Germany's economy

After our trip through Italy we continue our tour with the next country: GERMANY!

This week I will discuss the economy of Germany...

I start with some facts and figures:

• They are member of the European Union
• Their currency is the euro.
• The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) amounts to $3.194 trillion
• GDP - composition by sector
• Agriculture: 0.8%
• Industry: 28.1%
• Services: 71.1% 
• The labour force consists of 44.01 million people, while there are 81.8 million inhabitants.
• Population below poverty line: 15.5% 
• Unemployment rate: 6.5% 
• Public debt: 80.5% of GDP  
• Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.2% 
• Agriculture – products: potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beets, fruit, cabbages, cattle, pigs, poultry
• Exports : $1.492 trillion 
• Exports – commodities: motor vehicles, machinery, chemicals, computer and electronic products, electrical equipment, pharmaceuticals, metals, transport equipment, foodstuffs, textiles, rubber and plastic products
• Imports: $1.276 trillion (2012 est.) 
• Imports – commodities : machinery, data processing equipment, vehicles, chemicals, oil and gas, metals, electric equipment, pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, agricultural productsThe economy in

Germany is very important for the inhabitants because It is the largest national economy in Europe. The country has been an innovator since the industrialization and the industrial capitalism. Furthermore, Germany is the world's second largest exporter with $1.408 trillion exported in 2011. Their exports account for more than one-third of national output.

While the economy is very good, the country is poor in raw materials. The only raw materials they have are lignite and potash salt. So they import a lot of raw materials from other countries just like they import oil and natural gas. In total, Germany imports about two thirds of its energy.

Besides the primary sector, we have the service sector. In Germany the service sector amount to around 70% of the total GDP, industry 29.1%, and agriculture 0.9%. Germany is the leading producer of wind turbines and solar power technology in the world. Further, it is also the leading exporter of machinery, vehicles, chemicals, and household equipment and benefits from a highly skilled labor force.

Sources:

http://www.heritage.org/index/country/germany

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Germany

http://www.indexmundi.com/germany/economy_profile.html

Culture of Germany

In advance, we didn’t think that Germany had a lot of cultural hot spots. Once we arrived, we saw that they also have a culture and curiosities. We spent our days in this country mainly in the capital Berlin. 

Germany knows a rich art and cultural heritage. The country is known for their Gothic Cathedrals, classic films, scientists and classic music (e.g. Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Handel, Wagner, etc.).

So we visited Berlin, THE culture centre of Germany. We couldn’t ignore the history because we saw a lot of parts of the Berlin wall that remained. Also had a look at the ‘Brandenburger Tor’, which is a symbol of the division and reunification. It’s without doubt the most important monument of the capital city. Besides, the city has more than 150 theatres and there are a number of cafes, terraces, bistros, restaurants and luxurious shopping centres. In short, it’s a bustling city!

Don’t forget the festivals that take place in this capital. Such as the Berliner Festwochen with concerts, opera, theatre and art. Also the international film festival and the Berliner Jazztage. At last, everybody has already heard about the Love Parade which is the climax for the techno fans. There are more than one million visitors each year. But in 2010 a drama happened that resulted in  21 deceased  and 509 casualties, which ultimately lead to the end of the Love Parade.

Also a nice period for the Germans is the Oktoberfest. They drink more than 6 million beer in 16 days in Munich. This tradition began in 1810 when the Bavarian prince married with princes Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen.

Now something about the cuisine in this country. We experienced that the German people enjoy eating and drinking. Every occasion is good for a toast. Sauerkraut with bratwurst is the most popular dish. Furthermore, most of the dishes are based on meat and potatoes. It is not that refined so fortunately for us, there are a lot of influences of other countries so we didn’t have to eat typical German food.

A nice tip to end is the following: if you are invited to a German’s house, bring a gift. Yellow roses, tea roses and chocolates are always well received.

We enjoyed our trip in Germany but were a little bit disappointed in the culture after having visited Italy. 

See you next time in Denmark!

Guten Appetit!

Brandenburger Tor - important monument

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Germany

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/germany-country-profile.html

http://www.eatinghabits.org/geographical-eating-habits/german-eating-habits.html

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/analysis-of-the-love-parade-tragedy-the-facts-behind-the-duisburg-disaster-a-708876.html

Culture of Italy

I think everybody knows Italy well because of their food, mainly pizzas! During our visit in Italy, we have eaten a lot of pizzas! I can no longer see pizzas! However, every time, it was tempting to buy one when we passed a pizzeria.. When I came home, my mum said we had pizza to eat and I said nooooo, not again..

There are many reasons to visit Italy with your family, friends or boy/girlfriend. The Italian people are friendly, welcoming the tourists with open arms, a comforting meal, and not to forget, a clever joke of course! But I'll tell you more about the food in Italy.

The languages they speak are of course Italian, Catalan and Albanian. Italian is the official language of Italy, and 93% of population is native Italian speakers. Half of the population speaks a regional dialect as mother tongue. Friulian is one of these dialects. Albanian is spoken mainly in the southern part of Italy. And Catalan is spoken in only one city, Alghero.

The Italian food and drink will definitely be an added pleasure of your holiday. The most popular drink in Italy is wine and it is drunk with nearly every meal.  It can be purchased in restaurants in quarter, half and liter bottles, the cheaper option is to buy it from supermarkets. For the one who doesn’t want to drink wine, can also chose for the Italian style coffee, which is known as espresso. This is made from a blend of coffee beans. Next to wine, there is also a wide variety of beer. Beer isn’t as popular as wine. There are also other popular alcoholic drinks like Limoncello, a traditional lemon liqueur.

The Italian menu is typically structured in the same way all over Italy, with an antipasto, primo, secondo and dessert. Normally, the breakfast in Italy involves a cup of Italian coffee or a cappuccino and a croissant. For lunch you can look out for sandwich bars or the local store where you can get delicious toasted ‘pannini’ sandwiches. A full Italian dinner will consist of an anti-pasto (appetizer), a primo (pasta/shop), a secondo (meat/fish). More common Italian foods ad dishes include all the types of pasta and pizza. Italian cheeses can be offered as antipasto.

Pannini Sandwiches

I hope you will enjoy your meal!

Sources:

http://www.italianlanguageguide.com/italian/culture/

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/italy-country-profile.html

http://www.italytraveldirect.com/tours.php?D=11&PHPSESSID=0d525e5b89f3b047cf9dab592fcaf5f8

http://www.yourguidetoitaly.com/popular-foods-of-italy.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_cuisine#Food_establishments

The history of Italy

When we were on our journey in Italy we had a little bit information about the history of Italy. It’s divided in plural parts.

Prehistory Italy

Throughout Italy Excavations reveal a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Paleolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago.

Middle ages

After the fall of Rome, Italy was conquered by the Germanic tribe of the Ostrogoths, but in the 6th century the East Roman Emperor Justinian reconquered it. The invasion of another Germanic tribe late in the same century reduced the Byzantine presence to a strip of land between Ravenna and Rome plus other lands in southern Italy, breaking the unity of the peninsula until 1870.

Early modern

The Black Death pandemic in 1348 left its mark on Italy by killing one third of the population. The recovery from the disaster of the Black Death led to a resurgence of cities, trade and economy which is stimulated by the successive phases of Humanism and Renaissance, cultural movements born in the peninsula, and later were spread in Europe.

Liberal Italy & Fascist regime

The creation of the Kingdom of Italy was the result of Efforts by Italian nationalists and monarchists loyal to the House of Savoy to establishment a united state encompassing the entire Italian Peninsula. The turbulence that followed the devastation of World War I, inspired by the Russian Revolution, led to turmoil and anarchy. The liberal establishment, fearing a socialist revolution, started to endorse the small National Fascist Party, led by Benito Mussolini.

Italian Republic

Italy Became a republic after a referendum held on 2 June 1946, a day celebrated since as Republic Day. Also this was the first time That Italian women were entitled to vote. Victor Emmanuel III's son, Umberto II, was forced to abdicate and exiled. The Republican Constitution was approved on 1 January 1948.