Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Travel the World - Week 21


Note: This is my second blog post of the day. If you're wanting to see my Challenge Your Stash card that celebrates National Hamburger Day, either keep scrolling or go HERE.

This is the 21st week in my Travel the World personal challenge. Each week I am randomly choosing one country (there are 195 countries in the world) and doing a little research on that country. I then select one tidbit of information about the country as inspiration for the card I make.

This week's country is...


Germany

Germany shares borders with nine other countries: Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. It is the fifth largest country in Europe; only the Ukraine, France, Spain and Sweden are bigger. 

Germany is one of the most densely populated countries in the world.

One-third of Germany is still covered in forests and woodlands.

Germany was the first country in the world to adopt Daylight saving time. This occurred in 1916, in the midst of WWI.

Germany has the world’s narrowest street in the city of Reutlingen. Called “Spreuerhofstrasse,” the street is approximately one foot wide at the narrowest point, and nearly twenty inches wide at the widest.

German is the most widely taught third language across the world.

Prison escape is not punishable by law in Germany. German law maintains that it’s a basic human instinct to be free and therefore, prisoners have the right to escape jail. Escapes, however, rarely go unpunished because prisoners are held liable if they cause damage to property or inflict bodily harm against any individual upon their breakout.

It’s illegal to run out of fuel in the German Autobahn. Sixty-five percent of the highways in Germany (Autobahn) have no speed limit.

College education in Germany is free even for internationals.

Germany has legal say on what babies can be named. German law ban names that don’t denote a gender or use a family name as a first name. 

Berlin has the largest train station in Europe.

Germany is one of the world’s largest car producers – selling 6 million cars in 2015. VW’s Golf is one of the best selling cars of all time. In 2016, the top-selling car brands in Germany were Volkswagen, Audi, Mercedes and BMW.

Most taxis in Germany are Mercedes.

Hamburgers got their name from Hamburg, Germany where a cut of beef called the Hamburg steak is from. This evolved into what we now know as the hamburger.

Germany is one of the world’s leading book nations, publishing around 94,000 titles every year. The first printed book was in German.

There are over 2100 castles in Germany. The one pictured here is the Hohenzollern Castle located in Stuttgart.

Toilet paper in Germany has the softness and consistency of paper towels.

Most Germans believe that open windows will cause illness, such as achy joints or the flu. Because of this, the window panes stay tightly shut even in the most beautiful weather.

Germans consider it bad luck to celebrate birthdays early. 

Rather than waving to your German friends, greet them by knocking on the table for good luck.

Whatever you do don’t cheers with water. Doing so, means you’re wishing death upon your drinking buddies, and you definitely wouldn’t want to do that.

Germans order their beer very differently. To order a single beer, raise one thumb. If you want to order two beers, raise your first finger. Be careful not to confuse your fingers and thumbs unless you want order the whole pub a round of drinks!

I decided to let this Germany fact be the inspiration for this week's card... The Christmas tree (Tannenbaum) tradition came from Germany.




Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamp: High Hopes Woodland Santa stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Papers: Recollections Black and 110# White and SU Real Red CS and Paper Studio Buffalo Plaid Red/Black DP

Embellishments: SU Ribbon and Brads from unknown vendors

3 comments:

Aracelli Merla said...

I so enjoy reading all of your interesting details on these countries. You seem to find the best things to share. Thanks!

Barb said...

I loved reading this and learned a few new tidbits. Sweet cad--I love that image!

Lynn McAuley said...

I have German roots on my mother's side! Love your lumberjack in his Santa hat!! Wouldn't our homes look different at Christmas if we had no Christmas trees??