In Depth

A unified, wealthy, industrial yet beautiful Germany awaits you and promises some of the most intriguing travel experiences in Europe.

Many of its treasures were lost in World War II, but much remains and much has been restored. Natural scenery, particularly in the Black Forest, the Mosel Valley, the Harz Mountains, and the Bavarian Alps, is a potent lure.

For those who want to see history in the making, we'd recommend visiting Potsdam, Leipzig, Dresden, Meissen, and Weimar, all centers of East Germany before German unification in October 1990. Keep in mind, however, that although political developments have been fast paced, the infrastructure of the five new states cannot change overnight, and living standards here are still different from those in (the former) West Germany.

Germany is one of the most modern and, at the same time, the most traditional of countries. Its advanced technology and industry are the envy of the rest of the world. Here you'll likely meet people of learning and sophistication, boasting a long cultural heritage and devotion to music and the arts.

This guide is meant to help you decide where to go in Germany and how best to enjoy its charms, but ultimately the most gratifying rewards will be your own serendipitous discoveries -- drinking beer in a yard shaded by chestnut trees, picnicking in a Bavarian meadow, or spending time chatting with a winemaker in the Mosel Valley. You will surely remember experiences like these for years to come.

Germany Today

In late September 2009, Chancellor Angela Merkel swept to reelection, making her one of the longest-serving leaders among Europe's major powers. Her Christian Democrats formed a new center-right government, triumphing over Social democrats, who fared badly in the election.

In a union with the pro-business Free Democrats, Madam Merkel strengthened her hand in Germany, and in the next year or so may begin to enact the kind of liberalizing economic plans she proposed when she first ran for chancellor.

Her victory was muted by Germany's rising budget deficits as a result of the global economic crisis.

As an example of the changing times, Ms. Merkel, Germany's first female chancellor, is joined by the first openly gay vice-chancellor and foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, who shepherded his Free Democrats to their strongest showing ever. All this occurring in a country that a few decades ago sent homosexuals to the concentration camps and the gas chambers, along with Jews and gypsies.

Germany today remains split between Protestantism and Catholicism, and it is not homogeneous, as each year it greets an influx of non-German immigrants.

It is still ranked low on the threat of terrorism in spite of memories of the 1972 Munich Massacre at the Olympic Games, in which Jewish athletes were killed.

Germany has about 84 million citizens, making it the most densely populated of the nations in the E.U. The capital, Berlin, has the largest population with some 3.5 million residents, trailed by Hamburg and Munich.

Turks form the largest group of immigrants (2.3 million), followed by Sorbs (some 60,000 in number) and even some 50,000 Danes who live in Schleswig-Holstein near the Danish border.

In spite of a gloomy economy, Germany still remains the third-largest economy in the world, with exports counting for 40% of its GDP.

Although East and West Germany long ago united, as the Berlin Wall came tumbling down, conflicts remain. Westerners often express resentment at having to spend so many of their euros on propping up the less affluent Easterners, who lived for so long under Communist rule.

Ossis, as Easterners are known in Germany, often claim that they feel like poor cousins come to live with a far more affluent family.

The friends you're likely to meet in Germany (and you're likely to meet many) will probably be well educated and will possess linguistic skills (almost certainly including English) that, by the standards of the rest of the world, particularly the United States, are astonishing. Many younger Germans are likely to be guided by a sense of idealism, even zeal, for ecological and other causes.

Germans, like Americans, are worried about job security. The greatest fear sweeping across Germany today is of "job hemorrhage." German companies are finding that more and more of their manufacturing plants and jobs can be farmed out to other locations, including, ironically enough, Alabama and South Carolina, where wages and benefits for workers at a BMW plant are about 30% less than in Germany. In the Czech Republic, just across the border, wages are equivalent to 10% of those paid in Germany, for workers nearly as well qualified.

But, in spite of its problems, a modern Germany, centered around Berlin, is expected to remain at the epicenter of European culture and a continuing powerhouse in the E.U.