Hey, guys! Today I would like to introduce you to Germany. I have already told you about how I first came to Germany, but now I will simply rewind back and actually tell you some interesting facts about this beautiful country of Germany. So, let’s start:

• Germany is not only the member of European Union, in fact it is also one of the founding member of EU (well here I am talking about West Germany);
• The population of Germany as of year 2020 is 83 million people, which makes Germany the most populous country of European Union after France and UK;
• Germany borders with nine countries – Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, France, Czech Republic, Poland, Austria and Switzerland;
• The border between Czech Republic and Germany is the same length as the border between Germany and Austria;

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• If you love nature and being outdoors, you will definitely love Germany – around 1/3 of the territory is covered in forests;
• Germany can boast the narrowest street in the world, which is located in the town of Reutlingen;
• University education is free in Germany, even for foreign students;
• German is the 11th most widely spoken language in the world;
• German language is not only spoken in Germany, but is also an official language in Austria and Lichtenstein. As well it is one of the official languages of Luxembourg, Switzerland as well as German speaking community of Belgium;
• The longest word in German language nowadays is considered to be “Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän”, which has 42 letters. Previously this title belonged to another German word “Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragunsgesetz” (crazy, it didn’t even fit in one line!), however it became obsolete back in 2013;

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• Alongside Czech Republic, Germany is the biggest beer consumer in the world;
• The oldest brewery in the world – Weihenstephaner is also located in Germany, Munich to be precise;
• Octoberfest, the famous German beer fest is celebrated in fact in September;
• During 2019 Octoberfest, the amount of consumed beer reached 7.3 million liters;
• Germany is well known for its highways and the fact that 65% of the highways literally have no speed limit;
• Talking about highways – don’t forget to fill up your tank when you are planning to drive on Autobahn – it is illegal to run out of fuel on Autobahn in Germany;
• Berlin has not always been the capital of Germany. At different points of time such cities as Bonn, Regensburg, Aachen, Frankfurt-am-Main and Nuremberg;
• Berlin is nine times bigger than Paris and has even more bridges than Venice;
• Not only is Berlin the capital of Germany, but also it holds the title of the biggest city of Germany;
• Did you know that the Christmas Tree Tradition also started in Germany?
• In Germany, the escape from prison is not considered a crime. Meaning, that if a person attempts to escape from a prison in Germany, they will not receive additional sentence for doing so. The reason being is that every human being has an instinct to escape captivity and seek for freedom. Exception for this is when during the escape, person commits another crime for which they will get extra jail time;
• Addressing the policeman in an informal “Du”, instead of official “Sie” can get you in trouble of paying up to 600 euros fine;
• Sunday is considered rest day in Germany and it is taken very seriously here, all the shops and supermarkets are closed. Drilling, mowing the lawn, repairing things – all is forbidden, as well as throwing away glass bottles in special containers;
• Germany alongside with Austria-Hungary were among first countries to adopt Daylight Saving Time in order to save energy;

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•  Germany has more than 300 different types of bread! Yes, Germans love their bread and well, me too;
• Did you know that Fanta actually originates from the times of WWII in Germany as a replacement for Coca-Cola? The reason is that it was too difficult to bring Coca-Cola ingredients to the country during the war, so instead a new drink has been created to replace Cola;
• It is illegal in Germany to deny the Holocaust;
• It is believed that well-known Döner Kebab was actually created in Berlin by a Turkish worker;
• Pillows as a weapon – If it was not just a friendly pajama-party pillow fight, in some circumstances pillows can be considered a weapon in a fight;
• It is forbidden for people to march on the bridge in Germany – yes, it is believed that marching on the bridge can cause mechanical resonance.

So, these were 30 most interesting facts about Germany I know of! Did you hear more? Leave a comment and let me know!