THE REGIONS OF GERMANY BY DIETER K BUSE

“A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart.” – Johann Wolfgang Goethe. Dieter K buse justified the statement.  Being a professor of History, has laid before the readers, a complete information of Germany.  A read of this book before leaving to Germany, will assist in every way. Germany – a country in the continent of Europe has got three distinct geographic regions – The coastal plains, the central rolling uplands and the high lands of the Alph- mountain.  All these natural divisions add more charm to the country. This book highlights all the sixteen states of Germany, giving a detailed description of each and every state.

Starting from “Baden”, it opens up with a map of the state along with an account of its geographical features, history, tourist attractions and their customs.  In addition to this cultural attributes and contributions are also discussed .Every chapter definitely ends with a recipe of a regional cuisine.  The rare photographs   in the book draw much attention.  Many of the photographs are the courtesy of the author, which spotlights his interest in Germany as well as in photography.

The first industrial museum to be given a UNESCO heritage designation is the volkingen steel complex in Saarland and the Bauhaus school of Architecture is anther UNESCO heritage site. This gives a world class recognition for Germany’s cultural heritage. “Thuringia”- Germany’s green heart’- where Martin Luther led the protestant Reformation and translated the Bible. This is an example of many such incidents where Germany is a part of world history.

Snippets:

*Operas in Berlin is an enchanting affair.

* Hiking is a much loved activity in Alphs and in the country’s largest Nature preserve- Naturpark       Ahltmuehl, is on the river of the same name.

*The chapter about Brandenburg commences with a local poem. It presents a mesmerising photograph of Chinese tea house in Sanssou ,  Potsdam.

*Hamburg- a port city   with many migrants is termed as “Venice of the north”.

*The National Maritime museum offers the history of the German Merchant Navy in Bremen.

* Frankfurt in Hesse- the airport, autobahn links and the railways move more people   and freight than any other place in central Europe.

* Lower Saxony is the second largest state, a local motto says, God made the sea, but the Frisians the coast.

*Mecklenburg- western Pomerania, though it is the economically weakest region in Germany, it has two national parks   and it’s a treat to eye with many scenic beauty.

*North Rhine Westphalia has a custom called carnival dance and it is more famous for a sports university at Cologne.

*Rhineland palatinate is identified with wine. Wine festivals are accompanied by much singing of folk songs- The taste for music.

*Saxony- Heinrich schutz, termed father of German music for his Protestant - psalm’s.

*Saxony- Anhalt- Agriculture remains important. Chemical industries take next place with a large bayer plant at Bitterfeld.

*Schleswig-holstein – the noble prize winner Gunter Grass and Sarah Kircch hail from this place.

*National Research centre for classical German literature was launched in 1954.