LANGUAGE: German
CURRENCY: Euro ( € )
DOCUMENTS: Valid passport, or European identity card or driving license
CLIMATE: Continental with hot summers and cold winters in the south; Oceanic with frequent rainfall, cool summers, harsh winters, and cold damp winds in the north. Temperatures often drop below freezing in winter.
GERMANY: A country with a turbulent history but also one of the strongest economies in the world, as well as the most populous country in the European Union with its 83 million inhabitants, about 8% of whom are foreign residents in Germany. Roughly half of these come from Turkey, but Asian, Russian, Polish, and former Yugoslavian communities also number between 1 and over 2 million each.
Germany has many large cities, some more famous than others. Besides the capital Berlin, which needs no introduction, there is Frankfurt, the country’s financial center and home to the European Central Bank, the German Federal Bank, and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The city also has two airports and the busiest railway station in Europe. Cologne is another major economic center hosting many large cultural and television companies, as well as insurance groups such as Zurich, AXA, and Generali. It is also home to Ford Europe and Lufthansa. Cologne-Bonn Airport serves as the European hub for UPS and is the country’s most important airport for low-cost flights. The city also hosts the Intermot biennial, Europe’s largest and most important motorcycle trade fair.
More folkloric but no less important is Munich in the south of the country, famous worldwide for Oktoberfest and the nearby stunning Bavarian landscapes nestled in nature at the foothills of the Alps. Beyond beer, landscapes, and food, Munich is a city full of museums and hosts the largest urban green park in Europe (larger than New York’s Central Park, to give an idea of its size). It is home to numerous companies across various industries, including BMW, Siemens, MAN, Allianz, OSRAM, and others. Not surprisingly, it is Germany’s second financial center and has the country’s second most important airport.
Among Germany’s many important cities is the city-state of Hamburg, whose main port is one of the top ten in the world for cargo transport. Hamburg is also famous for metal production and the civil aerospace industry, with Airbus manufacturing plants and other companies in the sector. The city boasts an important metro transport network, an airport, and one of Europe’s largest railway hubs. Another positive note is that Hamburg has the highest per capita income in Germany, nearly twice the average of other European countries.
Another important economic and cultural hub is Düsseldorf, which, despite having a population of only about 600,000, has one of the largest airports in the country, a commercial port on the Rhine River, and numerous train stations including the central station, from which many urban public transport lines depart. This station is the busiest in North Rhine-Westphalia. The city itself is nothing special, except for the Königsallee—the famous street hosting shops of practically all the major luxury clothing and jewelry brands—and for having the largest Japanese community in Europe. In honor of this, the city celebrates Japan Day every year, a festival attracting one million tourists between May 4th and 5th.
But Germany is not only about large and wealthy cities; it is also a land of lakes, the Alps, and nature tourism, especially in the south and southeast of the country, where the climate is somewhat milder than in the north, particularly in summer.
FOR MEN: Frankfurt, Colonia, Düsseldorf, Berlin, Stuttgard, Amburg, Augsburg, other locations scattered across the territory that do not warrant dedicated visits (see blog for further details).
NOTE: The main cities in Germany are easily accessible from Italy via low-cost flights and highly efficient internal train connections between locations. Germany is one of the safest countries to visit, offering endless entertainment options, including entire districts dedicated to adult entertainment and hundreds of FKK clubs, sauna clubs, and similar venues of all kinds and sizes spread throughout the country as well as in major cities. Prices are generally lower than those in Austria or Switzerland, for example. The relatively higher travel costs are balanced by lower expenses on “indulgences” once on site. Germany has a lot to offer and is quite convenient for short trips of a couple of days, especially during major recurring events, festivals, or fairs, which can be combined with a well-rounded leisure trip.
