Germany
Important Facts
Germany has an area of 357042km². It borders in the north to Denmark, in the east to the Czech Republic and Poland, in the south to Austria and the Switzerland, in the west to the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France. Germany has got 81,82 Million inhabitants. The capital Berlin has got nearly 3,5 Million inhabitants. In Germany we pay with Euro, but the old currency was DM (Deutsche Mark).
Famous Buildings
The most famous building is the "Brandenburger Tor". The 26m high and 65 m wide building is in the city of Berlin. Carl Gotthard built it from 1788 until 1791. 1961 it was closed, because the border which divided east- and west Berlin went through the Gate. 1989, when the wall fell, the "Brandenburger Tor" was opened for everyone. Many events (like the Love Parade) are celebrated on the Paris-place under the Gate. In Cologne there's an important building too. It's the Cologne Cathedral. The 15m high building stands in the centre of Cologne. You can visit the service each day. In the "Teutoburger Wald" (a forest in the middle of Germany) there's a famous monument in honour of Hermann the Cherusker. It stands nearby Detmold.
Famous people from Germany
There are many famous people in Germany, who are also well known in (nearly) the whole world. In the category Sport, the German Football team, who are Vize-world champions, is very famous. The most famous ones are Michael Ballack and Oliver Kahn (the Goalkeeper). The well-known actor is Franka Potente. She became famous in the year 1999 with the film "Lola rennt" (run Lola run). In the year 2001 she played in the Hollywood film "Blow". In Germany the most Famous Popstar is Sarah Connor, she has already two albums that are well known in Europe and U.S.A. But Germany hasn't got only talents in sport, music. it has got good car inventers too. The two very famous cars "Mercedes" and "Porsche" are invented in Germany.
Traditions
An important tradition in Germany is the "Carnival". It comes from the time, when French soldiers occupied Germany. The Germans disguised in stupid uniforms to make fun of the French soldiers. Now they do it just to have fun. They are dressed up in every imaginable disguise and they drink much alcohol. It is very popular in the cities Cologne and Mainz.
The Food
The Food is different in the whole country. Each part of Germany has his own traditional dish. In the north, at the seaside, you can get very good fish and vegetables. One of these sorts of dish is called "Labskaus". In the east there's a traditional dessert called "Berlin" (because it comes from Berlin). It's a doughnut, which is filled with jam. In the south, the food is heavier. There, most people eat "Bratwurst". It's a fried sausage; normally we eat it together with pickled cabbage. Each pat of Bavaria has got its own "Bratwurst creation. In the south west there's a very special food. It's called "Saumagen". Translated its called Saw-stomach (I know, it doesn't sound very good). But it's not the stomach that you eat; you hollow out the stomach first. Then you fill it with pig meat and potatoes after that you fry it. There are many people who love this dish.
The weather
There's nearly never the same weather in Germany. In the north it's very windy and the summers are not so hot. In the winter snow is rare.In the east and south it's the opposite. The summer is very hot (34°C) and the winter is very cold and snowy (-15°C). The weather in the west of Germany is like in Brussels: it's very rainy.
