This is part 1 of 16 of a journey through my home country: Germany.

I invite everyone to take a closer look at what I call home. I will show you sides of today-Germany you didn't know of - especially when you are not German.
A lot of "foreigners" (actually I don't really like this word) connect Germany with beer, cars, lederhosen and sauerkraut. I admit these are parts of Germany and important ones too (especially the beer and the cars), but they by far are not everything!

This article serie will show you the 16 countries of Germany, some quite similar to each other, some totally different. Sure, this serie will mainly feature photography, but perhaps I will link to other styles of art like modern German music or so.

Our journey leads us through:

_{Bavaria
Saxonia
Brandenburg
Berlin
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Schleswig-Holstein
Hamburg
Lower Saxony
Saxony-Anhalt
Thuringia
Hesse
Baden-Wuerttemberg
Rhineland-Palatinate
Saarland
North Rhine-Westphalia
Bremen}

Please, come and see...



I decided to start this trip through Germany with Bavaria.
I'm sure most of you know what's "typical" Bavarian, because the Bavarian culture is the one that most influenced the view of Germany in the world. I can even tell you why that is:
The largest part on the American controlled zone in post-WWII-Germany was Bavarian, so it's clear that American news featured a Bavarian view on Germany, as well as the fact, that American soldiers got in touch with the South German and Bavarian people and reported their impressions home.

Who of you doesn't know Germany's highest mountain, the Zugspitze or famous Castle Neuschwanstein?!



This is pretty well known, I'm sure. As well as the oh-so-funny Oktoberfest in Munich, right?



But do you know anthing more about Munich or Bavaria as a whole?! Bavaria is the biggest of the 16 German states, concerning the area. It is supposed to be the economically most powerful and it has the most effective football-club in Germany, that's sure. The FC Bayern München plays in the Allianz Arena, a really great stadium, even if nearly nobody outside Bavaria really likes that club!
At the same time, Munich is one of the biggest (population: 1.3 mio) and one of the most important cities in Germany. It is culturally very rich and hosts some of the biggest tv-stations and media-corporations in the whole country, as well as some great examples for modern architecture.



You see, Munich is not only Oktoberfest and Football, as whole Bavaria isn't lederhosen and sauerkraut. The most beautiful cars in the world (and I mean that!) are Bavarian-made: BMW and Audi. Look at these:



Say these are not true beauties and I'll tell you you're lying! They are...
But Bavaria as well has a wonderful landscape with montains, lakes and tiny villages and cities that seem untouched by modern life (they sure as hell are not).



Now you may think Bavaria is rural landscape plus Munich. It is very rural, indeed. But there are other cities in Bavaria that are really beautiful and that played important roles in German history.
The ones best known may be Nuremberg (remember the trials?) and Augsburg.



Bavaria is a region of differences - big cities and tiny rural villages, international fairs and cows, TV-stations and lederhosen (yes, they exist), religion and high-life.
Bavaria has a somewhat hard standing among the rest of Germany:
Most Germans feel that Bavarians are very fond of being Bavarian and that they often try to divide between Bavaria and Germany through accent, behaviour and tradition. At the same time, the Bavarians may appear very conservative (Bavaria has been ruled by the same christian-conservative party for decades by now) and religious, whereas religion hardly plays any role in the eastern and northern parts of Germany. Plus Bavarian politicans always try to expand Bavari's influence on the federal politics, sometimes in a way that may appear rather harsh to other German state's leaders and the public.
At the same time, Bavaria is loved for the wheat beer, the holiday areas, the cars. Bavarians are being seen as very hospitable people who know how to cook and to entertain their guests.

Now, this was only a very, very short trip through Bavaria an I know I missed a lot (if not almost everything). But this is supposed to be a short, informative journal and not a travel guide. I hope you like the pictures - if you do, please give the artists a visit and/or a fav, they really deserve it.

If you have any questions about this station of our trip or Germany as a whole: please ask, I'll try to answer as quick as possible.
And if you have any suggestions about how to make this trip any better, please don't hesitate to write me, either.





Looking forward for your comments - and the next station of this trip...
Malte

PS: This journal can also be read and faved as a news article!