Germany

Germany is a country located in Central Europe, which is officially named the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland). On October 3, 1990 Germany's East and West became one nation under unification, the capital city now being Berlin. Germany has the second largest population in Europe with eighty two million, next to that of the Soviet Union. Germany's land borders are with Denmark on the north, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemborg, and France on the west, Switzerland and Austria on the south, and Czechoslovakia and Poland on the east and southeast. The present leader of Germany is Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who was elected October 27, 1998 and is now serving his second term in office. Germany's currency is the "Euro," which is a common currency among twelve other European nations. Germany's flag consists of three equal horozontal strips of black, red, and gold. The flag symbolizes German unity. Germans believe the colors in the flag have a meaning, black represents "out of the darkness," red represents "through blood", and finally gold which represents "into sunshine." The flag was adopted in 1990 when East and West Germany unified.

Major German cities include: Berlin (3.4 million), Hamburg (1.7 million), MÐ"јnchen (Munich)(1.2 million), KÐ"¤ln(Cologne)(964,000), Frankfurt, Essen, DÐ"јsseldorf, Stuttgart, Dresden, Hanover, and Bonh. All these major cities have a wonderful cultural history; consisting of over two-hundred theatres and opera houses, one-hundred large orchestras, and more than two-thousand museums amongst them. Most of the cultural ongoings in Germany are financed by the state and local governments.

Music plays an important role in Germany's culture with such well-known artists as: Johann Sebastian Bach, Georger Frederick Handel, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig von Beethoven, Felix Mendelssohn, and Franz Schubert. Germans take great pride in the long list of great people who made music famous both in Germany and around the world. German people also enjoy sports and recreation; the most popular of which is soccer called Fussball. A favorite winter sport is skiing.

Germany consists of four major land regions: the Northern Plains, the Central Highlands, the Alpine Foothills, and the Rhine River Valley. Major rivers include the Danube, Elbe, Neisse, Oder, Peene, Recknit, Rhine, Saale, Warnow, Werra, and Wesser. The Bavarian Alps of Germany are part of the largest mountain system in Europe, while forests cover neatly 30% of Germany. The climate in Germany is mild, the average temperature in January, the coldest month in the year is about 30Ð'oF; the hottest month, July has an average of about 70Ð'oF.

Germans have a very definite eating pattern, consisting of a main meal generally served at noon (our dinner time), and a light supper is served in the evening (our lunchtime). German beer and wine are world famous for their high quality. Some popular German food items are sauerkraut, sauerbraten, bratwurst, frankfurters, limburger, and munster cheeses, apple strudel, and gummi bears (they were invented in Germany.)

Germany has a good manufacturing ability; they produce iron and steel, automobiles and trucks, locomotives and ships, cement, clothing, electronics, processed foods, beer, metal, leathergoods, scientific instruments, machinery, chemicals, fertilizers, drugs, plastic toys, wood pulp, and paper. Germany's principal products are agriculture, sheep, hogs, poultry, dairy products, potatoes, barley oats, rye, sugar beets, wheats, apples, and grapes for whine making. Germany mines