After Canada, which feels like a second home, Germany is the country I think I know the best of the five countries I will visit. Over the years I have made several visits, some of them for rather extended periods of time. In 1979, my second visit was to spend a year in Germany, most of that time spent in what was then West Berlin. Over the years I have spent time in more than 10 German cities in each of Germany's four regions. I did not really need a tour guide to prepare for this visit.
But it is one of my project’s tasks and so I read one anyway. I decided to go with “Germany for Dummies” hoping for a less serious, more practical overview of “the next one” on the list. The book does not disappoint. It presents a good summary of the things one ought to know about Germany, generally, and
about its regions, cities and history.
Germany, as a state, is a relatively young country although, of course, there have long been Germans. Before 1870, Germany was organized regionally into principalities and city-states. Its regional differences are relatively pronounced as a result. “Germany for Dummies” takes that as its starting point and treats each region in its own right. This is particularly helpful for me as it is my intent to skip three of those four regions and focus on Berlin and the East. The last time I came this way, most of that territory was inaccessible to me. It is the part that has seen the most turbulent history and most dramatic change. How much, if any, of the old East Germany still remains? I hope to see.
But it is one of my project’s tasks and so I read one anyway. I decided to go with “Germany for Dummies” hoping for a less serious, more practical overview of “the next one” on the list. The book does not disappoint. It presents a good summary of the things one ought to know about Germany, generally, and
about its regions, cities and history.
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Germany, as a state, is a relatively young country although, of course, there have long been Germans. Before 1870, Germany was organized regionally into principalities and city-states. Its regional differences are relatively pronounced as a result. “Germany for Dummies” takes that as its starting point and treats each region in its own right. This is particularly helpful for me as it is my intent to skip three of those four regions and focus on Berlin and the East. The last time I came this way, most of that territory was inaccessible to me. It is the part that has seen the most turbulent history and most dramatic change. How much, if any, of the old East Germany still remains? I hope to see.
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