Germany

Now that we’re on our way to Belgium, it’s time to reflect on Germany. We stayed in two places, and even though they were in the same country, they were very different. Berlin was a very modern city, just like any other modern city in the world. There was public transportation that would take you anywhere, skyscrapers, and food from everywhere. The people always dressed fashionably and the majority of them spoke English. Munich, although relatively modern, still was very traditional German. The Bavarian influences were a lot more evident everywhere, and people didn’t always speak English. There was a very large population of Middle Eastern people and a high population of homeless people—which is odd because I would think it would be higher in Berlin considering the size, but it might’ve just been the area we were staying at in each place.

Although Berlin was very modern, it was also rich with history—because of its central location, it was hit hard in the war, both literally and figuratively. Because of the war, many places had to be rebuilt and while some decided to recreate the original structures, others instead chose to modernize. After the Berlin wall fell, industry flooded to Berlin, so it is modern. Although Berlin, with its wall, is rich in history, Munich was the start of many movements. Both the White Rose Movement and the XXXXXX movement started in Munich. Munich is also where Hitler first joined the Nazi party after being rejected from art school.

Both cities are located on waterways, which increases the amount of trade that can happen between the cities and elsewhere—especially in the past when water travel was the easiest way to go. Water is also very important in these cities since they both make so much beer. Beer is important to the monks in Munich and the rest of the people in Germany. I’m not sure about Munich, but in Berlin the groundwater was very close to the surface, so we often saw pipes all over the city to reroute the groundwater during construction. Groundwater is also an important source of water for brewing, but sometimes can be hard depending on the minerals in the ground in the area. The hardness of the water can have a great deal of influence on the final beer.