Working in Germany
Travelling to Germany
American Embassy in Germany
Germany is roughly the size of Montana and has a population of about 84,400,000. Centrally located, the opportunites for travelling all over Europe are great. I currently live in Munich, which in driving time is about 45 minutes from Austria, 1.5 hours from Switzerland, 1,5 hours from the Czeck republic, 4 hours to Slovakia, and 4.5 hours to France and 2.5 hours to Northern Italy (assuming there are no traffic jams -staus- wich are unfotunately very common due to the high population density)
My first summer in Germany (2002) I lived four months in Freiburg im Breisgau, which is right in the Black Forest in SW Germany. It wa here that I took a 12 week intensive German course and learned the language. Freiburg is a beautiful medevil city wich is a must see on any vacation to Germany. The city was 90% destroyed in WWII but the restoration that took place is amazing. Whats even more amazing is that the Dom, or Cathedral, was not damaged at all in the war even though every other building around it was completely destroyed. Most other cities were not so lucky to have thier churces survive the war. This gothic cathedral is a must see in Freiburg since it survived the war and is one of the few intact cathedrals from the early middle ages (1200AD).
Due to its history following the fall of the Roman Empire, Germany formed into a loose confederation of kingdonms and territories that were unified under the election of the Holy Roman Emperor. Because of the independence of the different territories many fortified cities arose durring the middle ages. Cities such as Rothenburg ob der Tauber are like a looking glass into what a typical medevil city looks like, complete with gates, walls, towers and other fortifications. N�rnberg and Bamberg are also some good examples, but have been more modernized that Rothenburg. Following the middle ages many citys removed their protective walls around the city center and turned them into large parks, such is the case with W�rzburg in northern Bavaria.
There is a wealth of information of German history on the web, so I wont go into detail about it here. What I want to share are some tips and guidlines for moving to Germany, i.e. procedures, visas, beuracracy and also some tips on where to go to get the most out of a trip to Germany.
