Germany has experienced a tumultuous history: starting a World War, being divided into two countries and much more. If you are planning a trip, here is some background information you should know.
An Overview of Germany for Travelers
The official name of the country is the Federal Republic of Germany. Germany covers a landmass of over 135,000 square miles and is about the size of the State of Montana. The capital is Berlin with over 3.5 million residents living within the city borders. Other cities of note include, but are not limited to, Hamburg with 1.7 million residents, Munich with over 1.2 million people, Cologne with just under one million residents, Frankfurt with 640,000 residents, Dortmund with 592,000 people, Stuttgart with 580,000 residents, Dusseldorf with about the same number, Bremen with 540,000 people and Hanover with a population just exceeding 500,000 residents. Put another way, Germany crams a lot of people into a relatively small area.
From a terrain perspective, Germany has a bit of everything. The north consists mostly of plains and shoreline, while the center of the country is a fertile basin. The south of the country is primarily...