Deutzer Brücke and The Dom, Köln. World's busiest railway bridge
..........................
For me it's more a question of what's not to like. Great cities, rivers lakes and forests, the best cars (a German invention) in the world and some of the best roads. Unquestionably the best airport terminal in the world (FRA Ist). The atmosphere, the diversity. The German contribution to high culture over the past few centuries is stunning in it's range and depth. Think of an area of human endeavour and you can bet that one of the greatest achievers will be a German. Berlin is simply the coolest city ever. If you never sat in a Bavarian beer garden in summer and watched groups of young men singing their drinking songs and clinking vast tankards of the world's purest beer, you should. It makes me smile and there is no atmosphere of menace associated with inebriation, unlike in the UK. We were in Koln in 2006 when Germany played Argentina in the Quarter-Final round of the FIFA World cup. It was 1-1 after extra time (Germany won on penalties of course). We saw hoards of young German and Argentinian fans drinking together, arms round shoulders, draped in their national flags, laughing together. No fighting.
Some people raised in a less regulated culture might find the rules about washing lines and noise a little oppressive but at least it is clear that uncivilised behaviour is not to be tolerated. On the autobahns I have driven past ten mile long queues of stationary lorries in the inside lane waiting patiently while cars zoom past them in the outer lane reserved for them at roadworks. Incredible patience that I simply cannot imagine being displayed on such a scale in the UK or pretty much anywhere else. So yeah, I'm a Deutschophile.
..........................
For me it's more a question of what's not to like. Great cities, rivers lakes and forests, the best cars (a German invention) in the world and some of the best roads. Unquestionably the best airport terminal in the world (FRA Ist). The atmosphere, the diversity. The German contribution to high culture over the past few centuries is stunning in it's range and depth. Think of an area of human endeavour and you can bet that one of the greatest achievers will be a German. Berlin is simply the coolest city ever. If you never sat in a Bavarian beer garden in summer and watched groups of young men singing their drinking songs and clinking vast tankards of the world's purest beer, you should. It makes me smile and there is no atmosphere of menace associated with inebriation, unlike in the UK. We were in Koln in 2006 when Germany played Argentina in the Quarter-Final round of the FIFA World cup. It was 1-1 after extra time (Germany won on penalties of course). We saw hoards of young German and Argentinian fans drinking together, arms round shoulders, draped in their national flags, laughing together. No fighting.
Some people raised in a less regulated culture might find the rules about washing lines and noise a little oppressive but at least it is clear that uncivilised behaviour is not to be tolerated. On the autobahns I have driven past ten mile long queues of stationary lorries in the inside lane waiting patiently while cars zoom past them in the outer lane reserved for them at roadworks. Incredible patience that I simply cannot imagine being displayed on such a scale in the UK or pretty much anywhere else. So yeah, I'm a Deutschophile.