| About the country | | | | Nine stars |
| The Federal republic of Germany is the most | | | | The nine stars of Southwest Germany comprise of |
| influential country of Europe. It has witnessed the | | | | Baden-Baden, Freiburg, Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, |
| most controversial facts of history like Nazism, Holy | | | | Heilbronn, Mannheim, Pforzheim Stuttgart, and Ulm. |
| Roman Empire and the building and demolition of the | | | | They are considered to be some of the beautiful |
| Berlin wall. With many magnificent castles it has | | | | cities of Europe. Each of the cities play a vital role in |
| wealth of art and culture. German is the widely | | | | the culture of Germany. Baden-Baden has few of the |
| spoken language in German, but outsiders can find | | | | finest resorts and also has Europe's second largest |
| many English speaking locals especially in the common | | | | opera and concert hall. Freiburg is known as the |
| tourist destinations. | | | | historic city center and is famous for cobblestone |
| Weather | | | | mosiacs, open streams and ancient alleys. Heidelberg |
| The weather here is very unpredictable as there is a | | | | has world famous castles and Germany's oldest |
| possibility of rain almost all months, so carry clothes | | | | university. Karlsruhe has the famous museum Center |
| accordingly. April and May are the months of spring | | | | for Art and Media. Look out for various amusements |
| which brings in full bloom of fruits and flowers. | | | | along the Nectar river of Heilbronn. Pforzheim is the |
| Months from May to September have very fine | | | | capital for watches and jewelry. Stuttgart is famous |
| weather with sunny skies and offers the best time | | | | for theatres and opera. Ulm is the birth place of |
| for traveling and site-seeing. People who have a | | | | Albert Einstein and is also house to the world's tallest |
| passion for sports like swimming, hiking, and cycling | | | | hurch spire. |
| can have the best time here during these months. | | | | Travel |
| Winter sports can be enjoyed at the resorts in the | | | | The national airline that serves Germany is Lufthansa. |
| months from November to early March. The | | | | Bwelin-Tegel airport is situated at 8 km away from |
| temperatures are below freezing and the days are | | | | the city and it takes about 20 minutes to reach |
| too short (comprise of only six to eight months) in | | | | there. There is a provision of duty free shops, banks, |
| winter. | | | | post office, eateries, conference hall, and car hire and |
| Local Customs | | | | tourism information for the passengers. |
| Locals greet each other by handshaking and saying | | | | Another busy airport is the Frankfurt airport which is |
| Guten Tag. To say goodbye, people use Auf | | | | located at 13km away from the city. Buses take |
| Wiedersehen. Guests are expected to bring | | | | about 20 minutes to get there. Taxis are available at |
| uncovered and odd number of flowers, especially | | | | any time. The Intercity railway network at the airport |
| roses, when visiting someone's home. The guests are | | | | also provides international services to Hungary, |
| welcomed with either food or refreshments. At the | | | | Switzerland and Austria. The facilities provided here |
| table, hosts say ‘Guten Appetit' to which the | | | | are duty free shops, left luggage, restaurants, banks, |
| guests should reply with ‘Ebenfalls'. Smoking | | | | conference halls, post office, car hire and tourism |
| should be better avoided in public areas. Locals dress | | | | information. No departure tax is levied on the |
| informally but certain occasions like opera, theatre, | | | | passengers. |
| certain restaurants and social functions call for formal | | | | Those wishing to travel by sea can avail the ferry |
| wear. | | | | connections to Finland, Lithuania, The Netherlands, |
| Electricity | | | | Latvia, and Norway. |
| 220 V, 50 Hz | | | | Eurostar provides railway service to and from |
| Moving Around | | | | Belgium, France and the UK. Booking can be made by |
| The best way to get around is to buy the Welcome | | | | telephone. The Inter-Rail offers unlimited second class |
| cards or the city passes which allows the customer | | | | train travel within 29 European countries. The |
| to access unlimited bus facility in many cities of | | | | Eurailpass offers unlimited first class train travel within |
| Germany. It also gives special offer on certain tourist | | | | 17 European countries. |
| attractions. For flexibility one can rent-a-car or go for | | | | EuroCity and InterCity trains have a restaurant on |
| chauffer driven cars. Along with the rent, VAT of | | | | board, providing food and drinks. InterCity Express |
| 16% is payable. Car insurance should be available | | | | target the business class and provides services such |
| before hand in case of any accident. The speed limit | | | | as fully equipped office, conference compartments, |
| within the cities is mostly 50kph and 100kph on the | | | | etc. Tourist over 17 years of age can carry alcohol |
| highways. | | | | and tobacco with them within permissible limits. |