans also spend their holidays in their own country, most of them in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Domestic and international travel and tourism together contribute more than €43.2 billion to Germany’s GDP. Industry, which includes indirect and induced effects, represents 4.5% of Germany’s GDP and provides 2 million jobs (4.8% of total employment).

Germany is known for its various tourist routes, such as the Romantic Road, the Wine Route, the Castle Road and the Avenue Road. The German Half-timbered Houses Route connects cities with examples of these buildings. There are 41 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Germany, including the old town centres of Regensburg, Bamberg, Lübeck, Quedlinburg, Weimar, Stralsund and Wismar. Germany’s most visited attractions are Neuschwanstein Castle, Cologne Cathedral, Berlin Bundestag, Munich Hofbräuhaus, Heidelberg Castle, Dresden Swinger, Berlin TV Tower and Aachen Cathedral. Europa-Park near Freiburg is the second most popular theme park in Europe.

The majority of Germany is characterised by a moderate seasonal climate that is dominated by humid western winds. The country lies between the oceanic western European climate and the continental eastern European climate. The climate is tempered by the North Atlantic Drift, the northern extension of the Gulf Stream. This warmer water affects areas bordering the North Sea, so the climate in the northwest and north is oceanic. Germany receives an average of 789 mm of precipitation per year; there is no continuous dry season. Winters are cool and summers tend to be hot: temperatures can exceed 30°C.

The east has a more continental climate: winters can be very cold and summers very hot, and there can be prolonged dry periods. Central and southern Germany are transitional regions, ranging from temperate oceanic to continental. In addition to the maritime and continental climate that prevails in most of the country, there is a mountain climate with lower temperatures and more precipitation in the Alpine regions in the extreme south and, to a lesser extent, in some areas of the low mountain range.

As a federal republic, Germany is a highly decentralised country, which does justice to the cultural differences between the regions. Some travellers may think only of beer, lederhosen and Oktoberfest when it comes to Germany, but the famous German alpine and beer culture is mainly to be found in Bavaria and Munich. The annual Oktoberfest is the most visited festival in Europe and the largest folk festival in the world. However, the south-western regions of Germany are known for their wine-growing regions (e.g. Rheinhessen and Pfalz) and Bad Dürkheim on the “German Wine Route”, where the world’s largest wine festival is held each year with more than 600,000 visitors.

Immigration has also played a major role in Germany over the past 50 years. About 20% of the total population are foreigners or have a “migration background” (Germans and non-Germans who moved to Germany after 1949 or who have at least one parent who did). Many cities have large communities of Turks, Poles, Italians and people from Southern and Eastern Europe or the Middle East.

Many cities have lively LGBT scenes, especially Berlin and Cologne. The Berlin Tourist Office and other tourism organisations are actively courting gay and lesbian travellers to their cities. Public figures – such as the former mayors of Berlin and Hamburg and other celebrities – are very sympathetic to openly gay or bisexual people.

Germany is located in Western and Central Europe. It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria to the south-east, Switzerland to the south-south-west, France, Luxembourg and Belgium to the west and the Netherlands to the north-west. It usually lies between latitudes 47° and 55° north and longitudes 5° and 16° east. Germany also borders the North Sea and the Baltic Sea in the northeast. With Switzerland and Austria, Germany also borders Lake Constance, the third largest lake in Central Europe. Germany’s area covers 357,021 km2 (137,847 m2 ), of which 349,223 km2 is land and 7,798 km2 is water. It is the seventh largest country in Europe in terms of surface area and the 62nd largest country in the world.

The wooded low mountain range and the North German lowlands (lowest point: Wilstermarsch at 3.54 m below sea level) are crossed by major rivers such as the Rhine, the Danube and the Elbe. German Alpine glaciers are melting. Important mineral resources are iron ore, coal, potash, wood, lignite, uranium, copper, natural gas, salt, nickel, farmland and water.

With 80.2 million inhabitants based on the 2011 census, being the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and one of the 16th most populated countries in the world. Its population density is 227 inhabitants per square kilometre (588 per square mile). General life expectancy at birth in Germany is 80.19 years (77.93 years for men and 82.58 years for women). The birth rate of 1.41 children per woman (2011 estimate) or 8.33 births per 1000 inhabitants is one of the lowest in the world. Since the 1970s, the mortality rate in Germany has been higher than the birth rate. In Germany, however, birth and migration rates have increased since the early 2010s, mainly due to an increase in the number of highly skilled migrants.

Four large groups of people are called ‘national minorities’ because their ancestors have lived in their respective regions for centuries. In the northernmost federal state of Schleswig-Holstein is a Danish minority ( approximately 50,000). The Serbians, a Slavic people of about 60,000, to the Lusatia in Saxony and Brandenburg. Romanies live all over Germany, while the Frisians are located at the west coast of Schleswig-Holstein as well as in the north-western part of Lower Saxony.

About 5 million Germans live abroad.

Immigrant population

In 2014, about seven million of Germany’s 81 million inhabitants did not have German citizenship. 96 percent of these people lived in West Germany and mostly in urban areas.

In the 1960s and 1970s, German governments invited “guest workers” to come to Germany to work in German industry. Many companies preferred to employ these workers in Germany after they had trained them, and the number of immigrants in Germany has steadily increased. In 2011, about six million foreign nationals (7.7% of the population) were registered in Germany.

The Federal Statistical Office classifies citizens according to migration background. In terms of migration background, in 2009, 20 % of the country’s inhabitants, i.e. more than 16 million people, had a migration background or a partial migration background (including people descended or partially descended from ethnic German immigrants). In 2010, 29% of families with children under 18 had at least one parent with a migration background.

According to the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Germany hosted the second highest number of international migrants worldwide in 2015, about 5% or 12 million of all 244 million migrants. Germany ranks 7th among EU countries and 37th globally in terms of the percentage of migrants in the country’s population. In 2014, the largest national group came from Turkey (2,859,000), followed by Poland (1,617,000), Russia (1,188,000) and Italy (764,000). Since 1987, around 3 million ethnic German repatriates, mostly from the former Eastern bloc countries, have made use of their right of return and emigrated to Germany.

Germany has been approximately 2/3 Protestant and 1/3 Roman Catholic from its foundation in 1871, with a significant Jewish minority. Other faiths existed in the state but never reached the demographic importance and cultural influence of these three denominations. Germany lost its Jewish minority almost during the Holocaust and the religious composition of the country gradually changed in the decades after 1945, with West Germany becoming more religious through immigration and East Germany becoming predominantly irreligious through state policy. After German reunification in 1990, diversification continued.

According to the 2011 census, Christianity is the largest religion in Germany, accounting for 66.8% of the total population. In relation to the total population, 31.7 % declared themselves Protestant, including members of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) (30.8 %) and free churches (0.9 %), and 31.2 % Roman Catholic. Orthodox believers accounted for 1.3 %, Jews 0.1 %. Other religions accounted for 2.7 %. The Catholic Church had 23.9 million members in 2014 (29.5%) and the Protestant Church 22.6 million (27.9%). Both major churches have lost significant numbers of adherents in recent years.

Geographically, Protestantism is concentrated in the north, centre and east of the country. These are mostly members of the EKD, which includes Lutheran, Reformed and administrative or confessional amalgamations of both traditions dating back to the Prussian Union of 1817.

In 2011, 33 % of Germans were not members of an officially recognised religious community with special status. Irreligion in Germany is strongest in the new federal states and in the large conurbations.

Islamic religion is the country’s 2nd largest religion. In the 2011 census, 1.9% of Germans said they were Muslim. More recent estimates suggest that between 2.1 and 4 million Muslims live in Germany. Most Muslims are Sunnis and Alevis from Turkey, but there are also small numbers of Shiites, Ahmadiyyas and other denominations.

Other religions that make up less than one per cent of the population in Germany are Buddhism with 250,000 followers (about 0.3 %) and Hinduism with about 100,000 followers (0.1 %). All other religious communities in Germany have less than 50,000 followers each.

The official language in Germany is German (Deutsch). The standard form of German is called “Hochdeutsch“. It is understood by everyone and spoken by almost all Germans. However, each region has its own dialects, which can be a problem even for those who speak German well, even for native speakers. This is mostly only observed in the south and in rural areas in the north and east. Dialect is still an important element of local identity in Bavaria, Saxony, South Westphalia and Hesse, Württemberg and Baden. Generally speaking, the Main River separates northern Germany from southern Germany, both in terms of dialects and local culture.

All Germans learn English at school, so you should be able to get by with English in most places. Many Germans claim to speak it quite well, although the general population is certainly not as advanced as in the Netherlands or the Nordic countries. A significant number of people also speak French. In some parts of eastern Germany, a small Slavic community of 50,000 people also speaks Sorbian. Many people who grew up in former communist East Germany have learned Russian. Increasingly, other foreign languages such as Spanish and Italian are also found. Due to the economic crisis in most southern European countries, there are relatively many new immigrants from these countries in the university towns.

Germany has experienced high levels of immigration over the last 50 years and many cities have large communities of Turks, Italians and Poles (among many others) who speak their ancestors’ mother tongue as well as German. Germany is now the second most popular immigration destination in the world after the USA.

Germans tend to be direct and often reply in English with short answers. Since it is polite to reply with “Bitte” when someone thanks you, in German this can be translated literally as “bitte” instead of “bitte sehr” or “gern geschehen”.

Since language skills are a measure of social status, it can be difficult to convince many Germans to speak to you in German if they know you are a native English speaker. Saying that you are a non-English speaker (even if you pretend to be one) can help get around this. That is, Germans who are really fluent and confident in English usually have no problem speaking German with you.

Telling time

While many Germans use the 24-hour format for times, they often use 12-hour times in conversations. There is no real suffix like “am” or “pm”, although you can add “vormittags” (before noon) and “nachmittags” (after noon) if the context does not allow it. A significant difference is the convention for “half past”, where English people would say “half (past) seven” at 7:30, while Germans say “halb acht”. The way of saying 7:15 or 7:45 is a kind of shibboleth for many dialects, and even some Germans don’t understand the form they didn’t grow up with. One way is to follow the English logic to “quarter past x” by making 7:15 appear as “quarter past seven” and 7:45 as “quarter to eight”. In other places, the time is given by the partial distance to the next hour: “quarter past eight” means 7:15, “half past seven” 7:30 and “three quarters past eight” 7:45. People who use the latter system usually don’t know (but like) the former. People who use the former system tend to shoot blanks when confronted with the latter. But it is always “half past seven” and never “half past seven”.

Phone

The international dialling code for Germany is 49, the dialling code for international calls is 00, the dialling code for local calls is 0. Some number blocks are reserved for a special purpose: Numbers beginning with 010xx allow you to dial another phone provider (see below), 0800 and 00800 are toll-free numbers, 0180 are service numbers (which may or may not be more expensive than a local call). Avoid numbers beginning with 0900. These numbers are for commercial services and are usually very expensive.

German telephone numbers have the form +49 351 125-3456, where “49” is the country code for Germany, the following digits are the area code and the remaining digits are the “local” part of the subscriber number, which can be called from the respective area code by speed dialling. As there is no standard length for area codes or subscriber numbers, the last part can be up to two digits long! Currently, the 5000 odd German area codes are between 2 and 5 digits long. Outside the area code (but still within Germany) you must dial the “0” before the area code.

Mobile phone numbers in Germany must always be dialled with all digits (10-12 digits, including a “0”, which in Germany precedes the “1nn”), regardless of where they are called from. The 1nn is a mobile prefix, not an “area code” in the true sense of the word. The second and third digits (the nn part) indicate the original mobile network assigned before number portability was taken into account, e.g. +49 151-123-456.

Mobile phone coverage in all four networks (T-Mobile, Vodafone, E-Plus and o2) is excellent throughout the country. UMTS (3G data and HSDPA), LTE (4G) and EDGE are also available. LTE is still somewhat limited to urban areas. All mobile phone providers use GSM technology in the 900 and 1800 MHz frequency ranges. This differs from the GSM 1900 standard used in the United States, but modern “multiband” phones generally work on all GSM networks. Non-GSM phones cannot be used in Germany. If you have a GSM mobile phone from the USA, you should call your network operator in the USA before you travel and ask them to “unlock” your phone so that you can use it with a German SIM card. The cost of a call to a German mobile number is the responsibility of the caller.

The vast majority of Germans own a mobile phone (called “Handys” in German, pronounced “hendy”); the downside is that the once common telephone booths have begun to disappear, except in “strategic” places like train stations. They usually consist of a silver pillar with a pink top and the telephone attached to the front. In some places there are still older versions consisting of a yellow booth with a door and the telephone inside.

If you are staying longer, consider buying a prepaid phone card from one of the mobile phone providers; you will have no trouble finding a T-Mobile (in a “T-Punkt”), a Vodafone, an E-Plus or an O2 shop in a large shopping area.

Mobile telephony is still relatively expensive in Germany. Depending on your contract, you will be charged around €0.10-0.39 per minute for calls to German mobile and fixed networks. Calls from your German mobile phone to foreign numbers (even to foreign mobile phones located in Germany) often cost between €1 and €2 per minute, depending on the country and your contract. In general, for both mobile phones and DSL connections, T-Mobile and Vodafone are the preferred choice for people who want quality service, especially outside the city, and E-Plus and O2 have lower prices. If you think you need English-speaking customer support, Vodafone may be one of your best options.

Most supermarket chains (e.g. ALDI) have prepaid SIM cards from their own virtual providers. These cards are usually quite cheap (10-20 € for 5-15 minutes of connection time) and for national calls (0.09-0.19 € per minute), but they are expensive for international calls (about 1-2 € per minute), but incoming calls are always free and SMS messages cost about 0.09-0.19 €. They are available at Aldi, Lidl, Penny, Netto, Tchibo, Rewe, toom. After purchase, internet registration or an (expensive) phone call is required to activate the SIM card.

While international calls with the German SIM card can be expensive, there are prepaid offers at cheap rates. Since the liberalisation of the German telephone market, there are a large number of telephone providers on the market. When calling from a private landline, you can usually choose between the different providers (and thus between different pricing systems) by using special numbers (starting with 010xx) with prices of €0.01 or €0.02, sometimes even less than €0.01 for international calls. There is a calculator on the net that you can use to compare prices for different destinations. Hotels usually have contracts with a specific phone provider and do not allow you to use another one. Hotel phone rates can be exorbitant, especially in luxury hotels where a five-minute call to book a restaurant can cost €50. Make sure you have checked the rate card before picking up the phone.

You can also buy prepaid phone cards that you can use by calling a toll-free number; this is a good deal, especially if you intend to make international calls. However, the quality and price of the cards vary enormously, so it is impossible to make a good recommendation.

Recently, “phone shops” have sprung up in big cities where you can make calls abroad at cheap rates. These call shops are mainly located in urban areas with a high percentage of immigrants and are the best way to make international calls. They not only offer calls abroad, but also sell international phone cards that you can use from any phone in Germany. You can usually recognise these shops by the many flags in their shop windows.

Internet

Internet access via Wi-Fi is common in Germany. Internet cafés are becoming increasingly rare as the offer of free Wi-Fi in shops, restaurants and cafés is widespread. Sometimes a minimum level of use is required, but generally access is free on the premises. Phone shops often offer internet access as well.

Many hotels offer internet access to their guests, but speeds are limited and may not be sufficient to quickly view and use multimedia-rich sites/applications. High-end broadband internet access may be available – often at high prices. Confirm access and rates with your hotel before using it. Smaller private hotels and cheaper hotel chains often offer free Wi-Fi (e.g. Motel One) if you book as a breakfast package, while larger chains usually charge exorbitant rates. It is advisable to join their loyalty programme as this usually gives you free internet access.

In several cities there are plans to provide free “community” access points for wireless networks. For example, “freifunk” hotspots are provided free of charge by municipalities and do not require registration. freifunk-karte.de shows a map of these hotspots.

In some airports and main railway stations, passenger lounges also offer internet access to their customers.

Public libraries often offer access to the internet, but it is usually not free. Libraries are open to the public free of charge, but to take a book home you may need to purchase a customer card for a small fee. The National Library in Leipzig, Frankfurt am Main and Berlin charges a fee.

Mobile data Some prepaid SIM cards allow access to the internet for a flat monthly fee, e.g. those in cafés from Tchibo (o2 network, €10/month limited to 500 MB, €20/month for 5 GB) or Aldi (E-Plus network). A normal O2 SIM card that can be used for calls and text messages costs 15 € and for another 15 € you can buy 1 GB data volume, valid for 1 month. Vodafone offers a prepaid SIM card for 25 €, which includes a credit of 22.5 €, on which you get 300 MB of data for 2 days for 15 € and have 7.5 € of credit available.

Most German universities participate in eduroam. If you are a student or staff member of a participating university, you can use this service to get guest access to their wireless networks. Please check with your own university before you travel.

Postal service

Deutsche Post operates several international companies, including DHL. Sending a standard postcard costs €0.45 within Germany and €0.90 everywhere else. A standard letter weighing no more than 20 grams costs €0.70 in Germany and €0.90 everywhere else (still). Letters weighing up to 50 grams cost €0.85 (Germany) and €1.50 (abroad).

Stamps are available at post offices and sometimes at kiosks or shops that sell postcards. Stamp vending machines can also be found in many places in cities. There you can buy all the stamps you need. They are unique in that they accept all coins from 1 cent to 2 euros, but the change is only issued in the form of stamps. As these “exchange stamps” can have strange values, you must make sure you have enough small coins.

In Germany, letters are usually delivered within a day, which gives Europe a little more time. Shipping to North America can take up to a week.

The service was reduced as part of the privatisation. Due to the increased flight rate [especially for mail carriers and subcontractors], all international mail, especially incoming mail, must be insured if it is of value.

Airmail can be just as cheap as the land alternative. If you want to send parcels, there are three options (from cheapest to most expensive): Maxibriefan oversize up to 2 kg and L+W+H=900mm. The Päckchen is a small, uninsured parcel (up to 2 kg for abroad). Otherwise it must be sent according to the price system of a DHL parcel.

If only books are being sent, reduced rates apply (book shipment), but expect the shipment to be opened and checked, as in reality only books are allowed inside. Prices for book shipments vary between €1.00 and €1.65, depending on size and weight.

Letters and parcels can be dropped off at FedEx and UPS stations. Expect a queue.

It has a social market economy characterised by a high-skilled workforce, a high capital stock, and a low level of corruption and the high level of innovation. It is the third largest exporter of goods in the world and has the largest economy in Europe, which is also the fourth largest in the world with a nominal GDP and the fifth largest with a PPP[.

Services account for about 71% of total GDP (including information technology), industry for 28% and agriculture for 1%. The unemployment rate published by Eurostat is 4.7% in January 2015, the lowest of all 28 EU Member States. At 7.1%, Germany also has the lowest youth unemployment rate of all EU Member States. According to the OECD, Germany has one of the highest labour productivity rates in the world.

As a part of the European Single Market, Germany accounts for more than 508 million consumers. Different national trade policies are determined by agreements between the members of the European Union (EU) and by EU legislation. Germany adopted the single European currency, the euro, in 2002. It is a member of the euro zone, representing some 338 million citizens. Monetary policy is determined by the European Central Bank, which has its headquarters in Frankfurt, the financial centre of mainland Europe.

As the home of the modern car industry, the German car industry is regarded as one of the most competitive and innovative in the world and is the fourth largest in terms of production.

Of the 500 largest listed companies in the world in terms of turnover in 2014, the Fortune Global 500, 28 are based in Germany. 30 companies headquartered in Germany are included in the German equity index DAX.

Germany is known for its high proportion of specialised small and medium-sized companies, known as the Mittelstand model. About 1,000 of these companies are world market leaders in their segment and are known as hidden champions. Berlin developed into a thriving, cosmopolitan centre for business start-ups and became a leading location for venture capital-backed companies in the European Union.

The list includes the largest German companies in terms of turnover in 2014:

Germany is a member of the Schengen Agreement.

• There are normally no border controls between the countries that have signed and implemented the treaty. This includes most countries of the European Union and a few other countries.
• Before boarding an international flight or ship, there is usually an identity check. Sometimes there are temporary checks at land borders.
• Similarly, a visa issued for a member of the Schengen area is valid in all other countries that have signed and implemented the treaty.

Recognised refugees and stateless persons who are in possession of a valid travel document issued by the government of one of the above-mentioned countries or territories (e.g. Canada) are exempt from the visa requirement for Germany (but not for all other Schengen countries except Hungary, the Netherlands and Belgium and for refugees for Slovakia) for a stay of a maximum of 90 days within a period of 180 days.

Nationals of Australia, Israel, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, South Korea and the USA can obtain a residence permit or a residence title (for a stay of more than 90 days and a work permit) upon arrival in Germany but before the initial 90-day visa-free period expires. Before obtaining this status, they are not allowed to work, except in certain professions (e.g. artists). Nationals of Honduras, Monaco and San Marino can also obtain such a permit, but it is only issued if they cannot work with the residence permit. Other nationals must apply for a visa in advance if they intend to stay in Germany beyond the 90-day period, even if they are exempt from the visa requirement for a stay in the Schengen area for this period, or if they intend to work.

Eligible members of the British and American armed forces only need a copy of their NATO travel order and their identity card to enter Germany. However, passport requirements apply to spouses and dependents of military personnel. They must have their passport stamped to show that they are sponsored by a person in Germany under the Status of Forces Agreement.

There are no controls at land borders, which has made travelling between Germany and the other Schengen states easier since Switzerland joined the Schengen area in 2008. However, plainclothes officers of the German border police have been known to ask travellers for their identity documents, especially at the Bavarian-Austrian border.

When you cross a border on an international Eurocity train (especially to/from the Czech Republic and Poland), you will almost always be asked for identification.

There are several ways to enter Germany. From neighbouring European countries, travelling by car, train or bus is perhaps the easiest and most convenient solution; visitors from further afield will probably use the plane.

Major airports and airlines

The main airports are Frankfurt (IATA: FRA), Munich (IATA: MUC) and Düsseldorf (IATA: DUS). Berlin-Tegel (IATA: TXL), Cologne (IATA: CGN), Hamburg (IATA: HAM) and Stuttgart (IATA: STR) also have numerous international flights. Frankfurt is the main German hub (and also one of the main European hubs) and the destination for most intercontinental flights. Munich is a secondary hub that is growing rapidly. Travellers can easily fly from most parts of the world and then connect with Germany’s largest and most respected airline, Lufthansa, which is a member of the Star Alliance. The second largest German airline is Air Berlin, a member of oneworld and also affiliated with Etihad Airways, which also flies to many destinations in Germany, Europe and North America from several airports.

Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Cologne/Bonn airports are connected to InterCityExpress high-speed lines. Leipzig Halle Airport (IATA: LEJ) is connected to a high-speed line, but is currently only served by local trains, but is scheduled to be served by ICE trains again after construction work is completed in December 2016. Most other airports are either connected to the urban transport network or have their own suburban train stations. However, this is not always the case for smaller “regional” airports, which are often used by “no-frills” airlines. A particular example is “Frankfurt”-Hahn, which has no rail connection and the only means of public transport is a bus, which takes about 2 hours to get to Frankfurt. Lufthansa passengers travelling from Frankfurt Airport have the option of checking in at the Cologne or Stuttgart train stations and taking an ICE connection at Frankfurt Airport and dropping off their luggage directly at the long-distance train station at Frankfurt Airport. In this case, make sure that you book the train journey as a Lufthansa connecting flight (i.e. in advance, at the same time as the flight), otherwise you may be held responsible for a missed connection. All major German airports and most airlines also offer the rail&fly programme, which allows you to purchase a ticket to/from the airport and any place with a connection to the German rail network. In most cases, this ticket must be purchased at the same time as the flight ticket, but with some airlines you can also buy it later in addition to the flight ticket. For more information on this topic, see Rail and Air Alliances

Small and low-cost airlines

Flying can be the cheapest way to get to Germany and from there to other European countries. Before booking a cheap flight, you should compare carefully, as their destinations are often a bit off the beaten track and after adding all fees, taxes and additional bus tickets to get to their airports, you may end up paying even more than for a discounted ticket from Lufthansa or Air Berlin. According to a 2013 study by the VCD (Verkehrs Club Deutschland), flights within Europe are more expensive than a rail ticket for the same day in more than 80 % of cases.

The main airports for commercial traffic are Berlin-Schönefeld (IATA: SXF), “Frankfurt”-Hahn (IATA: HHN) (130 km from Frankfurt) and Weeze (IATA: NRN) (85 km from Düsseldorf), as well as smaller airports with less choice of destinations such as Memmingen (IATA: FMM) (110 km from Munich). Low-cost airlines are known to change airports at short notice and many airports that used to operate dozens of flights per day have been converted to general aviation.

Some of the smaller airports are former military airports from the Cold War era. They are located far away from urban centres. Don’t let the name fool you: Frankfurt-Hahn is actually 120 km from the city of Frankfurt. Düsseldorf-Weeze was forced to change its name by a court ruling because Düsseldorf is 70 km further south-east.

There are low-cost flights from Germany to almost all European cities. The main low-cost airlines in Germany are easyJet, Ryanair (which now also offers a limited number of flights within Germany), Eurowings (also for flights within Germany) and Wizz Air (for flights to Eastern Europe), all of which offer several routes to many European countries. The main hubs of easyJet are Berlin-Schönefeld and Dortmund, for Ryanair Hahn and Weeze and for Eurowings Cologne/Bonn and Stuttgart. Most of these airlines also serve other airports, but with a mostly limited choice of connections. When planning your trip, please bear in mind that low-cost airlines can change airports within a short period of time for economic reasons and depending on local politics.

For (low-cost) flights to European holiday destinations, e.g. around the Mediterranean, the most important German airlines besides Air Berlin are Condor (Thomas Cook) (also for the most important destinations worldwide) and TUIfly. There are also a number of international destinations in Germany.

Regular trains connect Germany with all neighbouring countries. Almost all neighbouring countries (especially Switzerland, Poland, the Netherlands, Denmark, the Czech Republic and Austria) and even some non-neighbouring countries (e.g. Italy and Hungary) are quite well connected by “EuroCity” trains. They are a bit slower and sometimes a bit less comfortable than European high-speed trains, but still reach up to 200 km/h. They are an interesting means of transport, not only for low-budget travellers (although budget airlines are sometimes cheaper) or landscape lovers (especially the Rhine valley railway). Deutsche Bahn offers very reasonable prices for many European destinations under its “Europa-Spezial” brand, with tickets starting at 39 euros (or less for short “hops” across the border) for a one-way trip (you can usually book no earlier than 91 days in advance); however, you can’t change trains or travel dates, and refunds are limited. If you miss the train, it usually means the ticket becomes worthless.

Several European high-speed trains run in and out of Germany:

• The ICE takes you from Frankfurt (3.25 hrs), Cologne (2.5 hrs) or Düsseldorf (2.25 hrs) to Amsterdam at a speed of 300 km/h. The train journey from Frankfurt to Paris (320 km/h) takes about four hours by ICE, the train journey from Hamburg to Paris can take eight and a half hours. There is also an ICE line from Frankfurt via Cologne to Brussels.
• The Thalys takes you from Cologne to Paris in about four hours and to Brussels in about two hours.
• The TGV takes you from Marseille, Lyon and Strasbourg to Frankfurt and from Paris and Strasbourg to Munich.
• Travel between Stuttgart and Milan with a stop in Zurich, the fastest transalpine rail connection. This connection will be even faster after the full opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, which will be in operation in December 2016.

Normal rail fares are quite high, but there are a number of special fares and discounts – see the section “Getting around” for more information. In particular, the Bahncard discount applies to the entire journey, provided it starts or ends in Germany. If you have some time, it may be cheaper to take a local train to the border with a domestic ticket, especially to/from the Czech Republic and Poland.

There are international ferry routes, especially to Scandinavia. Some of the most popular routes are listed below:

• Lübeck and Sassnitz are connected to Kaliningrad, St. Petersburg, Russia. Sassnitz is also connected to Rønne, Denmark, and Trelleborg, Sweden.
• Kiel has connections to Gothenburg, Sweden, Klaipeda, Lithuania and Oslo, Norway.
• Rostock has connections with Helsinki (Finland), Trelleborg (Sweden) and Gedser (Denmark). Rostock-Warnemünde is the busiest cruise port in Germany.
• Travemünde has connections with Helsinki (Finland), Malmö (Sweden), Trelleborg (Sweden), Ventspilsand Liepaja, Latvia.
• Puttgarden is connected to Rødby, Denmark. This ferry also brings the ICE to Copenhagen.

There are dozens of international bus companies in Germany, including Touring. Some of the new routes, which mainly offer domestic services, also provide connections to neighbouring countries as well as to London. For more information on the very volatile market (as of 2016), which has established a quasi-monopoly on domestic routes but still has some competition on international routes, see Fernbusreisen in Deutschland.

• Bosnia and Herzegovina is served by: Salinea, Prosic and Globtour.
• Croatia is served by Čazmatrans
• The Czech Republic is served by the Student Agency, also known as Regiojet

German transport works with German efficiency, and it’s a breeze to get around the country – although you have to pay a high price for top speed (especially if you don’t buy your tickets in advance). By far the most popular options are car hire or train travel. If trains are too expensive for you, organised carpooling or one of the many new intercity buses in Germany are often viable alternatives.

Domestic flights are mainly used for business travel, while rail is an easier, sometimes faster and often (but not always) cheaper alternative for other travel. The emergence of low-cost airlines and increased competition has made some flights to some major cities competitive with rail. However, make sure you arrive at the right destination: Budget airlines are notorious for misnaming small airports in the middle of nowhere as if they were near cities 100 km away (e.g. “Frankfurt-Hahn” is actually in Hahn, more than two hours by bus from the city of Frankfurt). Also note that if the airport is congested due to bad weather or a strike, domestic flights are the first to be delayed or even cancelled.

The following airlines operate flights within Germany:

• Lufthansa Lufthansa is a national airline and a member of the Star Alliance. Lufthansa serves all major domestic German routes almost every hour, with hubs in Frankfurt and Munich. In the designated areas of the terminals, coffee, tea and a large selection of newspapers are available free of charge, even for Economy Class passengers.
• Air Berlin is the second largest German airline and also serves most German airports, with hubs in Berlin-Tegel, Düsseldorf and Nuremberg. Checked baggage and standard services are also included in the fares. It is a member of the oneworld alliance.
• The Düsseldorf-based subsidiary of eurowings Lufthansa also serves some domestic German routes.

Some islands, such as Sylt or some of the East Frisian islands, have small airports that are also served by Lufthansa, Air Berlin and Eurowings. Other operators are also present:

• Sylt Air flies mainly Hamburg-Sylt
• OFD (abbreviation for Ostfriesischer Flugdienst) serves several islands, mainly the East Frisian Islands, from northern Germany.

Germany offers a fast and (with advance booking) cheap rail system that allows you to reach many parts of the country. Unless you are traveling by car, the train is likely to be your primary mode of transport. A journey across Germany, from Munich in the south to Hamburg in the north, usually takes about 6 hours, while travelling by car takes about 8 hours.

Almost all long-distance trains and many regional trains are operated by Deutsche Bahn. The DB website in English and the DB website adapted to the US (which is also available in many other locations) are excellent resources for identifying transport options not only in Germany but virtually anywhere in Europe.

Long-distance

All major cities are connected by DB’s ICE (InterCity Express) and InterCity regular trains. The ICE is a high-speed train system that can reach speeds of up to 330 km/h. They can be expensive, a one-hour journey (from Frankfurt to Cologne, about 180 km) costs about 67 euros one way (normal “flex fare” without discount).

If you want to save money, try the discounted “Sparpreis” tickets, which start at 29 euros each way (and sometimes only 19 euros for journeys of less than 250 km). As these tickets are mainly sold to attract people to less popular routes and timetables, try to look for them outside peak hours (Tuesday lunchtime is the time when trains are most empty, according to statistics). With 29-euro tickets, you cannot change trains or departure times. If you miss a train due to another train being late, you can take the next train if you have confirmation of the delay. With the BahnCard 25 or the BahnCard 50 you get a 25% discount on Sparpreis tickets.

Reservations are not compulsory but are recommended, especially when travelling at weekends or on public holidays. This means that with an Interrail or Eurail card you can use national ICE trains at no extra charge (except international ICE trains).

This is followed by the regular InterCity (IC) and EuroCity (EC) trains. These connect major European cities and are practically identical to the regular ICs. These trains are also quite comfortable, even if they don’t have the high-tech feel of the IC. The rolling stock used for IC traffic is very diverse. It includes old carriages from the 1970s and 1980s as well as much newer carriages – sometimes in the same train – and double-decker railcars (Dosto) that only entered service in 2015. The Eurocities, on the other hand, are often made up of cars from several countries, with the associated differences in style and quality.

On the main routes, there is an ICE or IC every hour or so, and some smaller towns that are important for tourism, such as Tübingen or Heringsdorf, are also connected daily or weekly. Before you pay for the ICE ticket, you should check whether the time difference is really important. ICE trains only travel faster than other IC trains on specially equipped high-speed lines. There are also long-distance trains of companies other than Deutsche Bahn, which usually run on secondary routes. Long-distance trains of companies other than DB were slowly gaining ground before the opening of the long-distance bus market eliminated their niche – those who were not price-conscious travelled on DB trains, while price-sensitive customers took the bus. Today, the only non-DB domestic train that still covers a significant distance is the Hamburg Köln Express (HKX). In addition, international trains such as the Thalys or the TGV serve stations in Germany and partly also domestic routes. However, with the timetable change in December 2016, some operators have announced that they will offer a certain range of trains, especially in the area of sleeper trains, as DB is discontinuing this service altogether. As a rule, DB only sells tickets for other operators if there is a cooperation or if it is legally obliged to do so (e.g. all regional trains). DB tickets are usually not sold by other operators either.

Regional travel

In Germany, regional and local trains come in several varieties:

• IRE (InterRegioExpress). Same as IRE, but between two regions (federal state).
• RE (Regional Express). Half-express trains that skip some stations. On many lines this is the highest train category available.
• RB (regional train). It stops everywhere, but may skip some S-Bahn stops.
• Suburban railway. A suburban network for a city or conurbation, but which can cover longer distances. There are no toilets in the S-Bahns, except in Bremen, Dresden, Hanover, Leipzig, Nuremberg and some Rhine-Neckar S-Bahns.

Within a federal state, it is often possible to buy a Länderticket, which is valid for one day. It can be used for BR, RB, most S-Bahn and some bus services within the federal state. Some, but not necessarily all, local S-Bahn networks are also included. It is available as an individual or group ticket. Prices for country tickets vary from region to region, but generally start at around €23-27 for a single person and usually range from €3 to €5 for each additional member of your group, up to a group of five. You can find more information on the Deutsche Bahn website and in most federal states in the “Get Around” section.

Although regional trains are increasingly operated by companies other than Deutsche Bahn and have a different livery to the DB red, in practice this makes little difference as all regional trains are subject to a concession, with the state prescribing everything from the timetable to the rolling stock, and the operators also receive a subsidy in addition to the fare. At the stations they serve, you will find ticket vending machines or ticket counters of various regional train operators, but Deutsche Bahn is also obliged – with a few exceptions – to sell you a ticket, and country tickets are also accepted there. Although many non-DB operators follow the pattern described above, some have chosen to name their services differently than RB or RE, but they still often distinguish between “express” and “local” (semi).

Generally, there is no on-board catering on local trains, but sometimes a vendor comes by the seats to sell drinks and snacks (usually too expensive). Some lines and operators – such as Metronom – also have vending machines on board their trains.

Sharing of group train tickets

Even though the days when you could take a group of five on a cheap Schönes-Wochenende ticket and travel through Germany for the price of a good book are long gone, it is still possible to travel cheaply on regional trains with a small group. While group ticket sharing has existed in a grey area for some time, Deutsche Bahn has now released its own app (for Android and iphone) explicitly for group ticket sharing. Although it only covers a handful of states so far (May 2016), the implementation of this application in other states has already been announced.

There are four main caveats that need to be considered:

• The price of the ticket is usually based on the number of passengers, with a relatively high basic fare and a small surcharge for each additional member of the group up to 5
• The ticket must bear the name of at least one member of the group. This person may be required to show identification. Sometimes all members of the group must be mentioned on the ticket.
• These tickets are only valid for regional trains (RE, RB and S-Bahn) and some local transport (Stadtbahn and bus) depending on the city. It is not possible to take an ICE or IC with such a ticket.
• In some federal states, first class tickets are offered (for an extra charge), but they are only valid for second class unless otherwise stated. On regional trains there is little or no difference between first and second class, in some trains there is not even a first class. On the other hand, first class may be empty in an otherwise busy train.

If you know your route, you can organise a group on the internet, buy a ticket and go. All tickets are valid from 9am on weekdays and from midnight on Saturdays and Sundays. Their validity usually ends at 3am the next day. The most common regional tickets are as follows

• Quer durchs Land Ticket (QdL) – valid for one day on all regional trains in Germany. 44€ plus 8€ for each additional member of your group up to five
• Ländertickets: are usually valid in one or two bordering federal states (e.g. Lower Saxony and Bremen). In the three federal states of Saxony, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt there are Ländertickets, which are always valid in all three federal states. Prices usually start at €23-28 for one person, with an additional €2-6 for each additional group member up to five people. In some federal states there are still all-inclusive tickets that cost the same for a single traveller or a group of five.
• Ticket Schönes Wochenende: By no means the ultra-cheap ticket of the past, but a good offer with the same conditions as the QdL, but a cheaper base price (40€) and a surcharge per person (4€). Valid only one day on Saturday and Sunday.
• Border crossing tickets: In some areas, a ticket may be available for travel within the state or part of the state and an adjoining area across an international border. Their conditions are often similar to those of state tickets, but they can be more expensive.

If your group consists of more than five people, ask Deutsche Bahn about special offers for larger groups.

There are dozens of daily connections from most major cities, which are often much cheaper than trains. Most buses offer services such as Wi-Fi and power sockets, and some can even carry bicycles.

There is also a very dense network of regional and local bus lines. In rural areas, however, many lines only run once a day. Regional and local express line codes usually contain the letters CE (local), E (regional around Hamburg; in other regions E is used for special lines), S (regional), SB (regional and local) or X (local within Berlin), while city bus line codes may contain the letters BB (“Bürgerbus”, not part of the tariff associations), C or O. Always look carefully at the departure boards: sometimes, especially at night or in rural areas, you have to order your bus by phone.

Germany has a world-class network of excellent roads and motorways, with no tolls or charges for cars. Although public transport in Germany is excellent, those who choose to drive will also find a fast and efficient road network. As in most European countries, the right-hand driving rule applies in Germany.

Check in advance whether your non-German driving licence is valid in Germany. If not, you risk a heavy fine or up to one year in prison. For longer stays, most foreign driving licences are not valid, regardless of your residence status. If you plan to drive during a longer stay (several months or years), try to get a European driving licence, which is usually valid throughout the European Union.

When does the holiday begin? Germans often ask themselves this question and have to look it up on the internet. School holidays are set by the federal states. It is useful to know when the holidays start in order to avoid traffic jams on the main roads, especially in the south.

Respect red lights, but there is one exception: you can turn right if there is a small green sign with a right arrow next to the red light – but this still requires you to stop, look and give way before turning right.

Speed limits are taken seriously, there are a large number of speed cameras. The speed limits are:

• 5 km/h on the “play streets” (marked by a blue/white sign indicating that children are playing, pedestrians have priority).
• 30 km/h in most residential areas within cities (marked by a sign “30-Zone Wohngebiet”, there are also zones 20 and 10).
• 50 km/h within cities (marked with a yellow sign at the entrance) and including “motor roads” (marked with a sign showing a white car on a blue background).
• 100 km/h outside cities
• There is no general, constant speed limit for cars and motorbikes not towing trailers on motorways and motorways. Speed is not completely free, as certain sections are subject to periodic or permanent speed limits. The recommended speed limit on the motorway is 130 km/h, and you should try to stick to this if you are new to high-speed traffic. However, some “speed tourists” come to Germany just to rent an exotic sports car and blast the motorway network, which is the third largest in the world.

Carpooling is very popular in Germany and the price of the ride is often lower than that of the train. The most popular websites for organising carpooling are mitfahrgelegenheit.de and Blablacar. International trips can also be organised in this way.

Taxis are expensive and often only accept cash. The conditions are usually not written on the vehicle, so ask the driver. Fares are set by the local authorities.

Motorists, especially those with single-digit numbers (connecting large regions over long distances) or those in or near conurbations (e.g. Rhine/Ruhr) are very busy from the Friday afternoon of the summer holidays. However, the popular arterial roads leading to southern Italy or north to the Baltic and North Sea coasts are busy at the beginning of the school holidays in all federal states. When planning your trip, pay attention to the start of the school holidays and try to avoid journeys on that day or the following weekend. During the winter holidays (Christmas and Carnival), the roads leading to the ski resorts in the Alps can also be a little crowded, made worse by even moderate snowfall, especially if it is the first snow of the season.

With recreational vehicle and campervans

German campsites (like most others in Western Europe) usually offer a full range of services. They always have their own electricity connection, and water and waste water connections are the same for everyone. Every campsite has toilets and showers, as well as kitchens, washing machines and a tumble dryer.

The camping yellow book, or if you like, the camping bible in Germany, is the ADAC Camping Guide, a camping guide by Germany’s largest automobile club, the ADAC. It lists almost all campsites, with prices, type of site, size, opening hours, facilities and the name of the campsite. Since the guide uses many symbols that are explained in several languages, it is also suitable for foreign travellers.

Remember that there is a general speed limit for recreational vehicles and anything towing anything – even on stretches of motorway without a posted limit. There is usually a sticker on the back or your papers or rental contract will indicate this.

Hitchhiking

It is possible to hitchhike in Germany and most Germans speak basic English, so you will be understood if you speak slowly. Drivers rarely expect you to give them money for the ride. The first letters of the German number plate (before the hyphen) indicate the city where the car is registered. If you know the destination code, this increases your chances of stopping the right vehicle.

Stopping is prohibited on the highway itself, but hitchhiking from rest stops or petrol stations is a good way to cover long distances (100-200 km). The most difficult thing is to get on the highway, so it is best to stay near petrol stations if you are going far. At petrol stations you can get a free brochure called Refuelling and Resting, which includes a map of the highway and petrol stations. If you take the lift, arrange with the driver where you will get off and make sure there is a petrol station. Try to avoid motorway service stations.

It is also quite common to arrange a ride in a private vehicle in advance through an offline agency or via the internet. Offline agencies such as Citynetz or ADM have offices in larger cities, usually near the city centre or the main railway station. These offline agencies charge a commission on the fuel price you have to pay for the driver.

In recent years, online services for organising rides in private vehicles have become very popular, as both parties do not have to pay commission to traditional agencies. They only have to contribute to the fuel costs. (Example: from Frankfurt to Berlin 25 euros). You can contact the driver directly by email, phone or sms. As the drivers have to be registered, this is safer than hitchhiking.

Hitchhikers is a comparable, multilingual and free service. Mitfahrgelegenheit and Mitfahrzentrale are other well-known players whose databases contain many rides. Mitfahrzentrale even operates across Europe. Raumobil is a new player on the market, but it is a rather private company. Mitflugzentrale organises private air travel.

Germany is generally cycle-friendly, with many cycle paths in the cities. There is also an extensive network of well-signposted long-distance cycle routes. If there is a cycle path parallel to the road, signposted with white on blue “Cycle” signs (see right), the cyclist should use it. In some cities, cycle lanes are marked with dark red paving stones in the main walking area. But be careful, as cyclists and pedestrians tend to cross these boundaries.

The same traffic rules apply to cyclists as to motor vehicles. Getting drunk on a bicycle is considered the same as driving a motor vehicle – so you can lose your licence, but the limit is higher, as only a blood alcohol level of more than 1.3 per mille will result in a mandatory fine.

Most train stations, shopping areas, hotels and business premises have bicycle racks (some covered) with a place to attach your own bicycle lock chain.

On regional trains, there is usually a carriage where you can take your bicycle. You can also take a bicycle on Intercity trains, but not on ICEs. A separate ticket and/or reservation is usually required to use a bicycle.

If you want to take your bike on a long-distance bus, you need to book several days in advance and it may not be possible as bike storage space is very limited (only two or three bikes per bus).

Several German cities now offer self-service bike programmes, most of which are operated by nextbike or the Deutsche Bahn subsidiary “bike”. They are great for covering short distances within a city, but are not the best option for longer tours, as the maximum rental period is usually 24 hours. Classic bike rentals still exist in many towns and in small villages near the coast that are popular with tourists. They often require a deposit or an identity card for rental.

Germany is a federal republic consisting of 16 states (called Bundesländer). Three of these federal states are actually city states: Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg. The federal states can be roughly grouped by geographical areas as shown below, although other groupings exist. For a long time, the division between North and South was most noticeable, but due to the legacy of the Cold War, the division between East and West is now more pronounced.

• Northern Germany (Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Schleswig-Holstein)
  Windswept hills and popular holiday destinations on the North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts
• Western Germany (North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland).
  Wine country and modern cities, strongly characterised by the breathtaking valleys of the Middle Rhine and Moselle.
• Central Germany (Hesse, Thuringia)
  The green heart of Germany, with some of the most important historical and economic cities and the old Thuringian Forest.
• Eastern Germany (Berlin, Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt).
  The eccentric and historic capital Berlin and the reconstruction of the historic city of Dresden, “Florence on the Elbe”.
• Southern Germany (Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria)
  The Black Forest, the Alps and the Oktoberfest. Lederhosen Germany, Dirndls, postcard views and high-tech companies.

Germany has many interesting cities for visitors; here are just nine of the most famous destinations. These are mainly the major cities in Germany. Some, like Berlin and Hamburg, stand like urban islands in a more rural landscape, others, like Düsseldorf and Frankfurt, are part of conurbations with other cities.

• Berlin – The reunited and revitalised German capital, famously divided by the Berlin Wall during the Cold War. Today it is a metropolis of diversity with some of the best clubs, shops, galleries and restaurants in the world. Because of its long history as a divided city, Berlin also has more opera houses and museums per capita than most other places in the world. The Potsdam suburb with its royal palaces and gardens is a place not to be missed when visiting Berlin.
• Bremen – One of the most important cities in Northern Germany, the Old Market, the Schnoor, the Böttcherstrasse, the quarter and the maritime flair of Bremen and its harbour Bremerhaven (which together form the state of Bremen, the smallest state by size and population) are a great city experience.
• Cologne – founded 2000 years ago by the Romans and known for its huge cathedral (the second largest in the world), Romanesque churches, archaeological sites and lively old town district. Cologne Carnival is a major event that takes place around February.
• Dresden – Formerly called Florence on the Elbe, the Frauenkirche (the most beautiful Baroque cathedral outside Italy, destroyed in the war and rebuilt from 1994 to 2005) and the reconstructed historic Old Town, also destroyed in the war. The Zwinger and Residenzschloss museums are unique in the world.
• Düsseldorf – Germany’s shopping capital, which also presents a great variety of fascinating new architecture. There is a lively nightlife in the old town and on the banks of the Rhine.
• Frankfurt – magnificent skyline, Europe’s financial and transport centre, home to the European Central Bank (ECB) and a major trade fair. Small reconstructed centre with half-timbered houses, important museums and galleries around the Museumsufer such as the Schirn Kunsthalle, the Städel and the Senckenberg Naturmuseum.
• Hamburg – the second largest city in Germany, with a metropolitan character surpassed only by Berlin, famous for its harbour as well as its liberal culture. Don’t miss the lively nightlife around St. Pauli with the Reeperbahn and its nightclubs and entertainment venues. Historically one of the Hanseatic cities and then a leading shopping centre, it is still one of Germany’s three “city states”, i.e. a city that is its own federal state.
• Munich – The beautiful capital of Bavaria, whose motto is “cosmopolitan city with a heart”, the site of the famous Oktoberfest, the Hofbräuhaus, numerous beer gardens and the Alpine Gate.
• Nuremberg – former imperial city with a medieval touch, whose old town was partially rebuilt after the heavy bombing of the Second World War, including the Gothic Kaiserburg and the main churches. You can also visit the Nazi Party Rally Grounds, the Documentation Centre and Courtroom 600 (site of the Nuremberg war crimes trials).

• Baltic coast – kilometres of sandy beaches and seaside resorts with picturesque islands such as Rügen (Germany’s largest island), Hiddensee and Usedom.
• Bavarian Alps – the famous Neuschwanstein Castle and the best skiing and snowboarding areas in Germany. Endless hikes and mountain bike tours
• The Black Forest – a region with wide mountain peaks and panoramic views; a paradise for tourists and hikers.
• East Frisian Islands – twelve islands in the Wadden Sea; Borkum is the largest island in terms of area and population
• Franconian Switzerland – one of the oldest tourist destinations in Germany, named after the Romantic artists of the early 19th century who said the landscapes had the aesthetic beauty of Switzerland.
• The Harz Mountains – a low mountain range in the central low mountain range of Germany, famous for its historic silver mines and the picturesque towns of Quedlinburg, Goslar and Wernigerode.
• Lake Constance – a beautiful corner of Central Europe; it offers visitors water sports and beautiful towns and villages to see
• Middle Rhine Valley – the part of the Rhine between Bingen/Rüdesheim and Koblenz is a UNESCO World Heritage Site; the valley is famous for its wines
• North Frisian Islands – quiet islands with seaside resorts on the North Sea coast, especially Sylt is known for its famous guests and unspoilt landscape

Germany offers almost all types of accommodation, including hotels, guesthouses, youth hostels and camping. You can also consider staying with members of a hospitality exchange network.

German mattresses tend to be firmer than American and Japanese mattresses. Bedding is usually simple: one sheet to cover the mattress, one duvet per person (very nice if you sleep with someone who tends to hog the blankets, but sometimes a little wind around the toes for tall people) and a huge square feather pillow that you can shape into any shape you want. Making the bed in the morning only takes a few seconds: Fold the blanket into three with a quick flick of your wrist, as if it were sleeping in your spot while you’re out and about, and throw the pillow on the bed.

Most international hotel chains have franchises in major German cities, and there is a wide choice of local hotels. All hotels in Germany are rated by stars (from 1 to 5 stars). The rankings are determined independently and are therefore reliable. The price always includes VAT and is usually set per room. Prices vary greatly from city to city (Munich and Frankfurt are the most expensive). There are many “value-added” hotel chains such as Motel One or Ibis, both in the suburbs and in the city centre of most cities, which are often quite new or renovated and surprisingly pleasant for the price. For people travelling by car, there is a dense network of Ibis Budget hotels in Germany, as in France, located on the outskirts of cities near the motorways and offering a really unexciting hotel experience at prices that can compete with those of youth hostels.

At the other end of the scale, there are many luxury hotels in Germany. Market penetration by hotel chains is high. Local brands include the ultra-luxurious Kempinski (now a global brand), while Dorint and Lindner operate high-end business hotels. Most of the world’s hotel chains are well established, led by Accor (Sofitel, Pullman, Novotel, Mercure).

It is not a cliché to say that you can rely on the quality and predictability of German hotels. You may not be spoiled if it’s not in the brochure, but it’s very rare that your experience is really bad. Also, domestic tourism in Germany is very family-oriented, so you should have no problem finding family-friendly hotels, with extra beds in the rooms, often in the form of bunk beds, and facilities for your youngest guests.

If the name of a hotel contains the word “Garni”, it means that breakfast is included. Therefore, there may be several hotels in a city with “Hotel Garni” in the name; when asking for directions, mention the full name of the hotel and not just “Hotel Garni“.

Guest rooms (“pensions” or “Fremdenzimmer”) offer (usually) less comfort than hotels at lower prices. The advantage is that you are likely to meet Germans and get an insight into the German way of life. A sign saying “Zimmer frei” (room available) indicates a B&B with a free room.

Hostels offer simple and inexpensive accommodation, usually in shared rooms. They are good places to meet other travellers. In Germany, as in many countries, there are two types of accommodation: international youth hostels and independent youth hostels.

The international youth hostels are run by the association “Deutsches Jugendherbergswerk” (DJH), which is part of the Hostelling International (HI) network. There are more than 600 hostels throughout Germany, both in large and small cities and in the countryside. They are not only aimed at individual travellers, but also at school classes and other youth groups. To stay here, you must be or become a member of a youth hostel organisation that is part of the HI network. You can find detailed information on this and on the individual hostels on the HI website. Usually you just have to fill in a card and pay a few euros more per night. In general, the advantage of these places is that they tend to serve a buffet breakfast at no extra charge, although this is not an absolute rule. However, the quality is often worse than in private hostels and many of them don’t offer good socialising opportunities.

Independent, privately run hostels are starting to be an attractive alternative at a similar price. There are already more than 60 such hostels in Germany, and more are opening every year. They are located in big cities like Berlin, Munich, Dresden and Hamburg. Only a few are in the countryside. Sometimes run by former travellers, the hostels do not have strict rules. Smaller hostels in particular are often places where you feel at home. Many are known for their lively and festive atmosphere and can be a good way to meet other travellers. You do not have to be a member of an organisation to stay there. About half of the hostels have organised themselves into a “Backpacker Network Germany“, which provides a list of member hostels. Gomio is a website that lists almost all independent hostels in Germany. Of course, international room booking agencies like Hostelsclub, Hostelworld & Hostelbookers are also a good resource and allow travellers to leave comments. A & O Hostels/Hotels hasanumber of quality establishments in Central Germany that offer an interesting mix of hostels and hotel-like accommodation, usually for young adults and families.

There are countless campsites in Germany. They differ considerably in terms of infrastructure and level. The ADAC offers an excellent guide for most German camping groups. If you are a member of your national automobile club, you can get help and guides for free or at significantly reduced prices.

Some travellers pitch their tents somewhere in the countryside. In Germany this is illegal (except in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania), unless you have permission from the landowner. But hardly anyone cares, as long as you are discreet, only stay one night and take your rubbish with you. Watch out for hunting and military training grounds, otherwise you run a high risk of being shot.

When one thinks of Germany, beer, lederhosen and alpine hats quickly come to mind, but these stereotypes mainly refer to Bavarian culture and do not represent Germany as a whole. Germany is a large and diverse country, with 16 culturally unique states that have only formed a political union since 1871. Even within the states there is often great cultural diversity. The Bavarian government, for example, likes to speak of the three “tribes” living in the country: the “Old Bavarians”, the Franconians and the Swabians. The first two are particularly fond of being lumped together with the English and the Scots.

If you’re always looking for clichés, the Romantic Road is a famous scenic route that passes romantic castles and picturesque villages. With its fairytale appearance, Neuschwanstein Castle could be considered the most emblematic of German castles. The fortified town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber has a beautiful medieval centre that seems to have remained intact over time. Similar typical German towns can also be found in other parts of the country, such as Augsburg, Bamberg, Celle, Heidelberg, Lübeck and Quedlinburg. Your postcard tour of Germany is complemented by a visit to the breweries in Munich and a view of the Alps in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. In Ulm, you can visit the highest church spire in the world – Ulm Minster. You can also visit the charming medieval town of Schwäbisch Hall, which is rarely visited. For fans of the Grimm fairy tales, which include many famous tales such as Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin, Snow White and The Pied Piper, the German Tourist Board has recommended a Fairy Tale Route that takes you to the places where the Brothers Grimm lived, as well as to the towns depicted in the Grimm fairy tales.

Germany is a modern industrial nation, and the economic miracle is best represented by the industrial culture of the Ruhr region. Another economic power is Hamburg, with the second largest port on the continent. Frankfurt is the financial centre of Germany and all of Europe, as it is the seat of the European Central Bank. Its silhouette is similar to that on the other side of the Atlantic. The fashion city of Düsseldorf, the media industry in Cologne and the automobile groups in Stuttgart each represent a flourishing sector of the German economic miracle.

A very different experience can be found in Berlin, a city that exists nowhere else in the world. Although it has an odd mix of sterilised apartment buildings, postmodern glass and steel structures and some historical remnants, it has a relaxed atmosphere and a culture of internationalism. Its chequered history has produced an enormous wealth of historic landmarks, including the Berlin Wall, the Brandenburg Gate, the Bundestag, Checkpoint Charlie, the TV Tower, the Holocaust Memorial and the Red City Hall. But if you want to feel like a real Berliner, don’t miss the district of Prenzlauer Berg. Kreuzberg (once famous for its punks, now largely gentrified) and delicious Wedding are also not far away.

The dark memories of the Nazi era have also left their mark on Germany. Although the subject is sensitive and “joking” about it is a bad idea if you don’t know your hosts well, Germany has made great efforts to preserve monuments of the time as reminders, and extensive educational exhibitions at places like former concentration camps, former Nazi party conference grounds in Nuremberg or the former headquarters of Nazi ministries and offices in Berlin are worth a visit, even if it is creepy and depressing.

Due to its size and location in Central Europe, Germany offers a great variety of different landscapes. In the north, Germany has an extensive coastline along the North Sea and Baltic Sea, in a vast area called the North German Plain. The landscape is very flat and the climate is harsh, with strong winds and mild, cold temperatures. Due to the south-easterly winds that push the water into the German Bight, tidal fluctuations are exceptionally high, creating the Wadden Sea. Large parts of the seabed are exposed twice a day, so you can walk from one of the many islands to another. The East Frisian Islands off the coast are very picturesque, even if they are mainly visited by the Germans themselves. The most popular seaside resorts with white sand on the Baltic Sea are Rügen and Usedom.

The middle half of Germany is a patchwork of low mountain ranges, hilly rural areas where fields and forests mix with the big cities. Many of these mountains are tourist destinations, such as the Bavarian Forest, the Black Forest, the Harz Mountains, the Ore Mountains, northern Hesse and Saxon Switzerland. The Rhine Valley, with its very mild and pleasant climate and fertile soils, is the most important wine and fruit-growing region in the country.

In the far south, on the border with Austria, Germany includes part of the Alps, the highest elevation in Central Europe, rising to 4,000 m above sea level, with the highest peak in Germany being the Zugspitze at 2,962 m. Although only a small part of the Alps are in Germany, they are famous for their beauty and unique Bavarian culture. On the south-western border with Switzerland and Austria lies Lake Constance, Germany’s largest freshwater lake.

• Bertha Benz Memorial Route – follows the world’s first long-distance car journey
• Romantic Road – Germany’s most famous panoramic road, which begins in Würzburg and ends in Füssen
• Rheinsteig and Rheinburgenweg – Hike the high-altitude trail through some of Germany’s most beautiful landscapes and enjoy spectacular views of the castles above the Rhine between Wiesbaden and Bonn or Bingen and Bonn-Mehlem.
• Elbe Cycle Route: a cycle route along the Elbe River that passes through Dresden and Magdeburg before reaching Hamburg. Due to the proximity of a river, there are few steep climbs, making this route ideal for beginners.

Germany offers a great variety of cultural and sporting activities. Many Germans are members of a sports club.

Germany is passionate about football and the GermanFootball Association (DFB) is the largest football association in the world with 6.35 million members (8% of the German population) in more than 25,000 clubs. Many German football clubs are among the most popular football brands in Europe, such as Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern Munich. Every village has a club and the matches are often the main social event at the weekend. Bear in mind that due to the nature of football fans (a small minority), police presence is often heightened during matches and violence is rare but not unheard of. Other popular team sports include (Olympic) handball (especially popular in the north), ice hockey (“ice hockey”), volleyball and basketball. Motorsports are a popular attraction for visitors, with many famous Formula 1 circuits such as Hockenheim and the Nürburgring (“Green Hell”).

American football is also played in Germany with a tradition that goes back to the 1970s. The German national team is even European champion (2010&2014). Although the crowds are not nearly as big as in more popular sports (2,000 fans is a number many teams only reach at big games), the finals attract between 15,000 and 20,000 spectators. The atmosphere is relaxed, even fans of the visiting teams are welcome and the worst that can happen is that you make fun of your team or its history. On Super Bowl Sunday there is a lot of “public viewing” (that’s the current German term), even if it’s in the middle of the night, and it’s a good opportunity to meet other football fans as well as the local North American expatriate population.

In winter, many people go skiing in the Alps or in mountain ranges such as the Harz, the Eifel, the Bavarian Forest or the Black Forest.

Tennis is one of the most popular individual sports. Although it has declined somewhat since the days of Steffie Graf and Boris Becker, there are still tennis courts in many places, most of which can be rented by the hour.

Almost every medium-sized German city has a spa (often called a Therme) with swimming pools, slides, whirlpools, saunas, steam baths, solar roofs, etc.

Several theatres in major cities perform excellent classical and contemporary plays. Germany prides itself on its wide variety of cultural events and every city develops a cultural programme. Most theatres and opera houses receive generous subsidies to keep tickets affordable, and it is possible to get a seat in many theatres in the single-digit euro range if you get certain discounts.

Classical music

Germany has several world-class opera houses (notably Berlin, Bayreuth and Munich) and the Berlin Philharmonic is known as one of the top three orchestras in the world. Germany is considered to have one of the strongest classical music traditions in Europe. Many famous composers such as Bach, Handel (called Handel before his move to London in 1712), Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms and Wagner originated in Germany.

While France and Italy have a longer history with opera, Germany has also developed a unique operatic tradition. German is considered one of the most important opera languages, along with Italian and French. Many German-language operas were composed by famous composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner and Strauss.

Musical comedy

Musicals are popular in Germany. Although a few productions tour from time to time, most shows stay in a particular city for a few years. The main “musical cities” are Hamburg, Berlin, Oberhausen, Stuttgart, Bochum and Cologne. German shows include The Lion King, Wicked, Starlight Express and Rocky.

Shakespeare

It is interesting to note that William Shakespeare is held in high esteem in Germany, even in the Anglosphere. This is mainly thanks to Goethe, who fell in love with the Bard’s works. If your German is up to the task, attending a performance can be very interesting. Some Germans think Shakespeare is even better in translation because the language used is more contemporary. Judge for yourself.

Theatre

In general, German theatres are numerous and – compared to most other Western countries – very cheap because the state considers them “necessary” and subsidises them so that everyone can go, regardless of their income. There are often special discounts for students or older people. Most plays are performed in German, but there are also western events with plays in other languages.

How to get a service

In more expensive restaurants, it is more likely that a waiter will accompany you to the entrance and show you to a table.

If you get a table, it’s yours until you leave. There is no need to rush. Even in country restaurants and in cities like Munich, it is not unusual to take a seat at a table where other people are already seated, especially if there are no other seats available. Although it is rare to have a conversation, in this case a short hello is very helpful.

Normally you pay your bill directly to your server. It is customary to split the bill among the people at the table.

German food

German food generally stays true to its roots and a typical dish consists of meat with some form of potato and gravy, accompanied by vegetables or salad. Modern German cuisine has been influenced by other European countries such as Italy and France to become lighter. The dishes have a great local variety to discover. Most German pubs and restaurants tend to be child and dog friendly, although both are expected to be well behaved and not too noisy.

Since most large employers have a canteen for their employees, you will find relatively few sandwich shops and take-outs. In Germany, gastronomic culture is dominated by the Gasthaus/Gasthof and restaurants. The classification of eateries into 7 categories gives you an overview of budget and taste. Starting at the bottom of the scale, here are the categories:

Snack

Schnellimbiss” (fast food) is what it says on the signs of the German stalls and small shops that mainly sell sausage and chips. Sausages include the bratwurst, a fried and usually cooked pork sausage. A very German variant is the currywurst: a minced meat sausage covered with spicy ketchup and sprinkled with curry powder. Most gastropubs contain beer and often spirits.

Döner kebab is a Turkish dish consisting of veal, chicken or sometimes lamb stuffed in bread, similar to Greek gyros and Arabic shawarma. Although it is considered Turkish, it is actually a speciality of German origin. Legend has it that it was invented by Turkish immigrants in West Berlin in the 1970s. In fact, the kebab is the most popular fast food in Germany. Sales in kebab shops far exceed those of McDonald’s and Burger King.

Nevertheless, fast food giants like McDonald’s, Burger King and Pizza Hut can be found in most cities. Nordsee is a German seafood chain that offers “Rollmops” (pickled herring) and many other fish and seafood snacks. However, many independent takeaways (most along the German coast) offer slightly better and slightly cheaper seafood. You can also find independent shops selling pizzas by the slice.

Besides the option of grabbing a sweet snack at a bakery, there seem to be ice cream parlours on every corner in summer. Try spaghetti for a popular sundae that’s hard to find elsewhere. You crush the vanilla ice cream with a potato masher to form the “noodles”. These are topped with strawberry sauce to imitate “spaghetti sauce” and usually white chocolate chips or ground almonds for “Parmesan”.

Bakeries and butchers

Germans don’t have a tradition of sandwich shops, but you will find that bakeries and butchers sell pretty good take-away food and are serious competition for fast food chains. Even the smallest bakeries sell many types of bread or rolls, most of which are darker (e.g. with wholemeal or rye flour) than the very popular white bread around the world and are certainly worth a try. Even if they haven’t made it before, almost all butchers will make you a sandwich if you ask them to. Some butchers will even prepare meals for you.

This “imbiss” butchery is especially popular in southern Germany, and the quality and freshness of the food is generally high. Butcher shops that sell a lot of food often have a narrow counter that stands upright on one edge so you have a place to put your food while you get up to eat it. Other bakeries and butchers even have tables and chairs and serve you more or less like a café, as they also sell coffee and other hot drinks.

Canteens and cafeterias

Although rarely a tourist attraction in themselves, canteens and cafeterias are a good alternative to fast food restaurants if you want to sit down to eat but are short on time or have a limited budget. Many companies allow non-employees to eat in their canteens, although most require some knowledge of location and access, as do university and college cafeterias. Retired people and office workers also appreciate self-service restaurants in large furniture stores such as XXXL.

Beer garden

In a beer garden you can get the nearby drink. In the traditional Bavarian breweries it is possible to bring your own food if you buy their drinks. Most places offer simple meals. Some beer gardens are also called beer cellars, especially in Franconia. Historically, the beer cellar arose from the need to keep beer cool before it was artificially cooled. So underground structures were dug and soon beer was sold directly from the warehouses during the summer months, giving birth to the beer cellar tradition as we know it today. Many of them are located in quite beautiful natural surroundings, but the most famous beer cellar ensemble is probably in Erlangen, where they created the Bergkirchweih, one of the biggest beer festivals in the region. They were dug through a mountain on the outskirts of the city and gave the city an advantage in beer storage and thus higher production capacities, which made Erlangen beer a household name after the railway connection made export possible. However, the invention of artificial cooling put an end to this advantage. The cellars still exist and one of them, apart from its role at the Bergkirchweih, functions like a normal cellar (to which it is often reduced) all year round.

As the name suggests, a beer garden is located in a garden. It can be completely outdoors, or you can choose between an indoor (almost always non-smoking) and an outdoor area. They range in size from cosy little corners to some of the largest eateries in the world, hosting thousands of people. The Munich Oktoberfest, which takes place every year at the end of September, creates some of the most famous temporary beer gardens in the world.

Brewery

Smaller breweries sell their products directly to the customer and sometimes you will find food there. The hock or pork knuckle (the lower part of the pig’s leg) is usually part of the offerings. It is a typical German speciality and probably the best dish in almost all pubs of this kind.

Gasthof/Gasthaus

Probably 50% of all eating places belong to this group. These are mainly family businesses that have been owned for generations, comparable to pubs in the UK. You can go there just to have a drink or to try German food (often with local flavour). The quality of the food varies greatly from place to place, but the staff will usually give you an indication of the standard; the regulations require restaurant owners to disclose certain potentially harmful ingredients (e.g. Glutamate/MSG) in footnotes – a menu containing many of these usually indicates poor quality; if a “guesthouse” / cheap restaurant is crowded with Germans or Asians, this at least indicates adequate quality (unless the crowding is due to an organised bus tour).

Restaurants

In Germany, there is a wide range of flavours (e.g. Chinese, German, Japanese, Thai, Polish, Indian, Italian, French, Spanish, Greek, Turkish, Vietnamese) and almost every style in the world is represented.

Turkish cuisine in Germany ranges from simple “kebab” shops to restaurants, mostly family-run, that offer a wide selection of homemade Turkish dishes that are usually very inexpensive (compared to German price levels).

In Germany, you will rarely find restaurants that cater to special needs (kosher restaurants, for example, are only common in cities with a large Jewish population like Berlin), although most restaurants will prepare special dishes or variations if they are not satisfied with ready-made meals or if they are not too fancy. Most restaurants offer at least some vegetarian dishes. Muslims might want to stick to Turkish or Arabic restaurants. At some Turkish or Arabic kiosks, vegetarians can find falafel and ganoush au baba to their liking. For less strict Jews, the halal Turkish food stalls (sometimes spelled helal in Turkish) are also the best option for meat dishes.

In most restaurants in Germany you can choose your own table. You can make reservations (recommended for large groups and Saturday night haute cuisine) and these are marked with reservation cards (“Reserved”). In expensive restaurants in big cities you have to reserve and are seated by the staff (who do not allow you to choose your table).

Restaurants in shopping areas often offer special menus for lunch during the week. These are cheap options (from 5 euros, sometimes with a drink) and a good way to try local food. Special dishes are usually offered daily or weekly, especially if they include fresh ingredients such as fish.

Some restaurants offer all-you-can-eat buffets where you pay about 10 euros and can eat as much as you want. Drinks are not included in this price.

The “XXL restaurants” are on the rise. They mainly offer standard meat dishes like schnitzel or bratwurst in sizes ranging from large to inhuman. Often there is a dish that you can hardly eat on your own (it usually weighs 2 kg!), but if you manage to eat it all (and keep it in the house), the meal is free and you get a reward. Unlike in other restaurants, it is customary and encouraged to take leftovers home.

Good manners at the table

On very formal occasions and in upmarket restaurants, some German customs may differ from those to which some visitors are accustomed:

• It is considered bad manners to eat with your elbows on the table. Only leave your wrists on the table. Most Germans will keep these manners in everyday life, because it is one of the most basic rules that parents teach their children. If you go to a restaurant with your German friends, you might also want to pay attention to this.
• When you bring the fork to your mouth, the tines should point upwards (not downwards as in the UK).
• When eating soup or other food from your spoon, hold it with the tip towards your mouth (not parallel to your lips as in the UK). Spoons used for stirring drinks, such as coffee, should never be put in the mouth.
• If you have to leave the table temporarily, you can put your napkin (which should have been folded in half on your lap once by then) in an elegant little pile on the table to the left of your plate – unless it looks really dirty, in which case you can leave it on your chair.

When you want to clear the dishes, place the knife and fork parallel to each other, with the tips at about the eleven-thirty mark on your plate. Otherwise the waiters will assume that you are still eating.

Typical dishes

Beef roulade with red cabbage and dumplings: This dish is quite unique in Germany. Very thin slices of beef are wrapped around a piece of bacon and marinated cucumber until they look like a mini barrel (5 cm in diameter), seasoned with tiny pieces of onion, German mustard, ground black pepper and salt. The meat is quickly roasted and then slow-cooked for an hour while red cabbage and potato dumplings are prepared. Then the meat is removed from the pan and the gravy is prepared in the pan. Dumplings, red cabbage and roulades are served with the gravy in one dish.

Schnitzel with fries: There are probably as many variations of the schnitzel as there are restaurants in Germany. What most of them have in common is a thin slice of pork, usually breaded and fried briefly, and often served with French fries (usually called pommes frites or often just apples). Variations of this dish are usually served with different types of sauce: e.g. gypsy schnitzel, onion schnitzel, lumberjack schnitzel and Wiener schnitzel (as the name suggests, an Austrian dish – in reality it has to be veal instead of pork, which is why most restaurants offer a Wiener Art Schnitzel or Wiener Schnitzel – which may be pork). In the south, you often get Spätzle (the famous Swabian noodles) with it instead of French fries. Spätzle are typical egg noodles from southern Germany – most restaurants prepare them fresh. Because of the ease of preparation, ordering them could be considered an insult to any establishment with a good reputation (with the possible exception of Wiener Schnitzel). It is true that it is almost inevitable to find it on the menu of any seedy German pub (and there are many of them…), apart from being the most common dish in German restaurants (yes, at least German government officials call their pubs as good as the usual fast-food restaurants!).

Rehrücken mit Spätzle: Germany has preserved vast forests such as the famous Black Forest, the Bavarian Forest and the Odenwald. In and around these regions you can enjoy the best game in Germany. Rehrücken means venison fillet and is often served with freshly prepared pasta like spaetzle and a very good sauce based on dry red wine.

Sausage: No country in the world has a greater variety of sausage types than Germany and it would take some time to list them all. Bratwurst is fried, other varieties like Bavarian Weißwurst are boiled. Here’s the short version: “Red” beef sausage, Frankfurt-style “Frankfurter Wurst”, “Palatinate Bratwurst”, “Nuremberg Bratwurst” – the smallest of them all, but a serious contender for best German sausage, “coarse Bratwurst”, Landjäger, Thuringian Bratwurst, Currywurst, Weisswurst ….could go on until tomorrow. If you find a sausage on a menu, it is often a good (and sometimes the only) choice. It is often served with mashed potatoes, French fries or potato salad. Probably the most popular type of sausage is the currywurst (a sliced grilled sausage served with ketchup and curry powder) and can be bought almost anywhere.

Königsberger Klopse: Literally translated as “Königsberger meatballs”, this is a typical dish from Berlin and the surrounding area. The meatballs are made of minced pork and anchovies and are cooked and served in a white sauce with capers and rice or potatoes.

Matje roll: Herring sauce or “pug” in a bun, a typical street snack.

Local specialities

From the north of Germany to the south, you will find a great variety of food and each region retains its origins. In the coastal regions, people like to eat seafood and the most famous dishes are the “Finkenwerder Scholle”.

In the Cologne region there is Sauerbraten, a roast meat marinated in vinegar. Traditionally, Sauerbraten was made from the meat of horses that pulled the barges on the Rhine all their lives, but today the dish is mostly made from beef.

Labskaus (although strictly speaking it is not a German invention) is a northern dish and opinions about it are divided, some like it, others hate it. It consists of mashed potatoes, beetroot juice and dried meat, decorated with rollmops and/or young herring and/or a fried egg and/or pickles and/or slices of beetroot. The north is also famous for its lamb dishes, the best variety is probably the “Rudenlamm” (lamb from the small Baltic island of Ruden; only a few restaurants in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern serve this dish), the second best variety the “Salzwiesenlamm”. (salt meadow lamb). The Lüneburg Heath is not only famous for its heathland, but also for the Heidschnucken, a special breed of sheep. However, many restaurants import their lamb from New Zealand because it is cheaper there. Crabs and mussels are also common on the German coast, especially in North Friesland.

A Hamburg speciality is the “Aalsuppe” (eel soup), which – despite its name (in this case “Aal” means “everything”, not “eel”) – originally contained almost everything – except eel (today many restaurants include eel in this soup, as the name has caused confusion among tourists). There is a wide variety of fish dishes on the coast. Be careful: if a restaurant offers “noble fish platter” or another dish with the same name, the fish may not be fresh and even (ironically) of poor quality. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to eat fish only in specialised (or quality) restaurants. The “Nordsee” is a chain of fast-food restaurants that offers fish and other seafood of standardised quality at low prices throughout Germany, but you will rarely find authentic specialities there.

Pfälzer Saumagen: A well-known dish in the Palatinate for a long time, but hard to find outside this region. It is literally a pork belly stuffed with mashed potatoes and meat, cooked for 2-3 hours and then cut into thick slices. It is often served with sauerkraut. It gained fame because Helmut Kohl liked to serve it to official state guests such as Gorbachev and Reagan when he was Chancellor.

Swabia is famous for its “Spätzle” (a type of noodle, often served with cheese like “Kässpätzle”) and “Maultaschen” (noodles filled with spinach and minced meat, but there are many variations, including vegetarian).

In Bavaria, these include pork knuckle with dumplings, Leberkäs/meatloaf with potato salad, Nürnberger Bratwurst (probably the smallest sausage in Germany), Weißwurst and Obatzda (a spicy mixture of several dairy products).

The south is also famous for its beautiful cakes like the “Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte” (cake with lots of cream and kirsch).

In Saxony, the Eierschecke, a cake made of eggs and cream, similar to a cheesecake, is a delicacy.

A speciality of the East is the “Soljanka” (originally from Ukraine, but probably the most common dish in the GDR), a sour soup with vegetables and usually some kind of meat or sausage.

Seasonal specialities

White asparagus floods restaurants all over Germany from April to June, especially in and around Baden-Baden and in the small town of Schwetzingen (“asparagus capital”) near Heidelberg, in an area north and north-east of Hanover (“Lower Saxony Asparagus Route”) and in the area south-west of Berlin, especially in the town of Beelitz and along the Lower Rhine (“Walbeck Asparagus”). Franconia, especially the garlic country around Nuremberg, also has quite good asparagus. Many vegetables are available all year round and are often imported from far away, whereas asparagus can only be found for two months and is best eaten fresh after harvesting, it stays nice for a few hours or until the next day. Asparagus is treated with great care and is harvested before it is exposed to daylight so that it stays white. When exposed to daylight, they change colour and turn green, which can give them a bitter taste. For this reason, most Germans think white asparagus is better. The veneration of this white vegetable can seem almost religious, especially in areas where asparagus is traditionally grown. Even rural “mum and pop” restaurants offer a page or more of asparagus recipes in addition to their usual menu.

The standard asparagus dish consists of asparagus spears, hollandaise sauce, boiled potatoes and some form of meat. The most common meat is ham, preferably smoked, but you will also find it with schnitzel (fried breaded pork), turkey, beef or whatever is available in the kitchen.

White asparagus soup is one of hundreds of different recipes you can find using white asparagus. It is often prepared with cream and contains some of the finest pieces of asparagus.

Another example of a seasonal speciality is “kale”. (green cabbage). It is mainly found in Lower Saxony, especially in southern and south-western regions such as the Emsland or around the Wiehengebirge and the Teutoburg Forest, but also everywhere else and in the eastern regions of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is usually served with a kind of cooked sausage (called “Pinkel”) and fried potatoes. If you travel to Lower Saxony in autumn, you should find some in all the inns.

Lebkuchen is one of the many Christmas and gingerbread biscuits that exist in Germany. The best known are produced in and around Nuremberg.

Stollen is a type of cake eaten during Advent and Christmas. The original Stollen is only made in Dresden, Saxony, but you can buy Stollen anywhere in Germany (although the Dresden Stollen is considered the best and relatively cheap).

Around St Martin’s Day and Christmas, grilled geese (“Martinsgans” / “Christmas goose”) are quite common in German restaurants, accompanied by red cabbage and dumplings, preferably as a menu with liver accompanied by some kind of salad, as a starter, goose soup and dessert.

Bread

Germans are very fond of their bread, which they make in many variations. It is the food that Germans miss the most when they are away from home. Most people love their relatively dark and dense bread and disdain the soft breads sold in other countries. Bakeries rarely supply less than twenty different types of bread and it is worth trying some. In fact, many Germans buy their lunch or small snacks from bakeries instead of buying take-out or other meals. The price of a loaf of bread varies between 0.50 and 4 euros, depending on the size (real specialities can cost more).

Since German bread is generally very good, sandwiches (belegtes Brot) are also usually of good quality, even at train stations and airports. However, if you want to save money, do as most people do and make the sandwich yourself, as sandwiches can be quite expensive if bought ready-made.

Vegetarian

Outside of big cities like Berlin, there are not many places that are particularly suitable for vegetarian or vegan customers. Most restaurants offer one or two vegetarian dishes. If there are no vegetarian dishes on the menu, please ask.

When ordering, be sure to ask if the dish is suitable for vegetarians, as chicken broth and bacon cubes are often “undeclared” ingredients on German menus.

However, there are usually health food shops, health food shops or health food shops in every city that offer vegetarian bread, spreads, cheese, ice cream, vegan milk substitutes, tofu and seitan. The variety and quality of products is great, and you will find suppliers who can answer specific nutritional questions in depth.

Veganism and vegetarianism are on the rise in Germany, so many supermarkets (e.g. Edeka and Rewe) also offer a small selection of vegan products in their “delicatessen” section, such as seitan sausages, tofu or soy milk at a reasonable price.

Allergies and coeliac disease

In Germany, the labelling of packaging is usually reliable when buying food. All food must be correctly labelled, including additives and preservatives. Look out for wheat, flour or malt and starch. Be especially careful of foods with flavour enhancers that may contain gluten.

• Reformhaus. A network of 3,000 health food shops in Germany and Austria with departments for gluten-free products, including pasta, bread and sweets. Health food shops are usually located on the lower level of shopping centres (e.g. PotsdamerArkaden etc.).
• DM Blinds. The equivalent of CWS/Shopper’s Drug Mart in Germany has departments dedicated to wheat and gluten-free products.
• Alnatura. – Natural food shop with a large section for gluten-free products.

Smoking

The various federal states began banning smoking in public and other places at the beginning of 2007, but the laws vary from state to state. Smoking is generally prohibited in all restaurants and cafés. Some venues may have separate smoking areas, but it is best to check when booking. Smokers should be prepared to go outside if they wish to light up. Smoking is not permitted on any public transport, including platforms (except in designated smoking areas clearly marked ‘smoking area’). The laws are strictly enforced.

In restaurants it is widely accepted that customers leave their table without paying the bill to smoke and come back later. If you are alone, tell the staff that you are going outside to smoke and if you have a bag or coat, leave it there.

There is also shooting in Germany, more in the centre than in the south or north. In most big cities you can find a shop where you can get devices or cash, with or without nicotine. The law does not clearly deal with vaping at the moment. So if you want to be safe, do as you do with smoking and accept the usual non-smoking rules.

The legal drinking age is set:

• 14 – Minors are allowed to consume and possess non-distilled (fermented) alcoholic beverages such as beer and wine, provided they are accompanied by their parents or a guardian.
• 16 – Minors may not consume and possess distilled (fermented) alcoholic beverages, such as beer and wine, without their parents or guardians. Any drink containing distilled alcohol (even if the total alcohol content is lower than that of a typical beer) is not allowed.
• 18 years old – as an adult you have unlimited access to alcohol.

Beer

For centuries, beer production in Bavaria was regulated by the Purity Law, which became the subject of national politics with the reunification of Germany in 1871. This law stipulated that German beer could only be made from hops, malt and water (yeast was not known at that time). The Purity Law has been watered down by European integration with imports, but German breweries still have to abide by it, because national law applies to them. However, the national law has also been watered down and now provides that various additives and adjuvants may be used during the production process as long as they are not included in the final product.

The national beer market is not dominated by one or a few large breweries. Although there are a few big players, the regional diversity is enormous with more than 1,200 breweries, most of which serve only local markets. In general, bars and restaurants serve local varieties, which vary from city to city. However, the north is less diverse than the south, and especially in communities that do not specialise in beer, large breweries are more likely to mass-produce diluted pilsners. If you really want to discover German beer, try to stick to smaller brands as they don’t have to appeal to a mass market and therefore have a more ‘individual’ taste. When sitting in a German pub, a local beer is always an option, and often the only one.

Specialities include Weizenbier (or Weißbier in Bavaria), a refreshing top-fermented beer popular in the south, Alt, a type of dark beer particularly popular in Düsseldorf and the surrounding area, and Kölsch, a special beer brewed in Cologne. Pilsner”, the German name for Pilsner, is a light, golden-coloured beer that is very popular in Germany. There are also seasonal beers that are only made at certain times of the year (such as Bockbier in winter and Maibock in May, both of which contain more alcohol, sometimes twice as much as a normal full beer).

Beer is usually served in 200 or 300ml glasses (in the north) or in 500ml glasses in the south. In the beer gardens in Bavaria, 500mL is a small beer (“Halbe”) and one litre is normal (“Maß” pronounced “Mahss”). Except in “Irish pubs”, pints or pitchers are rare.

For Germans, lots of foam is both a sign of freshness and quality, so beer is always served with lots of foam. (All glasses have volume markings for critical souls).

Moreover, Germans are not afraid to mix beer with other drinks (even if older people might disagree). Beer is usually mixed with carbonated lemonade (usually in a ratio of 1:1) and “Radler” (so called because it is a refreshing drink that a cyclist can enjoy on a bike ride in spring or summer) (or “Alsterwasser”/”Alster” (after the river in Hamburg) in the north); Pilsener/Altbier “cocktails” and soft drinks like Fanta, a “Krefelder”/”Colaweizen” cola and buckwheat beer is another combination that can be found. Pils mixed with cola is especially popular with young Germans and has – depending on the region – different names like “Diesel”, “Schmutziges” or “Schweinebier”, just to name a few. Another famous local speciality is the “Berliner Weiße”, a cloudy and sour wheat beer of about 3 % vol. with syrups added (traditionally raspberry-based), which is very refreshing in summer. These mixed beer drinks are widespread and popular and can be bought in pre-mixed bottles (usually in six-packs) wherever normal beer is sold.

Pubs in Germany are open until 02:00 or later. Food is usually available until midnight. Germans usually go out after 20:00 (popular pubs are already full at 18:00).

Cider

The undisputed capital of cider (or Äbblwoi, as it is called here) in Germany is Frankfurt. The people of Frankfurt love their cider. There are even special bars (‘Apfelweinkneipe’) that serve only cider and some gastronomic specialities. The cider is often served in a special jug called a ‘Bembel’. The taste is somewhat different from ciders from other countries and tends to be quite refreshing. In autumn, when the apples are made into cider, you will find signs in some places saying “Frischer Most” or “Süßer”. This is the first product of the “cider” production line; one glass of cider is fine, but after two or three glasses you will have a problem, unless you like to spend a lot of time on the toilet. In Saarland and the surrounding areas, cider is called “Viez”. Here it varies from “Süßer Viez” (sweet), to “Viez Fein-Herb” (semi-sweet) to “Alter Saerkower” (sour). The Viez capital of this region is Merzig. In winter it is also customary to drink warm cider (with a few cloves and sugar). It is considered an effective measure against the common cold.

Coffee

Germans drink a lot of coffee. The port of Hamburg is currently the busiest place in the world for the coffee trade. Coffee is always freshly prepared from ground coffee or coffee beans – not immediately. However, people from countries with a great coffee tradition (such as Italy, Portugal, Turkey, Greece or Austria) may find the coffee served in normal restaurants a bit boring. A German speciality, originally from North Frisia but now also common in East Frisia, is the “Pharisee”, a mixture of coffee and a spirit, usually rum, with a thick cream on top. A variant of this mixture is “Tote Tante“, where the coffee is replaced by hot chocolate.

In recent years, the American coffee chain Starbucks or clones have developed in Germany, but mostly you come across “cafés” that usually offer a large selection of cakes to go with your coffee.

Glühwein

Are you visiting Germany in December? Then go to one of the famous Christmas markets (the most famous are in Nuremberg, Dresden, Leipzig, Münster, Bremen, Augsburg and Aachen) and there you will find mulled wine, a spicy wine served very hot to comfort you in the cold of winter.

Spirits

The generic term for fruit-based spirits is Obstler, and each region has its own specialities.

“Kirschwasser” literally means “cherry water”; it tastes of cherries, but on the other hand it is no ordinary drinking water. The production of spirits has a long tradition in Baden, and “Kirschwasser” is probably the flagship. This might tempt you to try other specialities such as raspberry spirit (raspberry-based), sloe fire (flavoured with sloe berries), Williamchrist (pear-based) and Apfelkorn (apple juice and grain, see below).

“Bavarians love their beer as much as they love their gentian, a high-alcohol spirit better suited as a digestive liquor after a hearty meal.

Korn“, made from grain, is probably the most common alcohol in Germany. Korn is especially popular in the north, where it surpasses beer in popularity. In the south, the situation is reversed. The main production centre (Berentzen) is in Haselünne, where tours and tastings in the distilleries can be organised. The town is close to the Ems river in north-west Germany; for rail transport to Haselünne (very little dense), see Eisenbahnfreunde Hasetal. A common mixture is Korn with apple juice (“Apfelkorn”), which usually reaches about 20 % abv and is mostly drunk by young people. Another town famous for its Doppelkorn (with a tradition of more than five hundred years) is Nordhausen in Thuringia, where tours and tastings are also easy to organise.

In North Frisia, “Köm” (caraway alcohol), pure or mixed with tea (“Teepunsch”), is very popular.

Eiergrog” is a hot mixture of egg liqueur and rum.

Tea

Tea is also very popular and a large selection is readily available. The region of East Frisia in particular has a long tea tradition and is probably the only place in Germany where tea is more popular than coffee. The tea ceremony in East Frisia consists of serving black tea in a flat porcelain cup with special rock candy (kluntje) added to the cup before pouring the tea. The cream is added afterwards, but not mixed with the tea. The East Frisian attachment to tea was mocked in a rather infamous advertisement for a certain sweet to be served with coffee, but this was interrupted by a loud East Frisian saying “Und was is mit Tee?” (What about tea?) in a stereotypical North German accent. Most Germans still know this idiom, though not necessarily its origin.

Hot chocolate

Especially in winter, Germans love their hot chocolate, which is available everywhere. In Germany, hot chocolate is more or less plain – i.e. bittersweet – and in the gourmet places it can be quite dark and bitter and only slightly sweet. It is usually served with whipped cream (fresh whipped cream, also called whipped cream). Although it is usually served prepared in advance, there are also cafés that serve a block of chocolate that you mix yourself and melt in hot milk. Milk chocolate is called Kinderschokolade in Germany and is not taken seriously at all, so don’t expect to be able to order a hot milk chocolate as an adult.

Wine

Some Germans are as passionate about their wine as they are about their beer. The similarities don’t end there; both products are often produced by small farms and the best wines are consumed locally. Viticulture in Germany has a 2,000-year history, as the Rheinisches Landesmuseum in Trier shows, but of course it was a Roman colony back then. The sun is the limiting factor for wine production in Germany and therefore wine production is limited to the south. White wine plays an important role in wine production, but some regions also produce red wines (Ahr, Baden Württemberg). White wines are made from Riesling, Kerner and Müller-Thurgau grapes (there are many more, but to name them all is beyond the scope) and generally produce fresh and fruity wines. German wines can be acidic and are quite refreshing. It is generally accepted that Riesling grapes produce the best German wines, but they need a lot of sun and grow best in highly exposed regions such as the Mosel, Rheingau, Bergstrasse, Kaiserstuhl and Pfalz.

The best way to find out about wines is to go to the place where they are made and taste them on the spot. This tasting, called “wine tasting“, is usually free, but in tourist areas a small fee is charged.

Good wines usually accompany good food, so you can visit the place when you are hungry and thirsty. The so-called Straußenwirtschaft, Besenwirtschaft or Heckenwirtschaft are small “pubs” or gardens where a winegrower sells his own wine, usually with small dishes like sandwiches or cheese and ham. Usually they are only open in summer and autumn, and not more than 4 months a year (due to legal regulations). As they are sometimes located in the vineyards or in certain alleys, they are not always easy to find. Therefore, it is best to ask a local resident which is the nearest (or best) Straußenwirtschaft they know.

In autumn, you can buy “Federweißer” in southwest Germany. This is a partially fermented white wine that contains a little alcohol (depending on age) but has a very sweet taste. It is also available from red grapes, under the name “Roter Sauser” or “Roter Rauscher”.

The wine-growing regions are:

The Ahr is a paradise for German red wines. Half of its production is devoted to red wines and it is densely populated with inns and Straußwirten. There is a saying that the person who has visited the Ahr and remembers being there has not been there.

With around 15,500 hectares of vineyards and a production of 1 million hectolitres, Baden is the third largest wine-growing region in Germany. It is the southernmost wine-growing region in Germany and the only German member of Category B of European wines, together with the famous French regions of Alsace, Champagne and Loire. The Baden region stretches over more than 400 km and is divided into nine regional groups: Tauberfranken, Badische Bergstrasse, Kraichgau, Ortenau, Breisgau, Kaiserstuhl, Tuniberg, Markgräflerland and Bodensee. Kaiserstuhl and Markgräflerland are the best-known regions for Baden wine. One of the largest winegrowers’ cooperatives is the Badische Winzerkellerin Breisach.

Franconia: Franconia is in the northern part of Bavaria and you can find very good wines there. Some wines produced in Franconia are sold in a special bottle called a “Bocksbeutel”.

Hessische Bergstraße: Situated on the slopes of the Rhine valley, it is a small, quiet wine-growing region and the wines are generally drunk in and around Heppenheim.

Mosel-Saar-Ruwer: Germany’s steepest vineyards can be seen as you drive through the Mosel valley from Koblenz to Trier.

Palatinate: Germany’s largest wine-growing region. There are excellent wines to taste and many pretty villages nestled in the vineyards. Wine tasting in Deidesheim is a good idea and several major German wine producers are all on the main road. If you want to see the largest wine barrel in the world, head to Bad Dürkheim.

Rheingau: This is the smallest wine-growing region, but it produces the highest-rated Riesling wines in Germany. Visit Wiesbaden and take a trip on the Rhine to Eltville and Rüdesheim.

Rheinhessen is also famous for its Riesling. Visit Mainz and take a trip on the Rhine to Worms, Oppenheim, Ingelheim or Bingen.

Saale-Unstrut: is located in Saxony-Anhalt on the banks of the Saale and Unstrut rivers and is the northernmost wine-growing region in Europe.

Saxony: One of the smallest wine-growing regions in Germany, nestled on the Elbe near Dresden and Meissen.

Württemberg: As already mentioned, the rule here is strictly that the best wine is consumed by the inhabitants; the per capita consumption of wine is twice as high as in the rest of Germany, regardless of whether it is red or white wine. The region’s speciality is the red wine called Trollinger, which can be very good by German standards.

Germany uses the euro. It is one of the many European countries that use this common currency. All euro banknotes and coins are legal tender in all countries.

One euro is divided into 100 cents.

The official symbol of the euro is € and its ISO code is EUR. There is no official symbol for the cent.

• Banknotes: The euro banknotes have the same design in all countries.
• Standard coins: All euro area countries issue coins that have a distinctive national design on one side and a common standard design on the other. The coins can be used in any euro area country, regardless of the design used (e.g. a one-euro coin from Finland can be used in Portugal).
• Commemorative €2 coins: These differ from normal €2 coins only in their “national” side and circulate freely as legal tender. Each country can produce a certain amount of these coins as part of its normal coin production, and sometimes “European” 2-euro coins are produced to commemorate specific events (e.g. anniversaries of important treaties).
• Other commemorative coins: Commemorative coins with other amounts (e.g. ten euros or more) are much rarer, have very special designs and often contain significant amounts of gold, silver or platinum. Although they are technically legal tender at face value, their material or collector’s value is usually much higher and therefore you are unlikely to find them in circulation.

If you still have marks left over from your previous trips, you can exchange them at the Deutsche Bundesbank without any time or amount limit. As a rule, commercial banks no longer exchange marks. Some public telephones operated by “Deutsche Telekom” still (2013) accept Deutsche Mark and coins from 10 Pfennig at the rate of 2:1.

Do not expect anyone to accept foreign currency or be willing to exchange it. Exceptions are airport shops and restaurants and, less frequently, fast-food restaurants at major railway stations. These usually accept at least US dollars at a slightly lower conversion rate. If you want to exchange money, you can do so at any bank where you can also cash your travellers’ cheques. Exchange offices, which were once a common currency, have virtually disappeared since the introduction of the euro. Again, airports and international train stations are exceptions. The Swiss franc can sometimes be accepted near the Swiss border.

While the German national debit cards – known as EC-Karte or girocard – (and to a lesser extent the PIN-encoded Maestro and VPay cards) enjoy almost universal acceptance, this is not the case for credit cards (VISA, MasterCard, American Express) or foreign debit cards (VISA Debit/Electron etc.), which, although not as widespread as in other European countries or the USA, are accepted in some large retail outlets and some fast-food restaurants.

Don’t be fooled by card terminals in shops or by other people paying by card – these machines are not necessarily programmed to accept foreign cards, so it’s best to ask around or look for acceptance stickers before you shop or fill up your car.

Hotels, large retailers, petrol station chains and national companies, large supermarkets and discounters (REAL, EDEKA, REWE, Aldi and Lidl) accept credit cards; some other discounters (Netto, Penny) or small independent shops and supermarkets tend not to do so (with some exceptions). No type of card (credit or debit) is accepted in bakeries. In some places there is a minimum purchase amount (usually 10 euros) for card payments. At most ATMs you can withdraw money with your foreign credit or debit card, but you need to know the PIN code of your card to do so.

Sometimes petrol stations or small shops do not accept 500 or 200 euro banknotes for fear of counterfeiting.

In Germany, tipping is common in restaurants, bars (not fast food restaurants), taxis and hair salons. They are not obligatory, but are always appreciated as a thank you for excellent service. It is customary to tip 5-10% or round up the bill. Note that unlike some other countries, service staff are always paid on an hourly basis (although not always as well). A tip is therefore mainly a matter of courtesy and appreciation. If you did not like the service (e.g. slow, abrupt or indifferent service), you cannot tip at all and it will be accepted by the staff.

In Germany, tipping is usually done by mentioning the total amount when paying. For example, if a waiter tells you that the bill is “€13.50”, simply state “15” and he will give you a tip of €1.50.

Tips in other situations (unless otherwise stated) :

• Taxi driver: 5-10% (at least €1)
• Household: 1 to 2 euros per day
• Luggage transport: 1 € per piece
• Public toilet attendants: 0.10-0.50
• Delivery services: 5-10% (at least €1)

As in most other Western European languages, the meaning of full stop and comma is exactly the opposite of the English habit; in German, a comma is used to indicate a decimal point. For example, €2.99 is equivalent to two euros and 99 cents. The “€” symbol is not always used and can be placed before or after the price; however, it is much more common to place the € after the amount (e.g. €5). A dot is used to “group” the numbers (one dot for three digits), so “1,000,000” would be a million. So “123,456,789.01” in German is the same number as “123,456,789.01” in English-speaking countries.

Taxes

Retail prices are reasonable and lower than in Northern European countries and all goods and services include VAT. Fuel, sparkling wine, spirits and tobacco are subject to an even higher tax. The first of these taxes, the “Branntweinsteuer”, was first levied in 1507, and a tax on sparkling wine was introduced by Kaiser Wilhelm II. Some German brands of high-quality products such as kitchen utensils, stationery and hiking equipment are significantly cheaper than abroad. By law, VAT is always included in the price of an item (except for goods exported for commercial purposes, which may be subject to customs duties). The reduced VAT rate of 7% applies to hotels (but not to food consumed locally), food (some items considered luxury goods, such as lobster, are exempt from this reduction), printed matter, public transport (for short distances only) and the price of admission to the opera or theatre.

Supermarkets

Many Germans prefer to look at price rather than quality when shopping for food (read: don’t like being “ripped off”). As a result, competition among discount grocery stores (which could be the cause of this very specific behaviour) is extremely strong (in fact, WalMart had to withdraw from the German market because it could not compete on price), resulting in very low grocery prices compared to other European countries (although this is not the case compared to North America – usually a German discounter has a similar quality as a North American discounter, but at average prices).

The chains “Aldi”, “Lidl”, “Penny” and “Netto” are a special kind of supermarket (don’t call it a “supermarket” – the Germans call it a “discounter”; a supermarket/supermarket has slightly higher prices, but also a much wider range of products, also of decent quality) : Their product range is limited to the necessities of daily life (such as vegetables, pasta, milk, eggs, ready meals, toiletries, etc.), sold in fairly simple packaging at fairly calculated prices. Even though the quality is generally surprisingly high, you should not expect sausages or local specialities when shopping. Many Germans buy their daily needs there and go to the “normal” supermarkets (such as the Rewe, Edeka, Real, Tengelmann/Kaisers, Globus or Famila chains) to treat themselves to something special. The staff in these shops are particularly helpful and friendly, and there are large cheese, meat and fish counters selling fresh produce. Don’t blame the counter staff for being a bit gruff; they are paid a bit more than usual but have a rather gloomy working atmosphere and a much heavier workload than their counterparts in “normal” supermarkets, so they certainly don’t like to be disturbed in their work.

Besides these big chains, Turkish supermarkets can be an interesting alternative in communities with a majority Turkish population, as they combine the characteristics of discounters (low price level but limited assortment) with those of “normal” supermarkets ((Turkish) specialities and usually friendly staff).

If you are looking for organic products, it is best to go to an “organic shop” or “organic supermarket”. (Bio- usually means organic.) There are also many farmers who sell their products directly (“Hofladen”), most are organised in a “Bioland” cooperative. They offer food at reasonable prices.

The same applies to clothes; although the competition in this market is not so great and the quality varies, you can buy cheap clothes of sufficient quality at C&A, but do not expect brand-name clothes. During the seasonal sales, you should also compare prices in traditional shops, as they may be even cheaper than those in the discounters. H&M sells cheap and fashionable clothes, but of notoriously poor quality.

Germany is also a good place to buy consumer electronics such as mobile phones, tablets and digital cameras. Every major city has at least one “Saturn” or “MediaMarkt” that offers a large selection of these devices, as well as music, films and video games on CD/DVD. Prices are generally lower than elsewhere in Europe. Note, however, that English-language films and TV programmes are dubbed into German throughout and that computer software and keyboards are only available in German.
Be prepared to bag your own groceries and goods and provide your own shopping bags for this purpose. Although most shops provide plastic and canvas bags at the checkout, you will be charged for these bags. Don’t forget to have a euro coin ready for prams and trolleys. You all need a euro coin to use the trolley, but you will get it back when you have finished shopping. In most supermarkets you may spot a canister with lots of cardboard boxes, usually after the vending machine. You are allowed to collect boxes from there! This is a service that markets offer that allows them to easily dispose of waste. Just say that you will get a box when the cashier starts scanning your goods, comes back and starts packing.

Factory sales

Factory sales as such are a fairly new phenomenon, but the similar concept of “factory sales”, where products (even those that are slightly damaged or mislabelled) are sold directly to the factory that manufactures them, often at greatly reduced prices. In recent years, American-style shops without factories have become popular. For example, there are Adidas and Puma shops (with headquarters – but no production – in Herzogenaurach) as well as other clothing and sports companies.

Local produce

You can find local (not necessarily organic) food in most places at the farmers’ market (“Wochenmarkt” or simply “market”), usually once or twice a week. Although your chances of finding English-speaking vendors there are somewhat lower, it is still quite pleasant to shop there, and most of the time you will find fresh, good quality produce at reasonable prices. Most winegrowers sell their products either directly or in winegrowers’ cooperatives. These wines are almost always better than those produced by German wine brands. The quality marks are “VdP” (“Verband deutscher Prädikatsweingüter”, symbolised by an eagle) and “Ecovin” (cooperative of ecological winegrowers). Wines made from the most typical German grape varieties are usually marked with the “Classic” sign.

Souvenirs

German honey is a good souvenir, but only “Real German Honey” is a reasonable guarantee of quality.
On the German coast, smoked eel is a widespread delicacy and a typical souvenir.

Cheese

You can discover an amazing variety of German cheeses in cheese shops or organic food shops.

Recycling

In Germany there is a sophisticated and confusing deposit system for beverage packaging (“Pfand”). Returnable glass and plastic bottles usually cost between 8 and 25 deposit cents per bottle, depending on size and material. An additional deposit is required for special transport baskets that correspond to the size of the bottles. The deposit can be redeemed in any shop that sells bottles, often with a high-tech bottle reader that turns the bottle, reads the deposit and issues a redeemable ticket at the checkout. Plastic bottles and cans usually cost 25 deposit cents, otherwise they are marked as deposit-free. Liquors and plastic cans, which usually contain juice, are exempt from deposit. There are also some other cases where deposit is due, e.g. for standardised gas containers. The deposit label on glasses, bottles and tableware is also common in discotheques, self-service bars or at public events, but usually not in refectories.

Cigarettes

Cigarettes are available in most kiosks, supermarkets and newsagents. Cigarette vending machines are often scattered around cities (note that you need a European driving licence or a debit card with a microchip to “unlock” the machine). In 2013, a pack of 19 cigarettes costs about €5 and a pack of 24 cigarettes costs about €6. The legal smoking age in Germany is 18. Many Germans buy paper and tobacco separately because it is cheaper. Small cigars (“cigarillos”) are taxed less and cost about half the price of cigarettes.

Due to a federal reform, business hours are set by the federal states, so business hours vary from state to state. Some federal states, such as Berlin, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein, do not have strict opening hours from Monday to Saturday (though you will rarely find shops open 24 hours a day, except at petrol stations). On Sundays and public holidays (including some dark days), shops are usually closed all over Germany, including pharmacies. However, some pharmacies remain open in emergencies (each pharmacy is marked with a sign indicating which pharmacy is currently open for emergencies). Information can be found online. On special occasions, “Verkaufsoffen Sonntag”, shops are also allowed to open on Sunday; All major German cities use it today, except Munich.

As a general rule:

• Small supermarkets: 08:00-20:00 to the nearest hour
• Large supermarkets 08:00-22:00
• Rewe supermarkets in cities from 07:00 to 22:00 or midnight (except in Bavaria, where all shops must close at 20:00 by law).
• Shopping centres and department stores: 10:00-20:00
• Department stores in small towns: 10:00-19:00
• Small and medium-sized shops: 09:00 or 10:00-18:30 (sometimes until 20:00 in big cities).
• Spätis (night shops): 20:00-23:59 or even more, some are open 24 hours, especially in big cities.
• Petrol stations: in cities and along the motorway, mostly 24 hours a day
• Restaurants: 11:30-23:00 or midnight, sometimes longer, many are closed in the afternoon.

Small shops are often closed from 13:00 to 15:00. If needed, you can find some (sometimes more expensive) supermarkets with longer opening hours in many big cities (often near the main railway station). Bakeries usually offer service on Sunday mornings as well (opening hours vary). In addition, most petrol stations have a small shopping area.

In some parts of Germany (e.g. Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf and the Ruhr area) there are corner shops called “Späti” or “Spätkauf”, “Kiosk”, “Trinkhalle” or “Büdchen”, which offer newspapers, drinks and at least basic foodstuffs. Depending on the region, these shops are open late into the night or even 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Basic supplies can usually be purchased at petrol stations around the clock. Petrol station owners get around the operating hours restrictions by operating 7-Eleven mini-markets on their petrol station premises. Be aware that prices are generally quite high. Another exception is supermarkets located in tourist areas. Towns designated as health resorts are allowed to keep their shops open all week during the tourist season. Just ask a local shopkeeper who will tell you about these well-kept secret shops.

Stations are allowed to open their shops on Sundays and often do, but usually only for limited hours. In some larger cities such as Leipzig and Frankfurt, this may include an entire shopping centre that happens to be connected to the station.

In Bavaria, most shops (except those mentioned above) close at 8pm and cannot open before 6pm due to a state law that prohibits extended opening hours. Keep this in mind if you arrive in Bavaria late at night.

Germans have a reputation for being rigid and strict with the rules, but also for being hard working and efficient. If you are caught breaking the rules, someone will easily point it out to you. The main exception in Germany seems to be the speed limits.

More importantly, the German meaning of “politeness” is quite different from the Anglo-American concept of polite remarks, gossip and political correctness. Germans place a high value on honesty, openness, the ability to deal with criticism and generally not wasting others’ time. Unfortunately, this often applies to your interactions with them, not their interactions with you. Once you lose your mind, it is very difficult to control it again. As a result, there is usually no introductory verbiage in business meetings. Titles (such as Dr., Prof. etc.) are used more in the South than in the North. Some colleagues who have worked together for many years still address each other by their last name. When a German introduces himself to you, he often simply tells you his surname and asks you to address him as “Herr/Frau…”. The direct use of first names is most likely to be perceived as derogatory, depending on the situation. Of course, there are differences between young and old people. You should consider the use of the family name and the official you as a sign of friendly respect. If you are having a drink together, you can offer the informal you and address your colleague by his or her first name. However, this may be considered a faux pas if you are significantly younger or “lower-ranking”.

The German word Freund actually means close friend and someone you may have known for a few years may not call you friend but rather acquaintance.

There is also a strong willingness for mutual agreement and compromise. As for the famous efficiency: Germans are the best recreation-seekers in the world (with an average of 30 days paid holiday per year, not counting public holidays) and at the same time have one of the highest productivity rates in the world. A late train is seen as a sign of a decaying society.

Contrary to popular belief, Germans have a sense of humour, even if it is often expressed differently than in English-speaking countries. If you are around people, you know that sarcasm and irony are very common forms of humour. Puns are also popular, as in English-speaking countries.

Rule of thumb: Be on time!

In official contexts (when conducting business), punctuality is not considered politeness, but a prerequisite for future relationships. Most Germans arrive 5 to 10 minutes early and take it for granted. Arriving more than 2 minutes late to a meeting is considered rude and is only tolerated with strangers unless you can give a good reason in your defence (e.g. being stuck in an unforeseen traffic jam). It is considered a courtesy to call other participants if you seem to be late, even if there is still a chance that you will arrive on time. Regular lateness is considered disrespectful to other participants.

In personal relationships, the importance attached to punctuality may vary from person to person. It is always safer to be on time than to be late, but the issue can be negotiable: If in doubt, simply ask “Is punctuality important to you?”. Punctuality also depends on the environment; in a collegial environment, for example, it is taken much less seriously. For private invitations home, it may even be considered more polite to be 5 to 15 minutes late so as not to embarrass the host if everything has not been prepared.

Germany, especially urban Germany, is quite tolerant and your common sense should be enough to keep you out of trouble.

Drinking alcohol in public is not prohibited and is even common in the far west (Cologne and the Rhine-Ruhr area). In some major cities (e.g. Cologne) there are local laws that theoretically make drinking alcohol in public a criminal offence punishable by a fine of several dozen euros; these laws are rarely used against tourists except in cases where alcohol consumption leads to boisterous behaviour. These laws have also been successfully challenged in court in several places. Aggressive behaviour or disturbing the peace will result in a conversation with the German police and possibly a fine or expulsion, whether you are drunk or stone-cold sober.

Pay particular attention to respectful behaviour in places of worship and in places that uphold the dignity of the state, such as the many war and Holocaust memorials, parliaments and other historic sites. Some of these sites have house rules prohibiting disrespectful or disruptive behaviour. These rules can range from a reasonable ban on taking photographs during religious ceremonies to things that may seem strange to you, such as a ban on men keeping their hands in their pockets. You should look out for these signs and follow the rules they set out. Another very common sign is “Parents are liable for their children”. This is a reminder that Germans believe both that children should be children and that parents should look out for them so that no one gets hurt and nothing gets broken. If your child accidentally knocks something over or breaks something in a shop, you should usually expect them to pay the price.

Insulting other people is prohibited under German law and, if prosecuted, can lead to a prison sentence and a heavy fine. Charges are rarely brought, but use common sense in any case. Insulting a police officer, however, always results in criminal prosecution.

On German beaches, women can usually swim topless. Total nudity is tolerated on most beaches, although it is not common outside the many naturist areas (called “FKK” or “Freikörperkultur”). They are particularly common on the East German Baltic coast, due to the great popularity of naturism in the former GDR. Nudists can also be seen in public parks in Berlin and in the “English Garden” in Munich. In most saunas, nudity is compulsory and mixed sessions are common. One day of the week is usually reserved for women.

Basically, prosperity increases towards the south: Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria are the two richest federal states and compete with Switzerland and Austria for quality of life. The further north the traveller goes, the more liberal things are: Hamburg and Berlin have gay mayors, bars and clubs are open all night, and the density of young artists in Berlin-Friedrichshain easily surpasses that of London, Paris or Manhattan. Northern Germany is in the same cultural circle as the Netherlands and Scandinavia, even the food and architecture are more pragmatic, simple and unsophisticated than in the traditionally Catholic south. Contrary to the general trend, Hamburg is the richest city in Germany (and one of the ten richest regions in Europe), ahead of trendy Munich.

At the end of the 19th century, Germany was probably the most enlightened society in the world. As a mental exercise, try to think of five famous physicists, philosophers, composers or poets without mentioning a German name. This dignity and prestige suffered a severe setback during the period of National Socialist rule under Hitler. Since then, the Third Reich has been a permanent scar on German national identity, it is considered a stain on Germany’s national honour and will remain so for a very long time. Every German pupil is confronted with it about 5 times during his school years and has to visit a concentration camp at least once (most of these places have been turned into memorials). Not a day goes by without educational programmes on television and radio dealing with this period. Growing up in Germany, whether in the GDR or West Germany, meant and still means growing up with this bitter legacy, and every German developed his or her own way of dealing with public guilt. For the traveller, this can mean confusion. You may meet people (especially young people) who want to tell you about Germany’s turbulent history, and you may want to see for yourself that Germany has come a long way since then. Choose appropriate places to talk about the topic and be polite. If you are visiting friends in Berlin, you will have a hard time keeping them from constantly dragging you to one of the many memorials.

Humour, even if innocent, is a bad way to approach the subject and is offensive. Even worse: what may look funny abroad can result in a prison sentence (up to 3 years) and a heavy fine in Germany. All Nazi-era slogans, symbols and gestures are banned (except for educational purposes, and even these are heavily regulated), and displaying them in public is illegal. Foreigners are not exempt from these laws. Don’t even think of showing the (Roman) Nazi salute as a joke! An example: a German court recently had to decide whether it is legal to wear a crossed-out swastika (to show that you are against the ideas of National Socialism) because it always contains a forbidden symbol! (This ruling has since been overturned, but still shows how sensitive the issue is). Religious swastikas are exempt from this rule, but you should still avoid wearing these Hindu or Buddhist symbols so as not to cause unwanted offence.

Probably the best way to deal with it is to stay relaxed. If people around you like to talk about German history, take the opportunity to have an honest, even very personal conversation. If you want to avoid difficult moments, don’t bring up the subject.

Compared to the Nazi era, Germans have a more open attitude towards the post-war division of Germany into East and West. Communist symbols, GDR songs and other insignia related to East Germany circulate freely (though not very often in the West), and many people have a certain nostalgia for the country, hence the artistic and commercial movement “Ostalgie” (nostalgia for the East). Be careful when talking about the East German secret police (Stasi), as many people in the East were affected by the control of all areas of life by this organisation, which maintained an extensive network of informants throughout the country during the communist era. Although it is now 25 years since the division, there are still cultural remnants often referred to as the “wall in people’s minds” and the last two years seem to have reinforced stereotypes between East and West, if anything.

The culture of the German states was shaped by the great intellectual and popular currents in Europe, both religious and secular. Historically, Germany has been called “The Land of Poets and Thinkers” because its writers and philosophers played an important role in the development of Western thought.

Germany is known for its folk festival traditions such as the Oktoberfest and Christmas traditions that include Advent wreaths, Christmas shows, Christmas trees, stollen and other customs. As of 2016, UNESCO has inscribed 41 properties in Germany on the World Heritage List. 3 October has been a German bank holidays since 1990, celebrated as German Unity Day.

In the 21st century, Berlin has become an important international creative centre. According to the Anholt-GfK National Brand Index, Germany was the most respected nation in the world among 50 countries in 2014 (ahead of the US, UK and France). A global opinion poll commissioned by the BBC found that Germany was recognised as the world’s most positive influence in 2013 and 2014.

German classical music includes works by some of the world’s most famous composers. Dieterich Buxtehude composed organ oratorios that influenced the later work of Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel; these men were influential composers of the Baroque era. Leopold Mozart, from Augsburg, was the mentor of one of the most famous musicians of all time during his time as a violinist and professor at Salzburg Cathedral: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Ludwig van Beethoven was a crucial figure in the transition from the Classical to the Romantic period. Carl Maria von Weber and Felix Mendelssohn played an important role in the early Romantic period. Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms composed in the Romantic idiom. Richard Wagner was known for his operas. Richard Strauss was one of the leading composers of late Romanticism and early Modernism. Karlheinz Stockhausen and Hans Zimmer are important composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries.

Germany is the second largest music market in Europe and the fourth largest in the world. German popular music of the 20th and 21st centuries includes the New German Wave, Pop, Ostrock, Heavy Metal/Rock, Punk, Pop-Rock, Indie and Schlagerpop movements. German electronic music has gained worldwide influence, with Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dreampione being pioneers in this genre. DJs and artists from the German techno and house scene became famous (e.g. Paul van Dyk, Paul Kalkbrenner and Scooter).

German painters have influenced Western art. Albrecht Dürer, Hans Holbein the Younger, Matthias Grünewald and Lucas Cranach the Elder were important German artists of the Renaissance, Peter Paul Rubens and Johann Baptist Zimmermannof the Baroque, Caspar David Friedrich and Carl Spitzweg of Romanticism, Max Liebermann of Impressionism and Max Ernst of Surrealism. German sculptors such as Otto Schmidt-Hofer, Franz Iffland and Julius Schmidt-Felling made important contributions to German art history in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Several German artist groups that emerged in the 20th century, such as the November Group or Die Brücke and Der Blaue Reiter by the Russian Wassily Kandinsky, influenced the development of Expressionism in Munich and Berlin. The Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) emerged in the Weimar Republic as a counter-draft to this. The artistic currents of the post-war period in Germany can be divided into three main categories: Neo-Expressionism, Performance Art and Conceptualism. Among the best-known Neo-Expressionists are Georg Baselitz, Anselm Kiefer, Jörg Immendorff, A. R. Penck, Markus Lüpertz, Peter Robert Keil and Rainer Fetting. Other outstanding artists who work with traditional media or figurative images are Martin Kippenberger, Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke and Neo Rauch. Leading German conceptual artists include Bernd and Hilla Becher, Hanne Darboven, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Hans Haacke, Joseph Beuys, HA Schult, Aris Kalaizis, Neo Rauch (Neue Schule Leipzig) and Andreas Gursky (photography). The most important art exhibitions and festivals in Germany are documenta, the Berlin Biennale, transmediale and Art Cologne.

Germany’s architectural contributions include the Carolingian and Ottonian styles, precursors of the Romanesque style. Brick Gothic is a characteristic medieval style that developed in Germany. Regional and typically German elements also appeared in Renaissance and Baroque art (e.g. Weser Renaissance and Dresden Baroque). Among the many notable Baroque masters are Pöppelmann, Balthasar Neumann, Knobelsdorff and the Asam brothers. The Wessobrunn School had a decisive influence on stucco art in southern Germany in the 18th century, and in some cases even dominated it. The Upper Swabian Baroque Route is a Baroque-themed tourist route that highlights the work of artists and craftsmen such as the sculptor and plasterer Johann Michael Feuchtmayer, one of the most prominent members of the Feuchtmayer family, and the brothers Johann Baptist Zimmermann and Dominikus Zimmermann. Vernacular architecture in Germany is often characterised by the tradition of half-timbering and varies according to region and carpentry style.

As industrialisation spread throughout Europe, Classicism and a particular style of Historicism, sometimes called the Gründerzeit style, developed in Germany as a result of the economic boom years of the late 19th century. Regional historicist styles include the Hanoverian School, the Nuremberg Style and the Semper-Nicolai School in Dresden. Neuschwanstein Castle is one of the most famous buildings in Germany and represents the revival of Romanesque art. Notable sub-styles that have developed since the 18th century include the architecture of German spas and health resorts. German artists, writers and gallery owners such as Siegfried Bing, Georg Hirth and Bruno Möhring also contributed to the development of Art Nouveau, known as Jugendstil in German, at the beginning of the 20th century.

Expressionist architecture developed in Germany in the 1910s and influenced Art Deco and other modern styles, with for example Fritz Höger, Erich Mendelsohn, Dominikus Böhm and Fritz Schumacher as influential architects. Germany was particularly important in early modernism: it was the country of the Werkbund (New Objectivity) initiated by Hermann Muthesius and the Bauhaus movement founded by Walter Gropius. Therefore, Germany is often considered the cradle of modern architecture and design. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe became one of the most famous architects in the world in the second half of the 20th century. He designed the skyscraper with a glass façade. Renowned contemporary architects and offices include Hans Kollhoff, Sergei Tchoban, KK Architekten, Helmut Jahn, Behnisch, GMP, Ole Scheeren, J. Mayer H., OM Ungers, Gottfried Böhm and Frei Otto (the last two are winners of the Pritzker Prize).

German literature dates back to the Middle Ages and the works of writers such as Walther von der Vogelweide and Wolfram von Eschenbach. Among the best-known German authors are Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Schiller, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing and Theodor Fontane. The collections of folk tales published by the Brothers Grimm have made German folklore internationally popular. The Grimms also collected and codified regional variants of the German language, drawing on historical principles; their German Dictionary, sometimes called the Grimm Dictionary, was begun in 1838 and the first volumes appeared in 1854.

Among the influential authors of the 20th century are Gerhart Hauptmann, Thomas Mann, Hermann Hesse, Heinrich Böll and Günter Grass. The German book market is the third largest in the world after the USA and China. The Frankfurt Book Fair is the world’s most important fair for international business and trade with a tradition of over 500 years. The Leipzig Book Fair also retains an important place in Europe.

German cinema has made a great technical and artistic contribution to film. The first works by the Skladanowsky brothers were presented to the public in 1895. The famous Studio Babelsberg, located on the outskirts of Berlin in Potsdam, was founded in 1912 and was the first major film studio in the world. Today it is the largest studio in Europe. Other old and still active studios are UFA and Bavaria Film. Early German cinema was particularly influenced by German expressionists such as Robert Wiene and Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau. The film Metropolis (1927) by director Fritz Lang is considered the first major science fiction film. In 1930, Josef von Sternberg directed the first major German sound film, The Blue Angel, starring Marlene Dietrich. Leni Riefenstahl’s films set new artistic standards, including The Triumph of the Will.

After 1945, many films of the immediate post-war period can be described as Trümmerfilm. These films include Die Mörder sind unter uns (1946) by Wolfgang Staudte and Irgendwo in Berlin (1946) by Werner Krien. The most notable East German films, most of which were produced by DEFA, include Kurt Maetzig’s Marriage in the Shadows (1947), Der Untertan (1951), The Story of Little Muck (1953), Konrad Wolf’s The Divided Sky (1964) and Frank Beyer’s Jakob the Liar (1975). The film genre that shaped West Germany in the 1950s was undoubtedly the Heimatfilm, which depicted the beauty of the land and the moral integrity of the people who lived there. The films of the 1960s were dominated by genre films, including adaptations of Edgar Wallace and Karl May. Among the most successful German film series of the 1970s were the sex reports “Schulmädchen-Report“. In the 1970s and 1980s, directors of the New German Cinema such as Volker Schlöndorff, Werner Herzog, Wim Wenders and Rainer Werner Fassbinder brought West German auteur cinema to great recognition.

German films that are global successes have often benefited from lavish international production and marketing, such as those of Constantin Film. Box office successes include films such as Chariots of the Gods (1970), Das Boot (1981), The Never Ending Story (1984), Otto – Der Film (1985), Run Lola Run (1998), Der Schuh des Manitu (2001), the Resident Evil series (2002-2016), Good Bye, Lenin! (2003), Head On (2004), The White Ribbon (2009), Animals United (2010) and Cloud Atlas (2012). The Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film (“Oscar”) went to the German production The Tin Drum in 1979, Nowhere in Africa in 2002 and The Lives of Others in 2007. Several Germans have won “Oscars” for their performances in other films.

The annual European Film Awards ceremony takes place every two years in Berlin, the seat of the Academy of European Cinema. The Berlin International Film Festival, known as the “Berlinale”, which awards the “Golden Bear” and has been held annually since 1951, is one of the world’s leading film festivals. The “Lolas” are awarded every year in Berlin on the occasion of the German Film Awards ceremony, which has been held since 1951.

German cuisine varies from region to region and often neighbouring regions share certain culinary similarities (for example, the southern regions of Bavaria and Swabia share certain traditions with Switzerland and Austria). International variations such as pizza, sushi, Chinese cuisine, Greek cuisine, Indian cuisine and kebabs are also popular and available thanks to the diversity of ethnic communities.

Bread is an important part of German cuisine and German bakeries produce about 600 main types of bread and 1,200 types of pastries and rolls. German cheese accounts for about one third of all cheese produced in Europe. In 2012, more than 99% of the meat produced in Germany was either pork, chicken or beef. Germans produce their ubiquitous sausages in almost 1,500 varieties, including bratwurst, weisswurst and currywurst. In 2012, organic food accounted for 3.9 % of total food sales.

Although wine is becoming increasingly popular in many parts of Germany, especially in the German wine regions, the national alcoholic beverage is beer. German beer consumption per person was 110 litres (24 imp gal; 29 US gal) in 2013, which remains among the highest in the world. The German purity law for beer dates back to the 15th century.

The Michelin Guide 2015 awarded 11 restaurants in Germany three stars, the highest distinction, 38 others received two stars and 233 one star. German restaurants have become the second most decorated restaurants in the world after France.

Twenty-seven million Germans are members of a sports club, another twelve million do sport as individuals. Club football is the most popular sport. With more than 6.3 million official members, the German Football Association is the largest sports organisation of its kind in the world, and the Bundesliga, Germany’s highest division, has the second highest spectator average of all professional sports leagues in the world. The German men’s national football team won the FIFA World Cup in 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014, and the UEFA European Championship in 1972, 1980 and 1996. Germany hosted the FIFA World Cup in 1974 and 2006 and the UEFA European Championship in 1988.

Other sports popular with spectators are winter sports, boxing, basketball, handball, volleyball, ice hockey, tennis, horse riding and golf. Water sports such as sailing, rowing and swimming are also popular in Germany.

Germany is one of the leading motorsport countries in the world. Manufacturers such as BMW and Mercedes are among the leaders in motorsport. Porsche has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans 17 times, Audi 13 times (2015). Driver Michael Schumacher has set numerous records in motorsport during his career, winning more Formula 1 World Championships than anyone else, with seven titles. He is one of the highest-paid athletes in history. Sebastian Vettel is also one of the five most successful Formula 1 drivers of all time.

Historically, German athletes have always been good Olympians and rank third in the Olympic medal table (East and West Germany combined). Germany was the last country to host both the Summer and Winter Games in the same year. It hosted the 1936 Summer Games in Berlin and the Winter Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, as well as the 1972 Summer Games in Munich.

German designers were at the forefront of modern product design, with Bauhaus designers such as Mies van der Rohe and Dieter Rams von Braun playing a key role.

Germany is a leading country in the fashion industry. The German textile industry consists of around 1,300 companies that employed more than 130,000 people in 2010 and generated a turnover of 28 billion euros. Almost 44% of the products are exported. The Berlin Fashion Week and the fashion fair Bread & Butter take place twice a year.

Among the smaller cities, Munich, Hamburg and Düsseldorf are also important design, production and trading centres for the domestic fashion industry. Famous German fashion designers are Karl Lagerfeld, Jil Sander, Wolfgang Joop, Philipp Plein and Michael Michalsky. Important brands are Hugo Boss, Escada, Adidas, Puma and Triumph. The German supermodels Claudia Schiffer, Heidi Klum, Tatjana Patitz and Nadja Auermann have made an international name for themselves.

German philosophy is historically significant: Gottfried Leibniz’s contributions to rationalism; Immanuel Kant’s philosophy of the Enlightenment; the establishment of German classical idealism Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling; the elaboration of metaphysical pessimism by Arthur Schopenhauer; the formulation of communist theory by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels; the development of perspectivism by Friedrich Nietzsche; Gottlob Frege’s contributions at the beginning of analytical philosophy; Martin Heidegger’s work on Being; the development of the Frankfurt School by Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno, Herbert Marcuse and Jürgen Habermas were particularly influential.

According to the law, “Sundays and public holidays remain protected as days of rest from work and of spiritual upliftment” (Art. 139 WRV, part of the Basic Law via Art. 140 GG). Thus, all Sundays are holidays in a sense – but they are not generally understood under the term “holiday” (except usually Easter Sunday and Pentecost Sunday).

Public holidays, with the exception of Sundays (which must exist under constitutional law), can be established by law either by the Federation or by the Länder for their respective areas of jurisdiction. Under federal law, only the Day of German Unity is currently a public holiday (Unity Treaty, Article 2(2)); the others, including those celebrated nationwide, are public holidays under the law of the Länder.

A few days are designated as “silent days” by provincial legislation, which regularly means that public dancing, music in hostels (if live or not much quieter than usual), etc. are prohibited.

Some holidays are quiet days:

• Good Friday,
• Day of Prayer and Repentance (if it is a public holiday and in some other states)
• All Saints’ Day (where it is a public holiday)

a de facto holiday (not established by law, as it is always a Sunday, but with officially organised celebrations) is a day of rest:

• Memorial Day (33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time),

Another Sunday is a quiet day:

• Totensonntag (the German Protestant equivalent of All Souls’ Day), the last Sunday of the church year,

and some days can be quiet days without being holidays:

• Christmas Eve (starts in the afternoon, in some states)
• Ash Wednesday (in Bavaria)
• Maundy Thursday (in some states; in others from the evening)
• Holy Saturday (in some states)
• The Day of Souls (in Lower Saxony and Saarland).

In a few cases – apart from All Saints’ Day, which, however, has long been associated with commemoration of the dead in the popular understanding – the status of silent days is also given to festivals with a joyful character: In Hesse, the highest Christian festivals are Half Days of Silence (until 12 noon) and in Rhineland-Palatinate, Easter Sunday and Christmas Day are Two-Thirds Days of Silence (until 4 pm). For more details, see the German article on the ban on dancing.

A third category, which in a sense can be called “holidays”, are “flagging days”. Only the highest institutions and the military use the national flags every day, so the guidelines for displaying the flags mark the days in question as special.

Flagging is regulated by the federal decree on

• Holocaust Memorial Day (27 January at half-mast)
• Labour Day
• Europe Day (9 May)
• Constitution Day (23 May)
• Remembrance of 17 June. Titled “German Unity Day”, this day used to be a public holiday until unity was actually formed.
• World Refugee Day
• Remembrance of 20 July
• German Unity Day
• Remembrance Day (at half-mast)
• Election day (Bundestag, European Parliament)

and by ordinances of the Länder on other days, such as the days of the election of the Länder parliaments, the days of the Länder constitution, the anniversary of the election of the Federal President (in Berlin), etc.

In times of national mourning, flags are often hoisted ad hoc to half-mast.

Rosenmontag or Faschingsdienstag is a de facto public holiday in some cities in western and southern Catholic Germany that have a strong carnival tradition.

Moreover, Christmas Eve becomes a kind of half-holiday: from the afternoon onwards, it is practically considered a public holiday, and while shops are still open in the morning, working in businesses (apart from those that also work on public holidays) becomes increasingly unusual; schools are closed anyway.

Ascension Day and Corpus Christi are always on Thursday. If you only take one day off, staff can have a four-day weekend.

The Day of the Magi, better known as Epiphany, is 6 January, the day after the 12 days of Christmas. In some parts of Germany it has its own local customs.

Germany is a very safe country. The crime rate is low and the rule of law is strictly enforced.

Violent crimes (murder, robbery, rape, assault) are very rare compared to most countries. For example, the murder rate in 2010 was 0.86 cases per 100,000 population, much lower than in the UK (1.17), Australia (1.20), France (1.31), Canada (1.81) and the USA (5.0), and still falling. Pickpocketing can sometimes be a problem in big cities or at crowded events. Begging is not uncommon in some big cities, but no more so than in most other big cities, and you will rarely encounter aggressive beggars.

If you are in certain parts of Berlin or Hamburg (Schanzenviertel) around 1 May (Labour Day), you can expect demonstrations that often degenerate into clashes between the police and a minority of demonstrators.

If you take the usual precautions, you will most likely not experience any crime during your stay in Germany.

Emergencies

The national emergency number for police, fire and rescue services is 112 (as in all EU countries) or 110 for police only. These numbers can be dialled free of charge from any phone, including payphones and mobile phones (SIM card required). When you report an emergency, the usual guidelines apply: Remain calm and give your exact location, the nature of the emergency and the number of people involved. Do not hang up until the operator has received all the necessary information and end the call.

Orange emergency telephones are scattered along the main roads. You can find the nearest SOS phone by following the arrows on the reflective posts at the side of the road.

Ambulances can be reached via the nationwide free emergency number 112 and will help you regardless of insurance issues. All hospitals, with the exception of smaller private clinics, have emergency rooms that are open 24 hours a day and can treat all kinds of medical problems.

Racism

The vast majority of foreign visitors will never face issues of overt racial discrimination or racism in Germany. Germany’s big cities are very cosmopolitan and multi-ethnic, with large communities of people from all continents and religions. Germans are also very aware of and ashamed of the historical burden of the Nazi era and are generally open and tolerant in their dealings with foreigners. Non-white visitors may sometimes be viewed with suspicion, but no more than in other countries where the population is predominantly white.

This general situation may be different in certain, predominantly rural areas of East Germany (including the outskirts of some cities with higher unemployment and high-growth areas such as “Plattenbau”). A few incidents of violence may be the cause of racist behaviour. Most of them occur at night, when groups of drunken “neo-Nazis” or certain groups of migrants are looking for trouble (and lonely victims) in the city centre or near public transport. It can also affect foreign visitors, homeless people, West Germans and people with a different appearance such as punks, goths, etc.

Public manifestations of blatant anti-Semitism are strictly prohibited by laws that are very well enforced. The Hitler salute and the swastika are prohibited, as is public denial of the Holocaust. Violations of these anti-racism laws are not taken lightly by the authorities, even if they are made jokingly. You should also avoid wearing a swastika, even for religious reasons.

Police

German police officers are always helpful, professional and trustworthy, but tend to enforce the law quite strictly, so exceptions for tourists are not to be expected. When dealing with the police, you should remain calm and polite and avoid confrontation. Most police officers should understand at least basic English or have colleagues who do.

Uniforms and police cars are green or blue. Green used to be the standard, but most state and federal police have switched to blue uniforms and cars to meet the European standard.

Police officers are employed by the Länder, except at airports, railway stations, border crossings, etc., which are controlled by the federal police. In medium-sized and large cities, the local police (called city police, municipal police authority or public order office) has certain limited enforcement rights and is usually responsible for traffic matters.

If you are arrested, you have the right to a lawyer. Foreign nationals also have the right to contact their respective embassies for assistance. You are never obliged to make a statement that would incriminate you (or a person related to you by blood or marriage) and you have the right to remain silent. Wait until your lawyer arrives and speak to your lawyer first. If you do not have a lawyer, you can call your embassy or the local judicial officer will appoint a lawyer for you.

If you are the victim of a crime (e.g. theft, assault or robbery in public) and greet a patrol car or an arriving police officer, it is not uncommon for the police to ask you (sometimes very sternly: “get in”) to get into the back of the police car. This action initiates an immediate manhunt to identify and arrest the suspect. In this case, remember that you are not under arrest, but you must help the police enforce the law and perhaps recover your property.

German police have ranks, but they are not very enthusiastic; many Germans do not know the correct terms. Do not try to determine seniority by counting the stars on the officers’ shoulders to choose which officer you will address, as such behaviour can be seen as disrespectful. Approach any officer and they will answer your questions or refer you to the appropriate officer.

Prostitution

Prostitution is legal in Germany, but regulated.

Every major city has a red light district with licensed bars, go-go’s and escort services. Tabloids are full of ads and the internet is the main contact base. Brothels are not necessarily easy to spot on the street (outside the red light district) to avoid legal action from neighbours. The best known places for red light activities are Hamburg, Berlin, Frankfurt and Cologne.

Due to Germany’s proximity to Eastern Europe, there have been several cases of human trafficking and illegal immigration. The police regularly raided brothels to keep this activity within legal limits and checked the identity papers of workers and clients.

Drugs

Alcohol can be purchased by persons aged 16 and over. However, distilled drinks and drinks mixed with them (including the popular “alcopops”) are only available to people aged 18 and over. It is not technically illegal for young people to drink, but it is illegal to allow them to drink on the premises. Young people aged 14 and over are allowed to drink fermented beverages in the presence and with the permission of a parent or guardian. If the police find that the person is underage, they can arrest the person, confiscate the drinks and send the person home in the presence of an officer.

Smoking in public is allowed from the age of 18. Cigarette vending machines require valid “proof of age”, which in practice means that you must have a German bank card or a (European) driving licence to use them.

The situation with marijuana can be confusing. The Constitutional Court has ruled that possession for “personal use” is still illegal, but may not be prosecuted. Germany is a federal state; the interpretation of this ruling is therefore up to the state authorities. In fact, criminal proceedings are sometimes initiated for even small amounts, which will cause you a lot of trouble regardless of the outcome. As a rule, the northern federal states are rather liberal, while in the south (especially in Bavaria) even small amounts are considered illegal. Customs officials also know that you can legally buy marijuana in the Netherlands and have therefore introduced regular border controls (also on trains), as the import of marijuana is strictly prohibited.

Even if you withdraw the charge, the authorities can cause various problems, such as revoking your driving licence, and if you have more than a few grams, you will be prosecuted anyway. The drugs will be confiscated in any case.

All other recreational drugs (such as ecstasy) are illegal and possession will result in prosecution and at least one criminal conviction.

Crimes have been committed with date rape drugs, so be careful with open drinks, as everywhere else in the world.

Weapons

Certain types of knives are prohibited in Germany: These are mainly certain types of switchblade knives, “butterfly” knives, knives with handles and others – possession of such knives is a criminal offence. Possession of such knives is a criminal offence. Knives intended for use as weapons are only permitted for persons over 18 years of age.

It is illegal to carry any kind of “dangerous knife” in public unless you have a valid reason to do so. For example, if you are fishing, you may always carry a fishing knife. Dangerous” knives are usually knives with a blade length of more than 12 cm and lockable “one-hand” folding knives.

Carrying a knife beyond the pocket knife (typically Swiss army knife) without a professional reason (carpenter, etc.) is considered very rude and unacceptable in Germany. Germans consider any unprofessionally used knife as a sign of aggression and do not accept this behaviour. Showing a knife (even if it is folded) may cause passers-by to call the police, who will take the future situation very seriously.

Firearms are strictly controlled. It is virtually impossible to legally carry a firearm in public unless you are a law enforcement officer. Fake” firearms may not be carried in public if they look like real weapons. CO2 and air pistols are relatively easy to acquire. If the police find a pistol or firearm of any kind on you, you look very suspicious.

Fireworks

Avoid bringing fireworks into Germany, especially if they come from outside the EU. Bringing fireworks into Germany can be a criminal offence. Fireworks are traditionally used on New Year’s Eve. Most “suitable” fireworks (marked “Class II”) are only available at the end of the year; they may only be used by persons over 18 on 31 December and 1 January. Very small items (marked “Class I”) can be used by anyone throughout the year.

Fishing

Fishing laws vary greatly from one federal state to the next. Obtaining a fishing permit for Germans and foreigners has become very bureaucratic due to the Animal Protection Act.

Gay and lesbian travelers

Germany is generally very tolerant towards homosexuality. However, in some deprived areas “gay bashing” is very popular among neo-Nazis or other right-wing extremist groups. So use your common sense and pay attention to the behaviour of people around you. In small towns and rural areas, the open display of homosexuality should be restricted.

Attitudes towards gays and lesbians tend to be tolerant, with openly gay politicians and celebrities increasingly seen as normal. Although some people, especially older ones, still do not approve of homosexuality or bisexuality, they usually repress openly homophobic statements. For this reason, showing one’s homosexuality (by holding hands or kissing) will in most cases at best provoke looks or sometimes comments from children or older people.

The sanitary and medical facilities in Germany are excellent. In the telephone book you will find the telephone numbers of various medical services. There are many help lines and services that are open outside office hours. See the “Medical Emergencies” section above if you find yourself in an emergency situation.

Health care

If you have a non-urgent medical problem, you can choose any local doctor. The German healthcare system allows specialists to run their own practices, so you can usually find everything from dentistry to neurology within easy reach. In remote areas, it may be necessary to travel to the nearest town to find a doctor, but the infrastructure in Germany allows for quick connections. General practitioners/family doctors usually refer to themselves as “Allgemeinmediziner”, which means “general practitioner”.

Pharmacies are called “Apotheke” and are marked with a big red “A”. At least one pharmacy in the area will always be open (usually a different pharmacy every day), and all pharmacies will display the name and address of the pharmacy on duty in the shop window. Some medicines, some of which are available without a prescription in other countries (e.g. antibiotics), must be prescribed in Germany, so it is advisable to find out before you travel. The staff of a pharmacy on duty are well trained and it is mandatory that at least one person with a university degree in pharmacy is available in every pharmacy on duty during opening hours. A German pharmacist can advise you on how to take medicines. The pharmacy is also the place to get common over-the-counter medicines such as aspirin, antacids and cough syrup. Do not be misled by the appearance of the word “medicine” in the name of a drugstore group, such as the large chain dm-drogerie markt: In Germany, “drugstores” sell everything but medicines.

In Germany, medicines are usually expensive, so it makes sense to ask your pharmacist about “generics”: a “generic” is practically the same active ingredient and the same dose, often even produced by the same pharmaceutical company, but has no well-known brand name and is much cheaper. Since the brand names of even the most common substances can vary greatly from country to country, you should try to find out the scientific name of the substance you need, as this is printed on the packaging and trained pharmaceutical professionals will know it.

Health insurance

EU citizens who are members of a statutory health insurance scheme can obtain a EuropeanHealth Insurance Card. This card is issued by your health insurance company and allows you to use the public health system in any EU country, including Germany.

If you come from outside the EU or have private health insurance, check whether your insurance is valid in Germany. If not, take out travel health insurance – German healthcare is expensive.

Foreign insurance, even if it covers travel abroad, may not be accepted by local hospitals.

In the event of an emergency, you will be treated first and will have to take out insurance or submit a bill later.

Drinking water

Tap water is of excellent quality and can be drunk without hesitation. Exceptions are reported (“Not drinking water”) and can be found in fountains and trains, for example. In restaurants and cafés you often have to ask explicitly for mineral water, as it is usually not considered as such.

Many Germans avoid drinking tap water and prefer bottled water (carbonated or not) because they believe it is not pure. The term “tap water” actually means “plumber’s water”, which is not very attractive either. In fact, tap water is sometimes even of better quality than bottled water and, unlike in the United States, does not taste the least bit like chlorine.

Many Germans prefer carbonated water. Soda water is sold in all shops that sell beverages and prices range from cheap 19 cent bottles (1.5 L) of “no-name” brands to several euros for luxurious “premium” brands.

Swimming

Many lakes and rivers, as well as the North Sea and Baltic Sea, are generally safe for swimming. Although there are no potentially lethal pollutants in most waters, you would still do well to check the local regulations. If you plan to swim in a large river, do so at best only at official bathing sites. Stay away from structures (power plants can cause currents that you cannot see from the surface) in the river or when crossing from the shore to the river, and also stay away from boats. Structures and boats, even if they seem harmless or remote, can create a lot of underwater suction. Pay special attention to children.

If you plan to swim in the North Sea, you need to be aware of tides and weather conditions – getting caught in a tide can be deadly, so can getting lost in the fog. Walking in the Wadden Sea without a local guide is extremely dangerous, so don’t go unless you really know your way around. There are practically no tides in the Baltic Sea.

Diseases

You should know that rabies (rabies) has been a problem in some areas in the past, although the authorities take it very seriously. When hiking or camping, watch out for wildlife such as foxes and bats.

The biggest risks for hikers and campers are two diseases transmitted by ticks. In some parts of Germany there is a (low) risk of contracting tick-borne encephalitis; vaccination is advisable if you plan outdoor activities in risk areas. The risk of contracting Lyme disease is higher and vaccination is not available. Therefore, try to avoid tick bites by wearing long trousers and appropriate footwear. Chemical repellents can also be effective. You should also check for ticks afterwards, as the risk of transmission is lower if the tick is removed early. The safest way to remove a tick is to use a credit card-sized device called a “tick card”, which you can buy at most pharmacies. Other methods (fingers, using glue, etc.) may cause the tick to inject more infectious material into the wound. If in doubt, consult a doctor.

Natural dangers

Today’s wild animals are abundant but mostly very shy, so you may not see many of them. When a few wolves were spotted in Saxony and Pomerania and a bear in Bavaria, their immigration from Eastern Europe caused quite a stir. In the course of events, “Bruno” (the bear) was shot and although the wolves were under strong protection, local hunters were suspected of killing them illegally. By far the most dangerous animal in German forests is the wild boar; especially the sows leading the young are not to be trifled with. Wild boars are used to people, as they often raid rubbish bins in villages and suburbs, and their teeth can tear big wounds. If you see one, run. The poisonous adder can also pose a threat (in the Alpine region and in nature reserves), but it is rare – do not provoke it.