Travel to Germany

Index

(Federal Republic of Germany) Bundesrepublik Deutschland;

Capital: Berlin;

Other Large Cities : Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Leipzig;

Area: 357,020 sq.km.;

Population: 82 in.;

Language: German;

Literacy: 100%;

Religion: Christianity;

Currency: Euro ($1=1.08);

p.c.i: $ 23,510;

President:Johannes Rau;

Head of Government: Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

The Federal Republic of Germany in Central Europe (United Germany of East and West) covers an area of 357,020 sq kin made up of mountain areas, uplands and plains. To the north the country is bounded by the North Sea and the Baltic, to the south by the Alps, Lake Constance and the Rhine, which also forms the border in the south west. The main rivers are the Rhine, the Danube, the Albe, the Weser and the Moselle. The highest mountain is the Zugspitze (2,963 in.) in the Alps. The uplands rise to 1,500 m.

Germany since 1871 had been a nation united in one country of numerous states which had a common language and traditions. Since World War 11, until 1990, it had been split in two parts: Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and German Democratic Republic (East Germany). The merger of the two Germanys took place on Oct. 3, 1990 and the first all German elections since 1937 were held on Dec. 2, 1990.

Germany is a democratic, parliamentary state with a federal constitution. The Federal Republic is made up of 16 Lander (States).The Bundestag (Federal Diet) is the supreme legislative body. With the addition of 144 members of the East German Volkskammer, the total membership rose to 663 in 1990.

Germany has been Europe's most powerful economy but now it seems the post war German miracle is over. Unemployment has hit another post war record. The German currency has depreciated by 20% in a year. Exports are falling. Germany attracts little new capital. The economic growth is about one per cent. Germany's 7.3m. legal foreign residents account for about 9 per cent of the population.

Of the land 48%is used for agriculture and 29% is wooded. Chief crops: Grains, potatoes, sugar beets. Major mineral resources: Lignite, coal, iron and copper ores and potash. Industry: Steel, ships, vehicles, machinery, coal and chemicals.

Recent Events: Unemployment was 9.6 per cent, despite improving economic signs Germany's disputed immigration bill became law in June. In August, the Elbe river surged to a historic high and thousands of people were forced from their homes in Dresden. City officials fought to save precious paintings in Zwinger Palace museum. 42 people were affected by floods in Germany, in Europe's worst floods in over 100 years,

Germany is not easily summed up. Before 1871 there was no single, unified German state: the area was made up of several territories, loosely knit together in alliance. Their local languages and loyalties still have first claim on many Germans 'hearts.

After World War 11, the country was split between two opposed powers: the West, whose territory was known as the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Soviets, who created the German Democratic Republic (G.D.R.). In 1989, faced with popular protests and a retreating Soviet authority, the G.D.R.'s government opened the Berlin Wall, which had divided the city's eastern and western zones since 1961. A year later the country was reunited, and a new Germany was born. But within its unified political boundaries, this is still a nation of diversity, where the people and cultures vary as dramatically as the landscapes.

Traveling in Germany

Germany's 16 administrative states (Bundeslander) extend from the tail of Denmark south to the Swiss and Austrian Alps; the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France border on the west, Poland and the Czech Republic on the east. Each state has enough of interest for the visitor to occupy a whole vacation in its own right, and Germans are themselves often tourists in their own country, especially as westerners and easterners explore each other's previously unknown territories.

Traveling by automobile or by public transportation is not a problem, despite the country's size. The road network in western Germany is excellent, from the highways (Autobabnen) to minor roads. In the east, roads were in poorer condition for many years, but there have been recent improvements.

The biggest culture shock to drivers is likely to be the speed of traffic. There is no official upper limit on highways, and many drivers ignore the recommended 130 k.p.h., the equivalent of which is 80 m.p.h. Driving etiquette is taken seriously, though: you can be stopped and fined for swearing or making rude gestures.

Taking the train is a convenient way to cover large areas. The quickest and most comfortable trains are the InterCityExpress (ICE), InterCity (IC) and EuroCity (EQ trains linking major centers but the InterRegio (IR) trains connecting smaller towns are also fast.