Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [33]
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Germany has about 20 million old-age pensioners, who account for around a quarter of the population. About 32.5 million Germans (39% of the population) earn their own living.
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The population in the former East Germany fell below the 1906 level after reunification as easterners moved to the more lucrative west. Oddly, Berlin’s postreunification population boom has been offset by the exodus of young families from the capital to the surrounding countryside. Due to declining immigration, the total population figure has been slipping downwards since 2003 and, according to the most recent projections, will hit 74 million by 2050 (compared with today’s 82.32 million).
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DOS & DON’TS
Germans draw a fat line between Sie and du (both meaning ‘you’). Addressing an acquaintance with the formal Sie is a must, unless invited to do otherwise. Muttering a familiar du (reserved for close friends and family) to a shop assistant will only incite wrath and bad service, although du is often acceptable in young-people-packed bars. If in doubt, use Sie.
Push firmly but politely with German bureaucracy; shouting will only slam down the shutters. Germans lower (rather than raise) their voices when mad.
Give your name at the start of a phone call, even when calling a hotel or restaurant to book a room or table.
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For more on Germany’s foreign population, Click here.
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SPORT
Germany, always a keen sporting nation, has hosted the summer Olympics and football World Cup two times apiece. Although football (soccer) is easily the most popular sport, tennis, basketball and ice hockey also have strong followings.
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Football
Football ignites the passion of Germans everywhere and has contributed much to building Germany’s self-confidence as a nation. Its national team has won the World Cup three times, in 1954, 1974 and 1990. West Germany’s first victory against Hungary in Bern, Switzerland, was unexpected and miraculous for a country slumbering deeply in post-WWII depression. The ‘miracle of Bern’ – as the victory is called – sent national morale soaring.
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Bundesliga scoreboards, rankings and fixtures are found online at www.germansoccer.net (in English) and www.bundesliga.de (in German).
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West Germany also won the 1974 World Cup in Munich, the home town of Franz Beckenbauer (b 1945) – dubbed ‘Emperor Franz’ for his outstanding flair and elegance. A third win in 1990 was remarkable because, for the first time since 1945, Germany fielded a unified team from East and West.
Another highlight of German football was the Sommermärchen (Summer Fairy Tale) World Cup of 2006, hosted by Germany. Although it didn’t win, Germans rediscovered the art of flag-waving (long a sensitive issue due to its history as a nation) and celebrated one of their best national parties in recent times. National co-trainer at the time, Jürgen Klinsmann (b 1964), who is based in Huntington Beach, California, spent much of the 2008–09 season training Bayern-München – also known as FC Hollywood, and arguably one of the most difficult jobs in German football – before departing.
Another key football figure in Germany is the Dresden-born Matthias Sammer (b 1967), currently responsible for German football’s junior talent as sports director for the DFB (German Football Association). Sammer, whose father was a highly successful trainer of the GDR team Dynamo Dresden (for whom Matthias Sammer also played), is often touted as a candidate for national trainer. If he ever gets the post, this would be another unique achievement for the fiery Saxon, who was the last player to kick a goal for East Germany and the first former East German to play in the reunified German national team.
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West Germany’s 1954 World Cup victory provides the backdrop for Sönke Wortmann’s