Learning About Germany

Since we started our world geography unit with France, we decided to stick to European countries first and then move onto other regions. This week we learned all about Germany!

Basic Information About Germany:

Germany is a country in western Europe. It is boarderd by Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the North Sea, and the Baltic Sea. Germany is typically cool and cloudy, with mild summers. The northern region of Germany is mainly flat plains, while central and southern Germany is covered in forested hills, with several river valleys.

Capital: Berlin

Population: 83 million

Size: 357,021 square kilometers

Currency: Euro

Type of Government: federal republic

German Flag:

National Anthem: Lied der Deutschen

National Animal: The Federal Eagle

Famous Places and Monuments:

Neuschwanstein Castle

Neuschwanstein Castle- Photo by Mark Neal

Neushwanstien Castle in Bavaria, Germany is one of the most visited castles in Europe. It was commissioned by King Ludwig II as a retreat, but he died before it's completion in 1886. It has served as a national monument and tourist attraction ever since. It is absolutely stunning! Check out this link for pictures of the inside and outside: https://neuschwansteincastle.net/neuschwanstein-castle-pictures/ or watch this short video clip from National Geographic to see the outside from various angles: https://youtu.be/BxhxZHqHDGA.

Brandenburg Gate

Brandenburg Gate- Photo by Stanley Nuda from Pexels

Brandenburg Gate in Berlin is one of Germany's most famous monuments. It was built in the late 1700's and was commissioned by the Prussian king Frederick William II as a gateway to the boulevard that led to the city palace of the Prussian monarchs. Historically it has been the site of many major events and is considered a symbol of Europe's turbulent past and also as a symbol of peace and unity. For more information and to see some pictures and video footage of the gate, check out these links:

Historic Photos of Brandenburg Gate

The Brandenburg Gate- History

The Brandenburg Gate- A Berlin Landmark

Berlin Wall Memorial

The Berlin Wall memorial was built in 1998 as a memorial to the lives lost there during the division of Berlin, which lasted from 1961 to 1989. For a quick tour of the memorial and a little more information about the division of Berlin, check out this video: Berlin, Germany: The Wall and Checkpoint Charlie

Cologne Cathedral

Cologne Cathedral- Photo by Dids from Pexels

Cologne Cathedral is a massive gothic style cathedral in Cologne Germany. Construction began in 1248 but it wasn't fully finished until the late 1800's. I found a pretty interest video from Discovery UK about how it was illuminated before the time of electricity: How Cologne Cathedral was Illuminated Before Electricity.

The Wadden Sea

The Wadden sea is the world's largest interconnected system of tidal flats and mud flats in the world. This shallow body of water is home to a large biodiverse population of tidal creatures and serves as nesting grounds for many migratory birds. Here's a video about this amazing area between the land and the sea and the creatures that live there: National Park Wadden Sea Schleswig-Holstein.

German Recipes:

We tried two different German recipes this week. One was apple German pancakes, and while they came out a bit crumbly, they were a huge hit. The other was an old family recipe for potato pancakes. Potato pancakes are traditionally topped with fruit and powdered sugar as a breakfast food, but we served them lightly salted as a side dish with bratwurst for dinner.

German Apple Pancakes:

For this recipe you will need 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of oats, 4 eggs, 1 3/4 cup of milk, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 2 apples diced, cinnamon to taste, and several tablespoons of olive oil.

Start by putting the oats through a food processor or a blender until they are about the consistency of flour. Mix the oats and flour in a large bowl and beat in the eggs. Add the milk and salt and then let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes.

While your batter sits, dice up the apples and add a little cinnamon.

Heat a tablespoon or two of oil in a pan over medium heat. Add a small spoonful of the diced apples to the pan and spoon a pancake sized amount of batter over the apples.

Let it cook 3-4 minutes, until the underside starts to turn golden brown. Then flip and cook the other side.

Repeat until all the apples and batter are gone. Then top with powdered sugar or syrup.

Potato Pancakes:

For this recipe you will need 2 1/2 pounds of finely grated potatoes (we put ours through a food processor), 1 small onion finely grated, 2 eggs, 1/4 cup of flour, salt, and olive oil.

Squeeze the moisture from your grated potatoes by squeezing them inside a clean towel or a paper towel.

In a bowl, mix the potatoes, onion, flour, and eggs.

Heat a couple tablespoons of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add about 1/3 cup of the potato mixture to the pan and flatten with a fork. Fry each side for 3-5 minutes until the pancake is golden brown.

Serve with fruit and powdered sugar on top, or just salt and eat them plain.

Paper Gingerbread Heart Craft

Gingerbread cookies shaped like hearts called lebkuchenherzen are popular in German markets, especially around Christmas time. They often come with sweet or funny sayings on them and hung on string so they can be worn as a necklace or hung as an ornament. You can read more about this fun German tradition and see pictures here: A Brief History of Lebkuchen.

We made our own paper version of these beautiful cookies using construction paper, puffy paint, yarn, and markers.

First we cut large hearts out of brown construction paper. Then we made hearts, flowers, and other decorations on them with puffy paint and markers, pretending we were decorating cookies with frosting. In the center we wrote sweet sayings like "I love you", "Smile", and "Ich liebe dich" (which is German for I love you).

After the paint was dry, we punched two holes near the top of the hearts and strung some yarn through the holes so they could be worn as a necklace or hung.