Free subject: Allgäuer Brauhaus

Bier is one of the first stereotypes that foreigners have when thinking about Germany. And you don't need to spend a lot of time in Germany to understand why. In fact, in every shop, one can find biers in 0,5L glass bottles. As the prices are not so high and the alcohol rate is usually around 4-5% in German biers, it's really frequent to see people drinking some in the streets or public transportations all along the day.
Therefore, since I arrived in Berlin, I had to taste many types of bier to find the bests because there is a way wider range of products than in France. One of my favorites is the Allgäuer Büble Bier.

Before the XXth century, there were many small and local breweries and Germany.
In 1888, in Kempton (Bavaria), Kempten stock brewery, Bürgerlicher Brauhaus and Grünbaumbrauerei merged.
From this fusion, the Weixler family established the Allgäuer Brauhaus on the 28 of January 1911.
During the following years, the company grew a lot thanks to the acquisition of many smaller establishments. It also started to export its biers on other continents by boat or zeppelin.
After the Second World War, they finally bought the only four remaining breweries in Kempten.
In 1994, Allgäuer Brauhaus was owning about 800 establishments, 120 only in Kempten.
In 2003, the company was bought by the Radeberger Group which still is the owner of the brewery. The production was moved to Leuterschach the following year and Allgäuer Brauhaus became the part of the group that was in charge of putting the bier in the bottles.

They provide more than 20 types of bier including 7 different Büble Bier:

• Edelbräu   (5,5%)
• Bayerisch Hell   (4,7%)
• EdelWeissBier   (5,3%)  
• Alcoholfree EdelWeissBier 
• Radler Naturtrüb   (2,3%)
• Urbayrisch Dunkel   (5,3%)  
• Festbier   (5,5%)

Until now, I only have tasted the three first ones and my favorite is the Edelbräu. 

Free subject: Zoo Berlin

Zoo Berlin is one of the biggest zoo in Europe and is 33-hectares.

It opened in 1844, which makes it the oldest zoo in Germany and the 9th oldest in the world. King Frederick William III of Prussia and his wife, Louise of Prussia created it because they were passionned by exotic animals.

Nowadays, it also composed with an aquarium and contains the world's largest variety of species. In fact, about 28,300 animals from 1,300 species are in there.

But what is the most important isn't the quantity but the quality: “Our top priority is always the welfare of our animals,” explains Zoo and Tierpark Director Dr Andreas Knieriem. “Every visitor to the Zoo, Tierpark or Aquarium matters, as each ticket sold helps our modernisation projects to progress more quickly.”

In fact, they constantly renovate animal habitats not for them to be treated badly. As an example, when I went there, the Predator's house composed of lions, tigers, leopards... wasn't open to the public because of the work they were doing to improve their quality of life.

Free subject: my trip in Kraków

Last week-end, two friends and I went in Poland, in Kraków for 3 days.

On Friday, we visiting the city. We first walked in the historic city center, with its wonderful Rynek Glówny square where both are one of the St. Mary's basilica and the market.Then, we went along the Vistula river before going to the Royal Castle and the Wavel Cathedral.We tasted some Polish dishes such as Pierogy which are filled dumplings boiled in hot water or fried in a pan. 

The next day, we took the bus to the Wieliczka Salt Mine where the exploitation was in activity from the 13th century to 1996 but is now an historic monument opened to the public. We went 150 meters under the ground where a guide explained us the mining activities, the technics and the working conditions of the miners. During centuries, even if the task was highly difficult and dangerous, the miners were working for the King, so they were under its protection, well payed and had stability because the job could be transmitted from father to son. 
Downstairs, there are 3 chapels and a huge cathedral carved out of salt rock, for the miners to pray before working. There also are many sculptures relating historical events or honouring Polish historical figures such as Copernic. 

 

Then, on Sunday, a bus took us to Birkenau then to Auschwitz to visit what remains from the concentration and extermination camps. It was frightening and unbelievable, but also really interesting as it illustrates the horrors that happend there during the Second World War... To be faced with this terrible reality was important to me and made it even less understandable.

Local news story: Karneval der Kulturen

Karneval der Kulturen (Carnival of Cultures)

The Carnival of Cultures is a multicultural event that happens every year since 1996. It takes place in Kreuzberg (South-East multicultural district of Berlin) around Pentecost. This year, from the 7th to the 10th of June, more than 5,000 people devided in at least 70 procession groups were the main actors of the carnaval ! In fact, this event has grown a lot since its creation (around 2,000 participants in 1996) and is now a must in Berlin's calendar. This year, around 500,000 tourists came from around the world to join the Berliners during this week-end !

What makes the Karnaval der Kulturen so special and demanded is the fact that it isn't only a "classical" Carnival where people are dressing up, but also a fantastic way for every community to bring its culture in front of people's eyes. It leads to a wonderful mix of bright colors, which is rare in Berlin. This fantastix mix perfectly illustrates the huge diversity which is present in Berlin.



Many open-air concerts, theatrical performances or other activities swarm in the streets of Kreuzberg. Rookies, as well as professionals, are showing their talents. There is no need to show something absolutly brilliant but to give what you can do to the crowd. It creates a warm and harmonious athmosphere where people are here, smiling, with one single goal in mind: to enjoy the moment !





By bringing many tourists in Kreuzberg, the carnival is a great opportunity for hostels, restaurants.. to get a lot of clients. It really participates to the economy of the district by boosting the sales before the beginning of the summer period.


Moreover, many people take advantage of this event by having a stall in the street. In fact, during these days, you can find hundreds of stalls where you can buy a drink (mainly beer) or get something to eat. It is also the opportunity to taste many different specialities from around the world for a fair price.


Finally, as this event usually corresponds to the beginning of summer and the "good days", lots of Berliners enjoy this moment by hanging out with family, friends or simply to meet new people in the city while enjoying food&drinks.

    

Social rituals

In Germany, the national celebrations are mainly corresponding to the Christian calendar with Easter or Christmas holidays for example. But the main celebration is on the 3rd of October with the German Unification Day, celebrating the unification of East and West Germany in 1990.

Moreover, the main German cultural event is the Oktoberfest starting on Saturday, 16 to 18 days before the first Sunday of October. Mainly happening in Bavaria, the Oktoberfest is a huge cultural and social gathering where people enjoy cultural activities. Even if it is also composed of many activities (such as concerts, games…) the key point of this event is the beer ! In fact, during these days, people from Germany and around the world, are drinking huge quantities of beer and activities are made around it. As an example, Oliver Strümpfel broke a world record by carrying 31 glasses of beer during this event !

Since I arrived in Berlin, I also noticed the following cultural elements:

·         Many Berliners are dressed in simple dark clothes; I’ve almost never seen people wearing clothes that catches the attention.

·         The well-known German desire for orderliness is not a legend and can be seen almost everywhere: The streets and the public transportations are looking way more clean than in France; everyone is respecting the traffic lights even when walking; a shop or an office is always respecting its opening hours and won’t close 10 minutes before…

·         Berliners are stoic people who could look a bit cold for foreigners. But the fact is that they don’t want to annoy you and they let you leave your life. But if you need them, they will help you when asking. As an example, I’ve lived in 3 different places and every time I was asking the owner about who the neighbor are; they always tell me that they don’t know each other !

·         German students are really direct when working in groups. If something doesn’t meet their expectations, they won’t be so diplomatic and will easily criticize someone’s work.

·         The German government is acting a lot against gender inequalities or other discriminations. Many adverts (especially on TV) contain the symbols of a community in order to represent it and avoid more discrimination by showing it every time in a suitable context. As a good consequence, Berliners are really open-minded and is willing to mix with everyone.  

Geopolitics

POLITICAL SYSTEM

Before the 9th of November 1918, Germany was ruled by the Prussian royal family. But at the end of the First World War, Kaiser Wilhelm II had to abdicate, for the Germany to become a republic even though the word “republic” wasn’t officially used before the end of the Second Word War. The Social Democrat Frank-Walter Steinmeier, elected in 2017, is currently the President.

Germany is a federal system made up of 16 states (called Länders) lead by Minister-Presidents. Each one of these states also have its own parliament. So the power in Germany is decentralized as the states have their own health and education system, police force and are responsible for some social issues. Moreover, every federal ministry have both an office in Berlin and in Bonn which were the capitals of East and West Germany during the Cold War. Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen are also city states. It gives them even more power than the 13 other Länders.

Every four years since 1949, national elections are held as well as State votes. In Germany, the mixed-member proportional representation system is used. It consists in having two votes, one for a candidate and another for a party. It permits to avoid a majority made up with one single party in parliament. So the two biggest parties (CDU and SPD) are looking for coalition partners in order to obtain the majority.

The parliament is divided in two houses: the Bundestag is the lower one in which directly elected politicians are drafting laws and the Bundesrat is the upper one. Its role is to approve the laws concerning state decisions or the constitution. The Bundestag is also responsible for electing the Chancellor who is proposed by the President within the lead candidate of each party (Spitzenkandidaten). 

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Germany is a member of North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the G20, the G8, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. It maintains relations with approximately 200 countries and has a major role in the European Union. At the end of the last century, Germany built strong relationships with many countries, mainly with France, but is also very close to the United States thanks to the interests and similarities that exist between the two countries. Moreover, since the last decades, they provide a lot of aid all around the world during conflicts or crisis.

The country is the 3^rd largest contributor to the budget of the United Nations by providing 8% and is also the largest for the European Union with 20%.