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Experiencing Germany

Background: German Cities and Regions

Darmstadt, Mathildenhöhe, Copyright: Office of Economics and Urban Development

German Cities and Regions: an Excursion

Germany – a country in the heart of Europe, reinvented in 1945 and redefined in 1990 through the reunification of the two German states, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic.More ...
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Portraits of German Cities

Where may you discover an ocean-liner in a pedestrian area and where can you find a sentimental tower? Explore curiosities and characteristics of German cities.

Deutsche Städte im Portrait

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    Architectural Walk

    Paulinum und neues Augusteum | Copyright: Anne König

    Spectacular in new ways all the time – Architectural Walk through Leipzig

    Boomtown, Shrinking City, Building Site? An architectural tour with ten stops through a city searching for its new equilibrium.More ...
    Changing Times, Foto: Meena Kadri (CC BY 2.0)

    Oh What a Perfect Day! – An Architectural Stroll around Berlin

    Berlin has always experienced a continuous process of change and upheaval, not merely since the fall of the Wall. The city’s entire structure is riddled with radical breaks with whatever had gone before.More ...
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    Living Together

    What is so German about the angst? Photo: Jacob Hamblin © iStockphoto

    A Typically German Feeling? – The Myth of “German Angst”

    People like to accuse the Germans of panicmongering and being overly apprehensive. Theories about the source of such tendencies towards “German angst” should be taken with a pinch of salt.More ...
    Absurd bureaucratic situations are referred to as being Kafkaesque. Photo: Pesky Monkey © iStockphoto

    Bureaucracy – the misunderstood entity

    Rampant bureaucracy is also to be found not only in the offices of public administration, but also in large companies and organisations. Many Germans believe that this is a German phenomenon. But is that really the case?More ...
    Coexisting instead of living side by side. Copyright: wagnis EG

    New Urban Villages – Alternative Residential Projects in Germany

    Loneliness and anonymity are not inevitable, even in big cities. More and more people would like to live as part of a community, for example moving into multi-generation houses or alternative residential projects. In Munich, for example, “wagnis“ (i.e. venture) is a young cooperative building association specialising in neighbourly living. People know one another, help each other out with the housework or with child care, and meet at yoga in the recreation room or for a chat at the neighbourhood café.More ...
    Copyright: www.colourbox.com

    More and More “Diaper Volunteers” – Family Allowance brings Dads back Home

    Mum at work, Dad at the diaper-changing table. In Germany, just about one in seven new fathers takes advantage of the paid parental work leave introduced in 2007. And there are more and more of them.More ...
    Copyright: Migrantas

    A Visual Language of Migration

    The Migrantas collective uncovers how migrant women experience everyday life in Germany - using pictograms based on the women’s drawings.More ...
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    Panorama

    Literature hotels: not just pretty buildings in pretty landscapes. Photo: © Gutshotel Groß Breesen

    For Travelling Readers: Literature Hotels

    Anyone wanting to travel to track down writers and books will find a small but fine selection of literature hotels in Germany. They are more than just pretty buildings in pretty landscapes.More ...
    Many dog owners are in the meantime avowed lovers of the dachshund Photo: Alta Oosthuizen © iStockphoto

    A dog’s life – the ups and downs

    The dachshund is a bit of a phenomenon. Over the last few decades, virtually no other breed of dog in Germany has been the target of such simultaneous doting or irreverence. But people seem to have rediscovered the dachshund as a loyal companion.More ...
    The traffic light man is still a fixed part of East German traffic culture. Photo: Pavel Pospisil © iStockphoto

    Green Light – The Red and Green Man at 50

    The red and green man of the pelican crossing has now grown up and he celebrates his 50th birthday in 2011. He has been around for generations in Germany and all around the world.More ...
    Football fans; © colourbox

    What Remains of the “Summer’s Tale”? Norbert Schütte on the Outcome of the 2006 World Cup

    Parties. public viewing, German flags: The 2006 World Cup presented Germany in a completely different light. But did the championship really change the country?More ...
    Western Pomerania is Germany's best tourism area for water-oriented travel. Photo: © Abenteuer Flusslandschaft

    Western Pomerania’s River Territories – A Canoe Trip through the Amazon of the North

    Four beautiful rivers invite visitors to northern Germany for adventures on the wild and romantic waterways of Western Pomerania: the Peene, Trebel, Tollense and the Recknitz.More ...
    There are 23 carnival clubs in Berlin. Photo: Nadine Lind © iStockphoto

    Berlin Hei-Jo – Carnival by the River Spree

    Carnival in Berlin? Many Rhinelanders would shake their heads in incredulity. But “Fastelawende” were celebrated in the capital as early as 1430, and in 1870, Rhinelanders who had moved to the city founded carnival clubs in Berlin.More ...
    East frisian tea set Photo: © Deutscher Teeverband e. V.

    East Frisians do not make jokes about drinking tea

    If you want to get on the wrong side of East Frisians for all time, all you have to do is to tell jokes about drinking tea. After all, nowhere else in Germany is tea-drinking culture cultivated as much as it is here.More ...
    Wolves have been more or less extinct in northern and central Germany since the end of the 19th century Photo: Mylifeiscamp © iStockphoto

    Wolves in Germany

    Fierce, evil and bloodthirsty. It is this negative image that led to merciless hunting until the last known wolf living in the wild was finally killed in 1904. Since 1990 they have been under official protection.More ...
    National park of global significance: the wadden sea Photo: Hans-Ulrich Rösner © WWF

    From Beach to Beach – The Wadden Sea World Heritage Site

    The Wadden Sea has been on UNESCO’s shortlist since June 2009. Hans-Ulrich Rösner, WWF’s Wadden Sea expert, reports on this World Natural Heritage Site, an ecosystem that is globally unique.More ...
    The new Federal Länder leave no holiday desire unfulfilled Copyright: Magdeburg Marketing Kongress und Tourismus GmbH

    Go East – Eastern Germany as a Tourist Destination is a Well-Kept Secret

    Munich, Heidelberg, Neuschwanstein – foreign tourists often walk along well-trodden paths. The east is still a well-kept secret. Berlin and Dresden are among Germany’s most-visited cities, but who knows Schwerin or Zittau?More ...
    A Pilot supplies Fresh supplies for the island cinemas in the North and Baltic Seas Copyright: LFH Luftverkehr Friesland Harle

    Island Cinemas: New film reels for the Wadden Sea

    Pilot Jan-Lüppen Brunzema supplies the latest Hollywood films to the German islands in the North Sea three times a week. And he has been doing so for near 30 years.More ...
    German cuisine includes substantial dishes across all the regions Copyright: iStockphoto - esemelwe

    The Taste of Germany: Relishing the Regions

    Germany is Bavarian, Franconian, Swabian, Hessian, Vogtlandic and Palatine. Germany comes to life in its regional diversity. And so does its food. Regions and cities melt in your mouth.More ...
    The Ruhr district today: clean air, and quality of life Copyright: RVR Swakowski

    Workmates, Coal, Culture – Structural Change in the Ruhr District

    The days when the Ruhr district was referred to as the nation’s black lung are long gone. The air is clean again, and quality of life has returned. The industrial region has become a landscape whose new trademarks are culture, education and service.More ...
    Manchester 07 (c) Maclese

    „Just Come along with Us... to the Next Film!“ – en Route with the Hamburg Artists’ Group, A Wall is a Screen

    When darkness falls on the streets, the hour strikes for Hamburg’s artists’ group, A Wall is a Screen. With minimal means, they project films onto house walls, advertising pillars and hoardings in urban areas. They and their city tours have now become an internationally sought-after attraction. In mid-November of 2008, A Wall is a Screen guested at the Hannover festival “Stadt macht Kunst” (i.e. the city creates art).More ...
    The former German-German border today Copyright: Klaus Leidorf

    From a Death Zone to a Green Belt – the inner German border presently

    Walls, security fences, and automatic shooting mechanisms defined the inner German border that had split the land into two for centuries. Nonetheless, it has been crystal clear since the reunification, that these borderlines are not only a blemish in German history – but also an extraordinary jewel of nature.More ...
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    Scenic Routes

    The Brocken Photo: © Harzer Tourismusverband e. V.

    The Harz Mountains: A Mountain Range With a Rich History

    It does not take long to find famous people who have visited the Harz mountains. After Goethe had visited, Heinrich Heine was also drawn to the mountains. Travelling in the region today involves making a journey through German-German history.More ...
    Neuschwanstein Castle; Copyright: Touristik-Arbeitsgemeinschaft Romantische Straße

    A Delight to the Eye and the Soul – The Romantic Road

    The oldest and best-known holiday route in Germany stretches from Würzburg via Rothenburg ob der Tauber to Füssen – past half-timbered villages, houses built by the Fuggers, pilgrimage churches and dream castles, all framed by ever-changing backdrops of vineyards, lowland forests and the Alps.More ...
    Copyright: Tourist, Kongress und Saalbau GmbH, Neustadt

    The German Wine Road

    On the German Wine Road, you can drive from place to place and taste the wines which have been cultivated here, in the Palatinate's mild climate, since the Middle Ages. At least, that might be the first idea that springs to mind when you hear the name. But that is just one way of experiencing the German Wine Road – although it is by no means the worst option!More ...
    Hornberg Castle; Copyright: Burgenstraße e.V.

    Along Germany's romantic Castle Road

    The fascination of days of old

    Germany's romantic Castle Road between Mannheim and Prague winds its way through the picturesque scenery of the Neckar valley, Bavaria's Franconian Switzerland and the Fichtelgebirge mountains – and the route is simply teeming with castles and palaces.More ...
    Logo; Copyright: Deutsche Märchenstraße e.V.

    The German Fairy Tale Road - Following in the Footsteps of Enchantment

    The Children's and Household Tales (Kinder- und Hausmärchen) by the Brothers Grimm have featured on every home's bookshelves for generations, but were only included in UNESCO's Memory of the World International Register in 2005. The German Fairy Tale Road brings them to life in truly diverse ways.More ...

    Online Quiz Germany

    There are three levels in this quiz game, and for each level you need to answer ten questions which are concerned with the common knowledge on Germany. Try it now and test your knowledge about Germany

    Meet the Germans

    What is typical about them? Read portraits and interviews of people worth knowing and Rory MacLean’s blog from Berlin.

    Twitter: @GI_Journal

    News from Germany’s culture and society


    Discover Germany

    Events in Germany

    Make friends,
    have fun with German

    Make friends, have fun with German - Copyright Goethe-Institut
    Podcasts with Mexicans in Germany and multi-cultural German classes in North America
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