Germany

Germany, or the Federal Republic of Germany, is not a very homogeneous country as is mainly thought. It is made up of 16 different states and depending on where you visit, you will get a unique cultural experience in each. Germany is popular to many visitors because of Oktoberfest and another large drinking festival that occurs every year for the wine-lovers of the world, and also for its extensive, generally safe road system, which in some areas has no speed limit (fast drivers love this part). Cars are a source of national pride and manufacturers like Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche and Volkswagen (VW) are world renowned.

When going to Germany, the same passport and visa requirements are in place as all the other members of the EU and Schengen Agreement with the only exception being for US military persons, who need to possess only a copy of their duty orders and their ID card to be allowed into the country. If you are entering Germany from outside of Europe, you will probably enter via the Frankfurt International Airport, where most of the intercontinental flights arrive. When traveling within Germany, you will most likely be traveling via Germany very excellent, affordable and reliable train system. If you do drive a car however, you should note most Germans drive more aggressively and quite a bit faster than most people are used to. In order to get around, you should know that the official language of Germany is German called Hochdeutsch which means high German, and has less of an accent. English is a required subject in school there, so you should be able to get around with just that, but some German phrases would probably be useful for various transactions. Also, because Germany is a part of the EU, the main currency is the Euro and you will need to have this form of money to pay for things in most places.