Carnival has been celebrated for centuries as a time of celebration before the time of serious reflection that comes with Easter. The largest carnival in the world is celebrated in Brazil but another large celebration is held in Cologne, Germany. In the German version, the celebrations go on for days even in the cold weather. People often wear costumes and walk through the streets carrying on until late into the night.

Cadiz, Spain has also celebrated carnival for many centuries as it is once was one of the most important maritime ports in the world. The main events during the Spanish carnival include a coronation of the goddess of the carnival, numerous parades, children’s parties and a great masked ball. There are also singing competitions where teams of singers get together and write their own songs to perform in the streets. On the final day the dancers and singers are judged. Many songs include funny lyrics while other songs contain satires of well-known people such as local celebrities and politicians.

Navigating beer in Germany as a foreigner can be daunting. There are over four dozen official varieties, each stemming from the various regions of Germany and owing to specialized brewing techniques. Here we will look at the basics as well as some cultural tips surrounding beer consumption.

First off, beer in Germany is considered a food item. It is widely available in grocery stores, all restaurants and pubs, concession stands and even vending machines. Age limitations on alcohol consumption are much lower than those found in North America. Teenagers aged 14 or older may consume beer or wine in restaurants when an adult is present. At the age of 16, youth may drink beer or wine unaccompanied. To consume hard liquor, the age limit is set at 18. Similar laws apply to the purchase of alcohol. Special beverages comprised of beer and soft drinks are also available for younger drinkers, to lower the alcohol percentage. As there are no strict age restrictions or separate “pubs/bars,” family members of all ages may dine together at all times allowing for a more multigenerational social life.

As beer is considered a food item, it’s pricing is more in line with that of soft drinks and mineral waters; between two and four euros depending on the size. Beer is often taken with lunch as well although this practice is declining. Beer consumption in Germany overall has been declining for the last two decades owing to the aging population, healthier trends as well as young people experimenting with new foreign alcoholic drinks. That said, Germany still ranks fifth in the world in beer consumption with 110 L per person per year.

The German government strictly controls beer production going back to the 16th century. It may only be made with four ingredients: water, hops, yeast and malt. All variances are based on the technique in brewing. The type of beer you will be ordering in a given restaurant owes a lot to the region in which you find yourself. Every region produces its own traditional beer type. Here are some of the more common ones:

Pils-the most popular with roughly 60% of the market share

Kölsch-specific to the Cologne region

Altbier-an ale specific to Düsseldorf and region

Weissbier-most popular in Bavaria

Hefeweizen– cloudy in appearance due to yeast being left in, wheat malt

Bockbier-based on a barley malt, high alcohol content and brewed for holiday occasions

Helles-a lager, light in color and easy to drink

Dunkles-Amber to dark in color, more of a sipping beer

The label on the beer bottle will give you much information such as, the name and type of beer, the brewery’s location, the year the company was founded, and of course its alcohol content. Most German beers are between 3.5% and 6% alcohol content. Low alcohol or nonalcoholic beers are also popular. Nonalcoholic beers generally taste much better than their North American equivalents.

When out drinking with Germans, the most common way to say cheers is Prost.  This may be called out by someone for every new round of beer or at any time. The tradition is to lift up your beer glass, sometimes even above your head, and call out Prost before lowering it to take a drink. Another common way to say cheers is Zum Wohl which roughly translates as “to your health.”

Mr. Somers is a self-proclaimed lover of all things German. After having studied the language in university in the U.S., he traveled and worked throughout Germany for a number of years. These experiences have given him a unique perspective on German culture.

His humor and appreciation of the differences between Americans and Germans comes through in every chapter. Topics addressed include: the German transportation system, eating and drinking habits, celebrations and holidays, politics, music, and many more. The book is organized into 22 compact chapters making it easy for people to choose what is of interest to them.

Of particular interest to me was chapter 3,  titled Rules, Rules and More Rules: Is this allowed? It deals with how rule-oriented Germans are. For North Americans this can be a difficult transition to life in Germany as things are more flexible or negotiable in our society than they are in Germanic society. An example given in the book is that a regular citizen can reprimand you for jaywalking!

In sum, this is an excellent book and a fast and entertaining read for anyone looking for some insights into German culture.

German is spoken by approximately 100 million people all over the world. It is an official language in: Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Liechtenstein, Austria, Switzerland as well as provinces found in eastern France and northern Italy. German speakers have also emigrated to numerous other countries. Here are some more interesting facts about the German language:

There are around 200 modern dialects of German. These dialects, called Mundart in German, are regional and can be so different as to cause people to be unable to communicate with each other. Therefore, German speakers learn High German or Hochdeutsch in school. All newspapers are written in this standard German and this is also how business and politics is conducted.

The German alphabet features some interesting letters. The letters a, u and o can all add an umlaut (two dots above it) and create a new vowel sound. There is also the letter which looks somewhat like a B in English but is actually a double s.  It has two names: eszett or scharfes s and looks like this: ß.

Until 1945 German was written with an old Gothic style script known as Faktura.  This script was commonly used throughout Western Europe until the 17th century but continued in Germany  until the end of WWII.

Finally, the German language allows for enormously long compound nouns. While these are definitely tongue twisters for newcomers to the language, they are also a lot of fun to learn. Here is one of my favourites: die Verschlimmbesserung. Defined as an intended improvement that makes things worse!