German Culture

All about Germany

German Food

What comes to mind when you think about German cuisine? Right, Sauerkraut and Bratwurst, Black Forest Cherry cake and beer, lots and lots of German beer. However that would be a huge generalization and simplification, because nowadays things have changed towards lighter cooking, reviving of the regional cuisines in Germany. German appreciation of … [Read more...]

How to Taste German Beer

Practical advice on how to get to the bottom of a beer stein without losing a bit of the rich taste of German beer. Difficulty Level: Average Time Required: 20 min Here's How: Choose your favorite kind of beer, or the kind mostly advised by your friend. Open the bottle. While pouring the beer into the glass, listen to the mild sound of … [Read more...]

German Beer – the Absolutely German Drink

According to a representative survey, beer is a German's favorite drink. 79% of German adults drink beer regularly. 67% of German women and 91% of German men drink beer at least once a month. Germany has over 1,200 breweries, which produce the largest variety of beer styles in the world. The Germans are known to the whole world as a true … [Read more...]

The History of German Beer Steins

The origins of German beer steins date back to the 14th century. As a result of the bubonic plague and several invasions of flies throughout Europe shortly thereafter, Germany established several laws in the early 16th century requiring that all food and beverage containers (in our case it's beer steins) be covered to protect their contents. The … [Read more...]

German Beer Steins

The origins of beer steins date back to the 14th century. As a result of the bubonic plague and several invasions of flies throughout Europe, Germany established several laws in the early 16th century requiring that all food and beverage containers be covered to protect their contents. By combining a lid, hinge, and thumblift, these 'German' … [Read more...]

5 Myths About Germany: The Ultimate Truth

Myth 1: Germans don’t have any speed limits on the roads There are speed limits on most of the roads. It’s only the Autobahn (the equivalent to the U.S.), Interstate highway system, and the Motorways in the U.K. – that eschew speed limits, and only on the parts of those that are well away from busy areas. There are enforced with randomly placed … [Read more...]

Myths about Germans

Germans: Myths and reality Germans have an opinion, that life is divided in two parts – public (work, politics, business) and private (family, friends, hobbies, rest). These two spheres should be strictly differentiated. What are they? Main national features … [Read more...]

Wedding Traditions in Germany

In Germany parents start thinking about the daughter's wedding quite far in advance. When a baby girl is born, the parents, and later on the little girl herself, will save pennies used to buy the wedding shoes in future. According to German wedding traditions, when a baby girl is born in Germany, several trees are planted in honor of her … [Read more...]

Prussia 2001

On January 18, 1701 Friedrich III, Elector of Brandenburg (11.07.1657 - 25.02.1713), crowned himself as King in Prussia. Today, exactly 300 years after this outstanding event, the government heads of Berlin and Brandenburg, Mr. Diepgen and Mr. Stolpe, officially opened the celebrations on the occasion in the Berlin theater on Gendarmenmarkt. During … [Read more...]

Real Germans and Religion

By guest author WEISSDORN A Real German is either Catholic or Protestant, unless he/she is not. AMEN. How do you find this out? At the very latest, when you apply for your Tax Card. In Germany you get taxed for being a Christian, a Jew or a Moslem. But this doesn't bother Real Germans, because it's better to be a Christian than being an "Other". … [Read more...]