GERMANY is a country in mainland Europe bound by Denmark, North Sea and Baltic Sea to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands to the west and Austria and Switzerland to the south. It has a total land area of 137,858 square miles making it the 63rd largest country in the world. It has a population of some 82 million people making it the 14th populous nation on Earth and the 50th one in terms of population density. According to its GDP, Germany is said to be the fifth richest country on the planet. Its currency is euro along with the rest of the continent except the United Kingdom. The capital is Berlin and the whole population of the country use German in their day-to-day transactions and conversations.

Well, except for internationally-bound flights where English must be used as the international language mode as far as air travel is concerned. But lots of Germans now speak English nowadays. Especially during the late 90s where the trend in globalization is at its zenith, many Germans have realized that they have to reach out to their neighbor across the English Channel (the United Kingdom) and all the way across the Atlantic (i.e. the United States and Canada). Aside from that, German high school students are also mandated by a European Union decree which makes it compulsory for them to learn another European language. This is attributed to the peculiar status of languages in Europe. Countries are so contiguous to each other in the mainland continent yet they do not speak the same language. Take for example Germany. Its northern neighbor speaks Danish, its eastern neighbors speak Polish and Czech, its western neighbors speak French, Luxembourgish and Dutch and its southern neighbors speak German. Half of Switzerland likewise speaks French. The current chancellor is Angela Merkel.

It is so easy for fellow Europeans to get to Germany nowadays through its land borders thanks to the Schengen agreement. Through the Schengen agreement, all European nations have agreed to lift border outposts. There are daily train trips coming from Paris, Brussels and Milan. But bringing your own car wouldn’t hurt either. Yet the most convenient way to enter Germany is via a plane. There are a total of six international airports in this country and they are found in Berlin the capital of course, Frankfurt, Munich, Dusseldorf, Cologne and Hamburg. There are also daily ferry rides coming from Denmark, Sweden, Oslo and Helsinki.

If one is a first time tourist, then you may want to savor German sausages and beer especially now that it is October already and the Octobeerfest is in full swing. It’s a month long festival dedicated solely for beer lovers in Germany. Germany has said to have the best beers in the world. There are lots of discounts and even free flowing beer available in virtually any commercial spot in the country. In fact, six million liters of beer are consumed in Munich just for this month during the entire season of Oktoberfest.