Germany

Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (Germany: Deutschland or Bundesrepublik Deutschland ), is one of the world's leading industrialized countries in Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea, to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic, to the south by Austria and Switzerland, and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Germany is a democratic parliamentary federal republic, made up of 16 States which are:

Germany was unified as a nation-state during the Franco-Prussian War in 1871.

The Federal Republic of Germany is a member state of the United Nations, NATO, and is a founding member of the European Union. It is the European Union's most populous and economically most powerful member state.

Deutsche Traditionen (German Traditions): 

Die Essen( The meal):

Most German cuisine is notably hearty and robust with very little spice.  Traditional meals are usually filled with a meat, some vegetables, and of course...Beer.  What german meal would be complete without that?

Here are a few sites that offer traditional german recipes:

• http://recipesbycindy.homestead.com/GermanRecipes.html
• http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/europe/german/indexall.html
• http://www.uoguelph.ca/~antoon/recipes/dresden.htm (For RumStollen, the best I have had for a long while)

Das Bier (The Beer):

Of course Germans love beer...every good german knows what's best and what's just plain gross...here are a few types of German Beer that everyone will enjoy...Plus in Germany It's legal for 16 year olds to drink beer, but 18+ for the liquer..

There are a variety of different styles of German beer, such as:

• Ales
  • Alt — a dark beer drunk around Düsseldorf and Lower Rhine
  • Kölsch — top-fermented beer from the Cologne region
  • Rauchbier — dark in color and smoky in taste
  • Weizen — fermented wheat beer

• Lagers
  • Helles — lager from Bavaria
  • Schwarzbier — a bottom-fermented, dark lager beer with a full, chocolatey flavor
  • Pilsener — a lager with more prominent hop character
  • Export — a milder version of Pilsner, more suited to "international" tastes
  • Bock — a dark, heavy bodied lager darkened by high-coloured malts.
  • Märzen — medium body and broad range of color
  • Dunkel — a dark Munich lager

Many of the kinds of beer are also availlable with the alcohol content reduced or removed....I bet your starting to get a little hungry with all that beer aren't you? That's what I thought...let's move on to Germany's all time tradtional food...The Pretzel.

Brezel(n) or Brezen (singular Brezel or Breze) are a common baked food in Germany, especially the southern part. It is related to the American Pretzel, with which it shares its knot shape and the salty taste. However unlike the hard and small pretzel, a breze is about 15cm wide. It is either hard and crisp, or has a soft inside and a crunchy outside. The characteristic colour and taste is due to the dough being dipped into lye and coarse salt before being baked.

Also available, especially at festivities like the Oktoberfest is the "Riesenbreze" (giant pretzel), roughly 30 by 25 cm, usually consumed with Hendl or Beer. Brezen are also eaten for breakfast and as a snack.

More Information to come soon!!

Mehr Informationen, bald zu kommen.