In Germany, German is the primary language spoken, but others include Turkish, Croatian, and Upper Saxon. Ninety-one and a half percent of Germany is German, 2.5 percent of the population is Turkish, .7 percent is Croat, and .7 percent Italian, and 3.5 percent consists of various other ethnicities. Christianity is the predominant religion.
Das Land der Dichter und Denker--"the land of poets and thinkers"--Germany has a rich history of culture: music, literature, architecture, art, and cinema. Early Carolingian and Ottonian architectural styles sprung from Germany. Additionally, Germany played a key role in early modern architecture with the Deutscher Werkbund and Bauhaus movements. Major composers such as Bach, Handel, Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms, and Richard Strauss have all hailed from Germany. Germans love their sports as much as their arts--particularly football/soccer, tennis, and marksmanship.
Traditional German dishes include dumplings, sausages (Wurst), and pastries--and to wash all that down, beer. A modern German cuisine (neue Kuche) is emerging, and restaurants offer a variety of foods and chefs trained elsewhere to bring their educational influences home.
German cuisine and specialties also vary from region to region, but regardless of region there is a focus on meat and sweet desserts. To name just a few, Bavaria and Franconia are known for a hearty chilled mold of minced pork, beef, and liver (Leberkas), dumplings and soaked bread (Knodel), pork or veal trotters (Haxen), and pork sausages with sauerkraut (Schweinwurst mit Kraut). Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein cuisine is influenced by the area's maritime tradition, with dishes like sweet-and-sour eel soup (Aalsuppe). Other favorite dishes consist of a combination of sea and land offerings--a ground combination of pork, beef, and salt herring served with potatoes and beets (Labskaus) or pickled herring rolled in sour cream (Rollmops). Berlin is known particularly for its soups, particularly cabbage soup (Kohlsuppe) and pea soup (Erbensuppe), typical sausage fare, and coffee cake (Kugelhupf) or cheesecake (Kasekuchen) for dessert.
Home to the world's first brewery--Weihenstephan in Bavaria--Germany offers an unparalleled array of beers. The most popular type of beer in Germany is Pils. In Germany, beers are categorized by levels determined by alcohol content--stock beer, Vollbier, has 4% alcohol, Export beers have 5% alcohol, and Bockbier beers contain 6% alcohol.
Known for its balance of sweetness and acidity, as well as its lightness, German wine can be of high quality. The country is known more for its white wines than for its reds. Three grape varieties Germany is particularly known for are Riesling, Weisburgunder, and Scheurebe.
