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"Welcome to GERMANY" a Germany Travel Page by Leipzig

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"Welcome to GERMANY" a Germany Travel Page by Leipzig

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Leipzig   
Everyone talks about the weather but nobody does anything about it


Real Name: Christian
Lives In: Dessau, DE
Member Since: Sep 30, 2001
VT Rank: 200

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Page Views: 25,548            Last Visit to Germany: -      I Used To Live Here

Welcome to GERMANY

by Leipzig - last update: Feb 11, 2004

POPOULATION: 82,500,000
POPULATION DENSITY: 229.8 per km²
SIZE: 357,021 km² (137,847 mi²)
ADJACENT COUNTRIES: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland
HIGHEST POINT: Zugspitze (2,962 m) (9,718ft)
NATURE:
arable land:33%
permanent crops:1%
permanent pastures:15%
forests and woodland:31%

SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT: The Federal Republic of Germany is a democracy with a liberal free-market economy and is a member of the European Union (EU)
HEAD OF STATE: President Johannes Rau since 1999
HEAD OF GOVERNMENT: Chancellor Gerhard Schröder since 1998
CAPITAL: Berlin (3.5 million inhabitants)
MONEY: The unit of German currency is the Euro. Symbol of the Euro is €
16 STATES: Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thuringia
LANGUAGE: German. English is widely spoken and French is also spoken, particularly in the Saarland. Particulary in the New Federal States Russian is also spoken. In the north of Schleswig-Holstein, Danish is spoken by the Danish minority and taught in schools. In Brandenburg and Saxony, Sorbic is spoken by the ethnic minority called the Sorbs. Regional dialects often differ markedly from standard German.
NATIONAL HOLIDAY: Day of Unity, 3 October
ELECTRICITY: 220 Volts AC, 50Hz. European-style round two-pin plugs are in use
TIME: GMT + 1 (GMT + 2 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October)
TIMETABLES: German timetables use the 24-hour system
STAYING HEALTHY: German medical facilities are among the best in the world.
Note : Medical and hospital services aren't free, so be sure that you have appropriate insurance coverage before you travel

TELEPHONE: National and international calls can be made from coin- or card-operated telephone booths. Very cheap calling rates apply Mon-Fri 1800-0800 and all day Saturday and Sunday.
MOBILE PHONE: GSM 900 and 1800 networks cover the whole country
Note: It is illegal to use a hand-held mobile telephone while driving.
POST: Stamps are available from hotels, at stationer's shops and post offices
TELEGRAM: can be sent from all post offices
VISAS: EU citizens can enter on an official identity card. Americans, Australians, Canadians, New Zealanders and Japanese just need a valid passport (no visa). Unless you're a citizen of a developing country, you can probably stay up to three months.
TAXES: Germany imposes a tax on most goods and services known as a value-added tax (VAT), or in German, "Mehrwertsteuer (MWSt)". Nearly everything is taxed at 16%.
WATER: Tap water is safe to drink in all German towns and cities.
NATURAL HAZARDS: often: flooding along rivers in spring, avalanches in the Alps, storms in the north and mountains; sometimes: forest fires in the east; hardly ever: tornadoes, blizzards, earthquakes along the Rhine and in south Saxony (less than 4.0 magnitude!!)
DRUG LAWS: Penalties for illegal drug possession in Germany are severe. You could go to jail!
EMERGENCIES: Throughout Germany the emergency number for police is 110 ; for fire or to call an ambulance, dial 112 .
flag of Germany
I know most Tourists visit the south of Germany, like Munich, Fuessen (Neuschwanstein Castle), Rothenburg, Heidelberg and so on! Well, that's okay but I think there's much more. On this page under "off-the-beaten-path" I chiefly present a little bit about the East of Germany, including the states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Berlin, Brandenburg, Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. I know there are a lot of places I didn't mention. Those tips are made of my personal experience and I cannot recommend places I haven't seen.
Enjoy! And if you have any questions feel free to ask!


You may have already noticed I am a fan of architecture.I know sometimes it is not easy to find out what style a certain building has. In my general tips I give you some hints of the pertaining characteristic. The periods refer to Germany and may differ in other European countries.

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In A Nutshell:"The most beautiful country in the world"
Leipzig's Germany Travel Tips

OverviewThings to Do
Tips: 16 - Photos: 16
 
RestaurantsHotels & Accommodations
 
NightlifeOff The Beaten Path
Tips: 12 - Photos: 12
 
Tourist Traps
Tips: 3 - Photos: 3
Warnings Or Dangers
Tips: 1 - Photos: 1
 
Transportation
Tips: 4 - Photos: 4
Local Customs
Tips: 13 - Photos: 9
 
Packing Lists
Tips: 2 - Photos: 2
Shopping
Tips: 1 - Photos: 1
 
Sports Travel
Tips: 1 - Photos: 1
General Tips
Tips: 7 - Photos: 6

Leipzig's Germany Travelogues
Title [Click to view]Travel YearPictures
Seasons in Germany- 8
Harz (Harz Mountains)- 7
Erzgebirge(Ore Mountains)- 6
Thüringer Wald(Thuringia Forest)- 11
Bayrischer Wald- 19
Baltic Sea Region- 6
Fairy Tale Road- 10
Flooding in SaxonyAugust, 2002 38

Comments for Leipzig about Germany
nepalgoods Sat Jul 28, 2007 09:49 UTC
 Amazing page! Most informative about culture! The Link to the dialects does not work anymore
ShelleyKeating Thu Mar 1, 2007 07:18 UTC
 Thankyou so much for your information, i will be coming back here to help plan my trip. Greetings from Aussie:)
Mariajoy Sun Nov 19, 2006 07:27 UTC
 What an amazing page! Is there anything I don't know about Germans or Germany now?? :)) Fantastic stuff here Chris! Well DONE!!!
msforbes Sun May 15, 2005 20:41 UTC
 Great page, I too love your wines. You should also check out winepage.de
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