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 Full
country name: |
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Federal Republic of Germany
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Area: |
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357,000 sq km
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Population: |
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81 million
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Capital
city: |
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Berlin (pop 3.5 million)
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People: |
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Predominantly white European, with significant Turkish minority.
Germany has absorbed the majority of refugees from the former Yugoslavia.
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Language: |
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German
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Electricity: |
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220B, 50 Hz
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Religion: |
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90% Christian. There are a couple of million Muslims and about
30,000 Jews (the pre-Holocaust figure was over half a million).
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Government: |
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Federal Republic
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Chancellor: |
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Gerhard Schröder
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Labor
Force: |
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Total 38,700,000.
(Composed of: industry 41%, agriculture 3%, services 56%)
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Traveller's
Cheques & Credit Cards: |
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Most brands of traveler's checks and foreign currency can be easily
and efficiently exchanged at banks, foreign exchange bureaus located
in the major cities, hotels, and foreign exchange kiosks at the
airports. Banks offer the most variable exchange rates. Traveler's
checks receive a better exchange rate than cash, or you can purchase
German traveler's checks before departure. Credit cards widely accepted
in Germany include American Express, Visa, MasterCard, and Diners
Club. Travelers can get cash advances from credit cards on many
of the automated teller machines (ATM). The best exchange rates
are given for credit card and ATM transactions.
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Climate:
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| Germany
is not prey to dramatic climatic extremes, although there are
regional differences. The most reliably good weather is from
May to October, with high summer a good bet for shorts and t-shirt,
even in the north. Autumn is a good time to visit Germany. As
the tourist scrum disperses and the forests turn golden, it's
not too stifling to be active but still thirsty enough to end
the day with a few well-deserved steins. Winter is wet, especially
in the south, with snow not usually settling for long except
in the high country. |
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Environment: |
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| The flatlands in the north of Germany
stretch from the Netherlands to Poland, skimming southern Denmark
where she bridges the North and Baltic seas. The industrialised central
belt cinches Belgium and Luxembourg to the Czech Republic's western
prong. The Rhine and Main rivers, long crucial for inland shipping,
power through the troughs and gorges which cut through the Central
Uplands. To the south, the Danube River drains the Bavarian highlands
from the Black Forest, near the French and Swiss borders, to Munich.
The southern reaches of the Bavarian Alps give way to Austria.
A land as heavily populated and industrialised as Germany is not an obvious
paradise for the naturalist. Over a third of the land is intensely
cultivated and you'll never travel far without hitting a town. There
isn't much in the way of wildlife (don't tell the birdwatchers)
and most of the forests are like everything else in Germany: organised!
That said, the Bavarian Forest in the south-east is the largest
mountain forest in Europe and the Black Forest is big enough to
be a bit wild. Forest fauna includes wild pig, fox and deer, but
you're never likely to be caught in a stampede.
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