"A German Scenic Treat - SCHWARZWALD & BAVARIA" Germany by Krystynn

Welcome to Europe's most industrialized nation - a united Germany since 9 November 1989.

After the country's tragic lost in the Second World War, her people with reputations for hard work and earnest efficiency, have literally started from scratch to build a nation of power - a superpower like what it is today. But a unified Germany today is not without its own set of problems. Some of the issues that have crept up within the last decade (1990s) are massive strikes, heavy taxes and many unsolved issues.

This country has also produced some earth-shakers like Martin Luther, Karl Marx and Albert Einstein (a Jewish German). And they came from the same intellectual hothouse as Goethe, Heine and Thomas Mann. Of course, Bach, Beethoven and Wagner need no introduction either. Germany also has some of the world's best museums; And nearly half of the world's best opera houses are in this country alone! Truly remarkable.

I've also discovered that the Germans are good in almost EVERYTHING! From sports, to manufacturing the best cars, to food, to...to... hey, the list is endless.

80 million watched Beckenbauer's team
Win the World Cup in soccer.
80 million sat in rapt attention...
When Wimbledon was won by Steffin Graf and Boris Becker.
80 million saw how Schumacher, as the first German,
Won the Formula One (hip, hip horray!).
80 million were impressed by Bierhoff
Shooting the first "Golden Goal".
80 million were proud to hear their hymn
So often at the Olympic Games.
80 million had representatives
In swimming, golf, racing, and other kinds of sports.
And 80 million of these fans live in Germany

Me in Titisee village...

Personally, I'm also astonished at the LARGE number of BMWs, Mercedes, Audis and other sleek sports cars on their cool autobahns. I mean, these are what we would term as "luxury cars" here in Asia and needless to add, they come with a very cool price tag (you'd better be earning a 6-figure income to afford these cars here - in Singapore, at least).

These German drivers are really dare-devilish when they are on the autobahns! I thought the road limit was 130km/h but most of them were SPEEDING away at almost 180 - 200km/h!! And they would not hesitate to flash their headlights at you if you don't make way for them FAST.

Gee, I certainly wouldn't want to be in their way when they are driving in this manner. :-))

Manufacturing cars for the states.
No cars without having steel.
And no vehicle without the electric engineering.
Shipbuilding at Hamburg,
Woodworking factories in northern Germany.
Manufacturing clothing and stuff
From Niedersachsen to Bavaria.
Air and space travel technology in Munich,
Chemical and plastics industry all along the Rhine.
Rail vehicle building at the Ruhr and in Berlin,
And many more where would have been.......

Isn't their technology amazing?

Soon, we arrived at our destination (much sooner than we had expected actually): The Schwarzwald - or in English - The Black Forest. Thank you very much to the German drivers who have truly "inspired" us to drive like them too.

Come along with me as we discover the interesting villages, town (Freiburg) and Titisee. Of course, no trip to Germany is complete if one doesn't hop on to a River Rhine Cruise too.

And not forgetting the absolutely magical Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria.

I love this part of Germany very much - Black Forest and Bavaria regions - and I'm sure you'd do too.

I'm including a link to 2 cool German radio stations on the Net that I sometimes listen in to. Although the DJs speak German, the songs played over the airwaves "live" are in English - The European Top 40 hits: