10 reasons why Germany is a great country
Germany beat Argentina 1-0 in last night's World Cup Final to become world champions for the fourth time.
Plaudits for the new Weltmeisters have been plenty, with most critics united in praising the best team of a great tournament.
But it's not just Götze, Özil, Schürrle et al that make Germany a great country - here's our (entirely subjective) list of
It's fair to say that traditional German cuisine is something of an acquired taste, consisting for the most part of pickled cabbage, sausages and pig's trotters. Even Germans would agree with you on this - when your traditional lunchtime snacks are things like raw mincemeat on half a bread roll it's no wonder kebabs are so popular.
But one thing that Germans do well is make great Beer Food, that is, grub that tastes great after a few beers. King of the late-night Schnellimbiss menu is the Currywurst - a chopped Knackwurst (yes, that's a sausage) served with curry ketchup and chips.
If that sounds (and looks) vile - well, it is a bit. But trust us - once you have a couple of Weissbiers down your neck a currywurst will seem like the answer to all your prayers (see also: Boulette, Pommes Rot-Weiss).
(There's even a Currywurst Museum in Berlin, which has to go immediately onto the bucket list.)
Ah, beer.
When it comes to food, the Germans got as far as 'sausage' and stopped. But when it comes to beer, they picked up the ball and ran with it.
The idea of 'craft beer' has taken root here in Ireland in recent years, but in Germany it's unheard of.
That's because pretty much every beer worthy of gracing a Stein is a 'craft beer', brewed according to a strict rule called the or 'beer purity law' which dates from 1516 and stipulates that only water, hops and barley can be used to make beer.
Despite the Reiheitsgebot having been superceded by EU law (boo! hiss!) most German brewers still adhere to it as a matter of pride and tradition, which is why you get SO MUCH DELICIOUS BEER in Germany.
Typical German beers fall under a number of different categories - wheat or Weizen beers (e.g. Hefeweizen or the clearer Kristallweizen); pale lager-type beers like Pilseners (which can be region specific like Koelsch beer from Cologne) and dark, stout-like Schwarzbiers.
Try them all!
Do. Not. Mess. With. The. Techno. Viking.
But seriously, Germany is a mecca for makers and lovers of electronic music, with Berlin in particular being the spiritual home of techno and the best party city in Europe.
Don't think you like techno? Catch artists such as Ellen Allien, Modeselektor, Paul Kalkbrenner, Ben Klock, Nina Kraviz or (Wicklow's very own) Mano le Tough performing in legendary Berlin clubs like Berghain, Panorama Bar, Tresor or Watergate, and prepare to have your mind changed and your musical horizons expanded.
It's a bit of a cliché but visitors to Germany are often taken aback by how stuff just works.
It. Just. Works.
The trains run on time. The shops open when they say they will. Public works are designed with the minimum of inconvenience. Stuff gets built on time and on budget.
It. Just. Works.
Germans are often lampooned for their precision and attention to detail - we note The Onion's genius Germans Humiliated After Winning World Cup 6.38 Seconds Behind Schedule headline - but spending a while in a country where if a bus says it's coming in five minutes, it will be here in five minutes, can make you appreciate that little things like this make life easier.
People generally don't seem to realise this, but the weather in Germany is really nice.
Not that it's sunny all the time, but that winters are properly cold and snowy, which means you can wrap up nice and warm and enjoy plenty of Gluehwein (hot mulled wine) in your local Weinachtsmarkt (Christmas market), or head up to the mountains and go skiing.
Meanwhile summers are long, dry and warm - perfecting for lazy days Grillen am Park (BBQs in the park) and balmy evenings Trinken am Biergarten (self explanatory, but see #6 below).
Actually, German beer gardens are so good they deserve their own place in this list. Every good German neighourhood worth its salt will boast a proper beer garden with long trestle tables, steins overflowing with ice-cold Pilsener and the smell of grilling wurst wafting on the summer breeze.
We're (rightly) proud of our pubs in Ireland, but come a warm summer's evening, a balmy biergarten knocks a dark and clastrophobic pub into a cocked hat.
Many people dislike German as a guttural, harsh-sounding and overly-complex language.
These people are wrong.
The German language is a thing of precise and subtle beauty, with a word for every possible aspect of the human condition. And, where not words do not exist, you get the wonderfully Teutonic creations of - where Germans basically keep adding words together until they have the one they want.
Like, for example, the word , which means 'the thing for taking the top off your boiled eggs'.
But anyone who lives with the German language for a period of time comes to love its idiosyncrasies. Don't believe us? Check out the Twitter account The German For (@thegermanfor) which tweets German-language gems that are like solutions to a problem you never knew you had.
Like this:
The German for "a stone's throw" is Katzensprung which means a cat's jump.
— The German For... (@thegermanfor) July 9, 2014
or this:
The German for cloud nine is Wolke Sieben which means cloud seven.
— The German For... (@thegermanfor) May 20, 2014
Or our all-time personal favourite:
The German for the contraceptive pill is Antibabypille #doeswhatitsaysonthetin
— The German For... (@thegermanfor) June 5, 2014
An absolute must-follow.
Ah, Dirndls.
Ostensibly an integral part of Bavarian traditional costume (or Tracht), Dirndls have basically evolved into mobile boob showrooms that emerge en masse during the annual Oktoberfest (which, confusingly, begins in September).
Those of us in the pro-boob camp may hold that as no bad thing.
*Daydreams*
Dirndls are great..
Future lower back problems there.
This may be an unpopular opinion in these here parts ("Angela Merkel thinks we're at work", etc.), but we have a soft spot for the Kanzlerin, and particularly her endearing support for the national Mannschaft.
Merkel is well-known as an ardent soccer fan, with her favourite player being Bastian Schweinsteiger, and frequently undertakes marathon trips to be in the stands when the boys in white are playing.
Images of Merkel whooping and shouting with enthusiasm have warmed her to the German public, who dub her the team's '12th man', but it's the sweaty dressing-room selfies that we like the most, such as this one from Lukas Podolski:
Selfie 2…:-) pic.twitter.com/RJh7RnXXUw
— Lukas-Podolski.com (@Podolski10) July 13, 2014
She may be one of the most powerful women in the world, but she smiles like a schoolgirl when meeting her heroes.
More power to you, Frau Merkel.
Finally, Germany would be nothing without its people, and anyone with the impression of Germans as humourless, deckchair-grabbing automatons is way wide of the mark.
Modern Germany is a multi-cultural melting pot, a confluence of traditions; informed by its past and inspired by its future. For the most part, Germans are a people with wry sense of humour, a tolerant and open worldview and a love of great beer, which makes them alright by us.
(Plus, they love Ireland - we mean, really love Ireland. And not just in the 'bailed us out for billions' sense, but in the 'hey we think you guys are great' sense)
Anyway, the Germans.
Here's to them on a great World Cup win and may they enjoy the celebrations in the days and weeks to come -
