Germany

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Germany

Cities Info

Germany wears its riches well: elegant big-city charm, picture-postcard small towns, pagan-inspired harvest festivals, a wealth of art and culture and the perennial pleasures of huge tracts of forest, delightful castles and fine wine and beer are all there for the enjoying. Germany's reunification in 1990 was the beginning of yet another chapter in Germany's complex history. No visitor will remain untouched by this country's past and the way it affects the nation today.

Germany, a country with no natural barriers to the west and east, is located in the heart of Europe. It has long been influenced by neighbours and this cultural exchange helps to explain the richness and diversity of German culture. One of the country's major attractions is its natural scenery, which is respected and protected by its people ; the varied landscape include the lush plains bordering the River Rhine, the forested Harz mountains, the Baltic beaches, and the Luneburg Heath.

The country's rich museums bear witness to a civilization deeply influenced by the Arts. Tourist from around the world come to immerse themselves in this cradle of Romanticism.

Country Fact

Germany Map	*Country Fact:**
	Full country name:Federal Republic of Germany Area:357,021 sq km Population: 82,424,609 Capital city: Berlin (pop: 3.45 million) People: German 91.5%, Turkish 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish) Language: German Religion: Protestant 34%, Roman Catholic 34%, Muslim 3.7%, unaffiliated or other 28.3% Government: Federal republic Business Hours: Most business varies according to region, but generally the main office hours are 8am to 4.30pm Monday to Thursday, and half days on Friday (closing around lunch time (12.30) tend to be the norm Major industries: Motor vehicles, engineering, chemicals, iron, steel, coal, electronics, environmental technology, food, clothing Major trading partners: EU (esp. France, Netherlands, Italy, UK, Belgium/Luxembourg), USA, Japan, China Internet domain: .de International dialling code: +49

Event

Calendar of Events*:

January:
1st - New Year's Day
6th - Epiphany
March:
29th - Good Friday
31st - Easter
April:
1st -Easter
21th - Kindergarten Day
May:
1st - Labor Day
9th -Ascension Day
19-20th - Whit Sunday
30th - Corpus Christi Day
August:
15th - Assumption Day
October:
3rd - Day of German Unity
31st - Reformation Day
November:
1st - All Saints Day
20th - Repentance Day
December:
6st - St. Nicholas Day
25th - Christmas Day
26th - Second Christmas Day

*Information is subject to change. For further update, please check these websites : www.bbc.com, www.cia.gov, www.earthcalendar.net

Major Touries Cities

BERLIN

A city on the cutting-edge, Berlin has often been in the spotlight on the world stage over the past 100 years. This is a city where constant change is a given. Sure, the Wall isn't there any more, but Berlin is still very much divided: in the centre of the city, there's a pretty neat segue from the wealthy glitz of the west to newly developed central east Berlin. This area was quickly colonized by the trendy café-bar set in the early 1990s and swift rebuilding has erased nearly all trace of the wall. It's the suburbs of East Berlin with their grew and decaying apartment blocks, cardboard cars and paucity of telephones that make it apparent that the Wall was up to protect a utilitarian East from a decadent West.

Before it came down, the Wall was the most enduring icon of a nation's disharmony. But it's not as if the city hadn't seen it all before. From the civic turmoil of the Thirty Years War, to the devastating impact of the fire-bombing during WWII, Berlin has constantly been under siege or in a post-siege rebuilding phase. Even in the middle of trouble and strife, though, Berliners have continued to live it up. This is the city where cabaret and techno were born. There's an edgy out-there quality to the nightlife - think Sally Bowles and her divine decadence through to the contemporary cool of Blixa Bargeld and Nick Cave's tortured noise poetry - that is both intimidating and exciting. Whichever way you spell it, Berlin means groove.


Local Travel Agent(s):

	Reiseburo Gilbert Metzler
	Address: Reiseburo Gilbert Metzler, Danziger Str. 63 Berlin D-38642 Germany Phone: +49 5321 388023, 5321 388024, Fax: +49 5321 8652
	Vollmer - Reisen
	Address: Vollmer-Reisen Stiftsgasse 1 72108 Rottenburg Germany Phone: +49 7472 94394, 7472 91411, Fax: +49 7472 94395
	FLUG+FERN LCC
	Address: FlugFern Reiseburo, Kottewitz NR.32, 01809 Dohna Germany Phone:* +49 35027 42180, 173 9865228, Fax: +49 35027 42181
	Caminhos De Portugal - Reisen
	Address: Belziger Str. 25 Berlin Germany Phone: +49 30 7809680, Fax: +49 30 78096818
	Griesing, Anna
	Address: Rosenblumweg 31, 28279 Bremen Germany Phone: +49 421 8499660, Fax: +49 421 80950462

DUSSELDORF

Düsseldorf is a wealthy city--the richest in Germany. It's big and commercial, full of banks and industrial offices and skyscrapers, but it's also refreshingly clean. Düsseldorf got its start as a settlement on the right bank of the Rhine, but today it's spread out on both sides--the older part on the right and the modern, commercial, and industrial part on the left. Five bridges connect the two sections, the most impressive being the Oberkassel. Parks and esplanades line the riverbanks. After 85% of the right bank was destroyed in World War II, the city could easily have grown into just another ugly manufacturing town, but Düsseldorf followed a modern trend in reconstruction, and today it's the most elegant metropolis in the Rhine Valley.


Local Travel Agent(s):

	Orient Air Travel
	Address: Boekelstr. 146 D-41063 Moenchengladbach Dusseldorf Germany Phone: +49 2161205176
	True Blue Australian Holidays
	Address: Buersche Strasse 115 Osnabrueck 49084 Lower Saxony Dusseldorf Germany Phone: +49 541 9115 770, 541 9115 771, Fax: +49 541 9115 772
	All - Asia Touristic GMBH
	Address: Siemensstr. 23, 40670 Meerbusch Dusseldorf Germany Phone: +49 21591355, Fax: +49 21591317
	Tui Reisecenter
	Address: Tui Reisecenter, Pro Reisen GMBH Friedrichstrasse 25, D-49565 Bramsche Dusseldorf Germany Phone: +49 5461 3020, 5461 65402, Fax: +49 5461 64978

Dusseldorf City Map

Population: 570,000
Country: Germany
Main language: German
Time: GMT/UTC +1

FRANKFURT

There's much more to Frankfurt than trade fairs, airport terminals and the Bundesbank. Delve beneath the skyscrapers and banking institutions to find cosmopolitan bustle and cultural flair.

The best are on that you're going to Frankfurt because you have to - to attend a book fair or make a plane connection - but don't despair: the city has much more to offer than trade fairs, airport terminals and the Bundesbank.

The city's formal name is Frankfurt-am-Main, and today the Main River mirrors the high-rise skyline that epitomizes modern Frankfurt, home to Germany's stock exchange, the Bundesbank, the European Central Bank and 400 other banking institutions. The modern architecture and financial clout give the city a decidedly American tone - though the nickname 'Mainhattan' is perhaps overdoing it - and the population's cosmopolitan mix makes it Germany's most international town. Frankfurt throws more money at the arts than any other European city so you'll most likely catch a ground-breaking exhibition at one of its museums, second only to Berlin's as Germany's finest. And if you do happen to get stuck at the mega-airport - beaten only by harrowing Heathrow as Europe's biggest - there's a nightclub, art gallery and X-rated cinema to help while away those in-transit hours.


Local Travel Agent(s):

	EUGMBH
	Address: Waldstr. 78, D-63071 Offenbach Frankfurt Germany Phone: +49 69 85003922, 6985003923, Fax: +49 69 85003924
	ER Tours
	Address: Schleidenstrasse 24 Frankfurt 60318 Germany Phone: +49 69 13376804
	BTI Eurolloyd Reisebuero
	Address: BTI Eurolloyd Reisebuero, Consolidator Lyonerstr. 30, D60528 Frankfurt Germany Phone: +49 69 66802180, Fax: +49 69 66802192
	Rubiaca Travel
	Address: Scheidter Str. 42, 66133 Saarbruecken Frankfurt Germany Phone: +49 681 9801919, Fax: +49 681 9801929
	Reisebuero Kreis
	Address: Gersweilerstr. 1, D-66127 Saarbruecken F rankfurt Germany Phone: +49 68 98935959, Fax: +49 68 98309465

Frankfurt City Map

Population: 650,486
Area: 249 sq km (97 sq mi)
Country: Germany
Main language: German
Time: GMT/UTC +1
Telephone Area Code: 069

HAMBURG

It's easy to see why the youthful Beatles fell in love with the Free and Hanseatic State of Hamburg. Germany's second largest city boasts a magnificent harbour right in its city centre and has more in common with canal cities like Amsterdam or Venice; locals will proudly point out that their city has more bridges than Venice.

But, unlike its maritime counterparts, Hamburg remains a hard-working port that is among Europe's busiest. Add to this the independence of a city that has been invaded only once in its history, by the world-conquering Napoleon no less, and you'll be inspired to serenade the city as the Fab Four did with 'Sie Liebt Dich' ('She Loves You').


Local Travel Agent(s):

	Currently not available.
	Please check again later.

Hamburg City Map

Population: 1.7 million
Area: 755 sq km (295 sq mi)
Country: Germany
Main language: German
Time: GMT/UTC +1
Telephone Area Code: 040

MUNICH

Munich is the capital Bavaria and the centre of economic and cultural activity in southern Germany. Located only a few miles from the Alps, this is one of Germany's most attractive cities.

The different districts of Munich have their own particular attractions. Flea markets and antiquities are found on the Ottostrasse, elegant shops line the Maffeistrasse, while art galleries are located under the arcades of the Hofgartenstrasse. Schwabing, which was once a meeting place for artists and intellectuals, still attracts visitors with its cafes, cabarets and shops.

Munich is renowned for its excellent beer, which can be tasted in the many brasseries and taverns, as well as in the famous beer gardens (Biergarten). During the Oktoberfest (October Festival), brasseries serve a special beer known as Wiesnbier which is still transported in the traditional way by horse-drawn wagons. At this time, more than seven million beer-lovers gather to taste the beer under canvas marquees on the Theresenwiese.


Local Travel Agent(s):

	Thailand Tours Germany
	Address: Adam-Vogt-Strasse 14c, 86899 Landsberg Lech Munich Germany Phone: +49 8191 305787, 160 97372015, Fax: +49 721 151 315259

	Reiseburo Beck
	Address: Reiseburo Beck, Karmelitenplatz 9, 93326 Abensberg Munich Germany Phone: +49 9443 2079, Fax: +49 9443 2703

Munich City Map

Population: 1.2 million
Area: 310 sq km (121 sq mi)
Country: Germany
Main language: German
Time: GMT/UTC +1
Telephone Area Code: 089

STUTTGART

While Stuttgart may not be at the top of most travel itineraries, southwestern Germany's largest city is well worth a few days' visit. In a lush valley ringed with vineyards and thick forests, Stuttgart may well be the greenest city in Europe. Nearly 20% of the city is under a land preservation order, and the citizens pride themselves on their environmentalism. Best known as the home of Porsche and Mercedes-Benz, Stuttgart is also one of Germany's premiere wine-growing regions, and its many mineral spas are a draw for relaxation seekers as well as seniors taking 'the cure.

With its moderate climate, proximity to the Black Forest and unique Swabian heritage, Stuttgart is a great place to experience an authentic German city without hordes of tourists. There's plenty of culture, too: The Staatsgalerie (State Gallery) is notable for both its Picasso collection and its architecture, the Stuttgart Ballet and the International Bach Academy enjoy worldwide renown, and the city boasts the highest number of bookshops per capita of any German city. For a raucous time, visit during the Cannstatter Volksfest (People's Festival), Germany's second-largest Oktoberfest celebration (after Munich). If you'd prefer a more low-key vacation, there are plenty of vineyards and parks to explore, or head for one of the local spas and soak in a mineral bath.


Local Travel Agent(s):

	Currently not available.
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Stuttgart City Map

Population: 630,000
Area: 207 sq km (129 sq mi)
Country: Germany
Main language: German
Time: GMT/UTC +1
Telephone Area Code: 711