GERMANY

Prime Travel Data
Berlin, capital city, postal codes, telephone codes, languages, electrical voltage,
holidays, embassy, consulates, USA embassy, guide books, maps, history.

This mural in Dresden is longer than a football field. In German it is titled the Fürstenzug and in English it is known as the Procession of Princes. Whatever you call it this is very impressive.

Dresden was literally wiped off the map by British and American bombers during World War Two. Then it suffered in the so-called Deutsche Demokratische Republik under Russian domination for 44 years. We called that East Germany. Officially it was the Soviet Occupation Zone. Liberty came in November 1989. I first visited in 1991. It still stank, literally.

I returned 15 years later. The improvements were amazing. The old brown coal electricity plant was gone. It had previously cast a polluted haze over the city. The new tram system is probably the best in Europe. And Dresden has the finest hostel I have stayed in anywhere. See Hostels.

Carpe diem. Vivere bene! Gratia Deo.

HOW TO EUROPE: The Complete Travelers Handbook - - Appendix: Germany - -

John Bermont, Chef du Site, www.enjoy-europe.com

This entire book is published gratis on-line by the author, photographer, and webmaster, John Bermont, a DIY job with help from my daughter Stephanie. I welcome all questions, comments, and complaints.
Last update 4 April 2016. For contact information please see Your Blow Back.

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NEED TO KNOW

So here you are in Germany and you need to know some elementary stuff — like how to make a phone call, get local money, or contact the American Embassy to report your stolen passport. Here is a convenient source for that information, plus a bit more.

This web page originally appeared in the first editon of my book How To Europe: The Complete Travelers Handbook in a section titled "Country Data Sheets" over thirty years ago. I've updated and improved it for 2016.

Important information about this data sheet.
Native name	Deutschland
Capital	Berlin
Postal code	D
Telephone code	+49 See chapter 19, Telephoning to, from, and within Europe.
Language	German
Currency	Euro, € See The Euro and Other Currencies.
European Union	Member. See chapter 25, Customs Duty, USA and Europe.
Schengen Agreement	Member. See chapter 3, Passport and Visas.
Time zone	GMT+1. See chapter 28, European Dates and Time Zones.
Electricity	220 volts, 50 Hz. See chapter 11, European Electricity: Travel Voltage Fundamentals..

Date	Holiday	Feiertag
Jan 1	New Year's Day	Neujahr
* Jan 6	Epiphany	Ephiphanis
	Good Friday	Karfreitag
	Easter Monday	Ostermontag
May 1	May Day	Maifiertag
	Ascension Day	Christi Himmelfahrt
	Whit Monday	Pfingstmontag
*	Corpus Christi	Fronleichnam
* Aug 15	Assumption	Märia Himmelfahrt
Oct 3	Unification Day	Tag der Deutschen Einheit
* Nov 1	All Saints' Day	Allerheiligen
3rd Wednesday Nov	Repentance Day	Buß- und Bettag
Dec 25	Christmas	1. Weihnachten
Dec 26	St. Stephen's Day	2. Weihnachten
* These days are not holidays in all states of Germany

German Offices in the USA
Embassy	German Embassy, Washington, D.C. 4645 Reservoir Road NW Washington, DC 2007 T: 202-298-4000
Consulates	Atlanta: T: 404-659-4760 Boston: T: 617-536-4414 Chicago: T: 312-580-1199 Houston: T: 713-627-7770 Los Angeles: T: 323-930-2703 Miami: T: 305-358-0290 New York: T: 212-610-9700 San Francisco: T: 415-775-1061
Tourist Office	German National Tourist Office 122 E. 42nd St., Floor 52 New York, NY 10168 T: 212-661-7200 F: 212-661-7174

American Offices in Germany
Embassy	Embassy of the United States, Berlin, Germany Kirchstrasse 4-5 10117 Berlin T: (030) 8305-0
Consulates	Berlin: T: (030) 832-9233 Düsseldorf: T: (0211) 788-8927 Frankfurt: T: (069) 7535-0 Hamburg: T: (040) 411 71-100 Leipzig: T: (0341) 213-840 München: T: (089) 2888-0

USA is known as:	die Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika

Recommended books for further information:

There are hundreds of books on Germany. Michelin Red and Green guides are my favorites but there are many other good ones.

The books that you see listed here are those that I have personally used and am satisfied with, and/or are from publishers whose other travel books are reliable. I am a consumer when it comes to travel guides, and a critical one. Notice that I do not recommend any Frommers, Dummies, Steves, or other inferior guides. For some of the reasons please go to the hoi polloi.

As one example of a substandard guide, I have a 660 page book titled Rick Steves' Germany & Austria which has not a single mention of Düsseldorf, Germany or of Graz, Austria. That's like leaving Chicago and St. Louis out of a USA travel guide. Putting in a section titled "Lowlights" featuring Heidelberg is an insult. What is his problem? But this "Germany & Austria" book did include enough pages to promote his whirlwind guided bus tours, videos, backpacks, sink stoppers, and Steves' other branded products. A page of sophomoric almost correct German phrases plus sort-of maps cap off the disaster. Steves is strong on self promotion but weak on meaningful content.

For the good stuff, the links below take you directly to a page at Amazon.com. That page details the guide book, map, or dictionary. In many cases the Amazon.com listing includes readers'comments and sample pages from the book. You then have the opportunity to add the book to your shopping cart and buy it. I buy virtualy all of my books at Amazon.com and have had excellent service for years.

Amazon.com pays a small commission to Enjoy-Europe.com when you click a title here and then order the book, if you buy it within 24 hours. You benefit when buying here because Amazon.com has a 20% to 30% discount on many items plus a free shipping deal. You win we win. Thanks for your support!

Note: emphasis in the titles is mine -- to help you in finding the information you need. Don't worry too much about publication dates. Many books are updated every three to six years. The monuments and cathedrals haven't moved in 500 years!