Back when I was a seventeen year old who thought I knew everything, I went to Germany for the first time. Düsseldorf and Cologne were nice but on my return home I dumped my phrase book at a charity shop, convinced that I would be visiting far more exciting places in my cool, grown up future. Fast forward almost ten years and here I am with a German boy, with future visits to Germany planned, trying to cram as much German into my brain as possible. It’s funny how things pan out. Germany has turned out to be a cooler, more interesting place than my seventeen year old self believed. Here are some reasons why Germany has emerged to be a surprisingly great place to visit.

1. It snows, properly

In London snow is pathetic. It barely dusts the streets then turns into a sludgy, grey mess.  Then for some peculiar reason transport can not be run because of this.  In Germany, as the temperature firmly gets into minus numbers in winter it snows properly, thickly covering anything it comes in contact with.

The snow was so great when I recently went to Germany, that at 26 years old I  made my first snowman. We christened him ‘Googly’ inspired by his eyes.

‘Googly’ also had a wife ; ‘Googla’. She did not quite have a  head, so I did not take a picture of her.

2. They have pretzel bread

The official name for what I call Pretzel bread is Laugenbrotchen  in German. Making  bread rolls out of pretzel dough is not very hard but despite its simplicity, I loved it.

I ate it with butter though I’m sure it is lovely with no accompaniments.

3.The supermarkets are interesting

Lots of people walk around German supermarkets with their own shopping baskets. My boyfriend’s dad just went to the boot of the car  got his shopping basket then we were ready to shop.

Germans are conscientious recyclers which explains this trend. In the supermarket, I also found some eggs which were funky and colourful as the shells had been dyed.

These eggs tend to be used on special occasions.

4. It is beautiful

Germany is very scenic. I only visited the Palatine region but it was beautiful. I just happened to visit one of the largest continuous forests in Germany which was a nice coincidence.

Hambach Castle was also nearby which is known as the birthplace of Germany.

From the top of the castle there were lovely views.

5. The meat is amazing

Jamaicans adorn their meat with an array of herbs and spices so sometimes other meat can taste a bit blah to my pimped up taste buds. But German meat was gorgeous. Whilst in Germany I ate lots of cold sausages and pork which were all delicious. It wasn’t very pleasing to the eye but it had flavour and depth that definitely pleased my critical taste buds.  I am sure that I will find out lots more cool things about Germany when I visit  next.

What do you like about Germany? Let me know!

©  Cultural Magpie