20 Fun Facts about Germany

1. Germany is the cheapest place in Europe to buy beer, but also the most difficult in which to make a choice - there are over 1,500 different brands and types of beer in this country! We recommend the dark beers - the "Dunklesbier". Rich and creamy, it is the perfect cool drink after a walk or on a sunny terrasse with friends.

2. Germans like beer so much that they even have an expression with it: Das ist nicht mein Bier, meaning "That is none of my business!"

3. Dogs are kings in Germany: they can go just about everywhere: first class restaurants, trains and buses, even clothing shops and bookstores. But NOT in a Metzgerei (butchers) and rarely in a Konditorei or a Bakerei. They even have their own pools.

4. Germans answer a phone call with their surname, instead of a hi or a hello.

5. There are over 1,500 types of sausages, such as the Frankfurters (milder), Nuremberg (which are served barbequed) and Bavaria sausages (white)

6. The Great Berlin Wall was built in 1961 in order to prevent the East Germany from escaping into the areas of West Germany. Today, not much is left of the wall at the original site. There were even reports wherein pieces of the wall were taken by miscreants and sold to others across the world.

7. Germany also hosts the Berlin Film Festival, which has been held annually since 1951. This is regarded to be the world’s foremost film festival.

8.In East Germany, more than half of all children are born to unwed mothers.

9.Only about 2 percent of Germans do not own cell phones.

10. Germany's Zoo Berlin has the largest number of species in the world.

11. The working week in Germany also includes Saturday!

12.There are over 300 different kinds of bread in Germany.

13. Germans rank second in world-wide beer consumption per person after Ireland.

14. Bier is officially considered a food in Bayern, where the normal size beer glass, the Mass is 1 liter.

15. There is cheese in Germany that is called “Quark”. It is made of skim milk and is thick like yogurt. It is made more for cheesecakes because of the mild taste

16. Schools are not really full time in Germany as they all finish at 1pm.

17. Dogs are kings in Germany: they can go just about everywhere: first class restaurants, trains and buses, even clothing shops and bookstores.

18. Toilet paper in Germany has the softness and consistency of paper towels back in the United States.

19. Bavaria has also the oldest Brewery of Germany still in operation, funded in 1040 by the Benedictine monks in Freising, the Weihenstephan Brewery. It is possibly the oldest still in operation in the world!

20. The Germans have succeeded in keeping almost 1/3 (31%) of the country covered with forests and woodlands

SOURCES:
http://www.journey-to-germany.com/german-fun-facts.html
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/fun-facts-about-germany.html
http://www.smd-markeur.de/news/germany.htm
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/facts-about-germany.html
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/653509/interesting_facts_about_germany.html
http://www.journey-to-germany.com/german-fun-facts.html
http://hubpages.com/hub/Fun-Facts-about-Germany