Geography
Germany is surrounded by Netherlands, Belgium and France from west , Switzerland and Austria from south, Hungary and Slovenia from east and Denmark, North sea and Baltic sea from north.

Weather
Germany has cold and humid weather in winter and not too hot and mild weather in summer; and situated in 6-15 degree geographic length and 48-54 degree geographic width.

Background Information
Full country name: Federal Republic of Germany
Area: 357,000 sq/km
Population: 81 million
Capital city: Berlin (pop: 3.5 million)
People: Predominantly with European, with Significant Turkish minority. Germany has absorbed the majority of refugees from the former Yugoslavia.
Language: German
Religion: 90% Christian. There are a couple of million Muslims and about 30,000 Jews.
G.D.P: US $ 1.903 billion
GDP Per head: US $ 22,561
Annual growth: 2.8%
Inflation: 3.4%
Major industries: Motor vehicles/ Engineering/ Chemicals
Government: Federal Republic

Entry formalities
Visas: European citizens can enter on an official identity card. Americans, Australians, Canadians, New Zealanders, and Japanese just need a valid passport (no visa). Citizens of another countries need visa.

How to get there
The main arrival / departure points for flights in Germany are Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin. If you are already in Europe, it is generally cheaper to get to and from Germany by bus or train. Train travel is more Expensive, more comfortable, but less flexible than catching a bus.

Transportation
Between cities: Bus, Train, Airplane
In cities: Bus, Taxi, Metro

Money and costs
Currency: Deutch Mark (DM)
Relative costs:
Budget: US$ 5-10
Restaurant meal: US ý$ 15-20
Budget bed: US$ 20-30
Mid-range hotel: US $50-80 (double)

Electricity
220 V, 50 HZ

Media
Publications, radio and TV are in Deutsch; only a little of magazines and Newspapers are in other languages.

Communication
Telephone, Telegraph, Post, Telex, Fax, Mobile, Email, Internet

Weights & measures
Metric system

Business hours
Government: 9-17
Shopping: 9-13 / 15-19
weekend: Saturday and Sunday

Art & Culture
Germany has a very old culture. Germans Culture have come from ancient Arians. German artists are famous in poem, theater and cinema. Weaving is one of women's amusement. People are interested in modern human technology. There, you can see numerous exhibitions that introduce other countries industry to Germany.

Embassies
All the countries embassy are in Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich.