If I can do it, you all can, too. But on the whole, German order is rather pragmatic. If you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc. What makes Germans so orderly? Share using Email. By Joe Baur 1st June For centuries, Germany has been synonymous with order. Germany has come through the global financial crisis in better shape than most European countries.
It expects healthy economic growth in years to come, and the official GDP growth forecast for is 1. Geography also contributes to German power. Situated in the middle of Europe, the country lies at a crossroads of trans-European flows of goods and people, between Central Europe and Western Europe, between Scandinavia and the Mediterranean.
Germany has strong economic, social, and political ties with all its neighbors. It is ideally placed to play a mediating role between the different political, social, and economic views and attitudes in Europe. But at the same time, it is too small and too weak to dominate the continent. The European Union, shaped mainly by Germany and France, provides the mechanism through which Germany interacts with its neighbors and brings different interests and views together.
EU countries share the same basic norms, and officials from all member states work together with their counterparts from other countries.
Member states are closely involved in issues that in the past were purely domestic affairs of others. A network of cooperation spans the continent, reducing the relevance of national borders and providing an abundance of the most important resource in international relations: mutual trust.
From German unification in until the middle of the twentieth century, European politics were characterized by increasing competition among great powers of roughly the same size, driven by an ambition to dominate others and a fear of being conquered.
Germany was at the center of this geopolitical struggle and, in two world wars, tried to reshape the political order in Europe, with devastating results. Because German power now flows through the channels of review and revision by its European partners, this strength has lost its former threatening character. The EU not only limits German power, it also enables it, providing an opportunity for Germany to play an important role in shaping European and global politics by multiplying its own weight.
This is several months of events that involve copious amounts of alcohol, street parties and fancy dress, as well as a bunch of days off work. Elsewhere, the Love Parade has returned for a celebration of love in all its forms and another street festival.
In addition to the Love Parade, the country is home a host of annual gay pride marches too. The European capital of cool. The lowest rent prices of any capital city in the developed world. Berghain… Berlin has had plenty of hype in the last 15 years. The fact is though that the Hauptstadt continues to beguile and entice visitors from across the world every year. Despite complaints from some corners that Berlin is over, the thousands of artists, musicians, writers and performers that flock here every year and stay beg to differ.
We and our partners use cookies to better understand your needs, improve performance and provide you with personalised content and advertisements. To allow us to provide a better and more tailored experience please click "OK". Actually, German beer gardens are so good they deserve their own place in this list. Every good German neighourhood worth its salt will boast a proper beer garden with long trestle tables, steins overflowing with ice-cold Pilsener and the smell of grilling wurst wafting on the summer breeze.
We're rightly proud of our pubs in Ireland, but come a warm summer's evening, a balmy biergarten knocks a dark and clastrophobic pub into a cocked hat. The German language is a thing of precise and subtle beauty, with a word for every possible aspect of the human condition. And, where not words do not exist, you get the wonderfully Teutonic creations of compound nouns - where Germans basically keep adding words together until they have the one they want. Like, for example, the word "Eierschalensollbruchstellenverursacher" , which means 'the thing for taking the top off your boiled eggs'.
Yes, that is an actual thing. And here is a German man in his kitchen, to show us how it works. But anyone who lives with the German language for a period of time comes to love its idiosyncrasies. Don't believe us? Check out the Twitter account The German For thegermanfor which tweets German-language gems that are like solutions to a problem you never knew you had. The German for "a stone's throw" is Katzensprung which means a cat's jump.
The German for the contraceptive pill is Antibabypille doeswhatitsaysonthetin. Ostensibly an integral part of Bavarian traditional costume or Tracht , Dirndls have basically evolved into mobile boob showrooms that emerge en masse during the annual Oktoberfest which, confusingly, begins in September. Note: While we mention Oktoberfest, let us pay tribute to the waiters and waitresses of that fine tradition and particularly their ability to carry nonsensical amounts of beer.
Here is an unidentified Munich Kellnerin carrying 14 Massen, each of which holds a whole litre of grog:. Merkel in the dressing room with the German team after their World Cup win. This may be an unpopular opinion in these here parts "Angela Merkel thinks we're at work", etc. Merkel is well-known as an ardent soccer fan, with her favourite player being Bastian Schweinsteiger, and frequently undertakes marathon trips to be in the stands when the boys in white are playing.
Images of Merkel whooping and shouting with enthusiasm have warmed her to the German public, who dub her the team's '12th man', but it's the sweaty dressing-room selfies that we like the most, such as this one from Lukas Podolski:.
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