German road trip: Discovering the western side

DW (English)

Germany's regions are diverse and have their own unique characteristics. In a four-part journey through the country, Euromaxx reporter Rachel Stewart will explore them. This time, it's off to western Germany.

Transcript

00:00 We've been north, south and east, so today it's time to find out what the west has to offer.

00:05 The final four states that we'll be visiting are Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Hessen and Saarland.

00:12 The Romans gave my hometown of Cologne the very catchy name Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium.

00:18 These days the city is better known for its pretty extraordinary Gothic cathedral and...

00:23 Carnival!

00:24 [singing]

00:32 The so-called fifth season kicks off on Elfder Elfder, the 11th of the 11th at exactly 11.11am.

00:40 It rises to a crescendo, usually in February, with a six-day extravaganza of street parades,

00:46 costumes, dance performances, music and plenty of drinking.

00:51 People of the Rhineland are often labelled the most open, friendly and party-ready people in Germany,

00:56 so no wonder they throw themselves into their fasteloven festivities.

01:00 Something I really like about Germany is that not everything is centred around the capital city.

01:08 Different industries have hubs in different places.

01:11 Even political institutions are spread between Berlin and the former West German capital Bonn.

01:16 And Germany's financial centre is Frankfurt.

01:19 It has the country's busiest airport and 18 of Germany's 19 skyscrapers, earning it the nickname "Mein Hatt"

01:25 But beneath the surface of suits and skyscrapers, Frankfurt has an underground claim to fame

01:31 as one of the birthplaces of techno music.

01:34 Very early on there was a really rounded, complex scene here.

01:39 We had clubs, but also producers, musicians, labels, record shops and so on.

01:44 In the early 80s there were maybe 5 or 6 cities in the world with that kind of status.

01:49 If you need an escape from the city, Hessen also has you covered. Quite literally.

01:56 This state and neighbouring Rheinland-Pfalz are both 42% covered in trees.

02:01 Our next stop is Saarland, the smallest German state, excluding the three city-states.

02:07 In fact, it's often used as a unit of measurement in the German media.

02:11 For example, a forest fire affected an area the size of Saarland.

02:15 For those of you unfamiliar with this unit, it's about the same size as neighbouring Luxembourg.

02:20 Not all that long ago, this German state used to be essentially independent,

02:25 with its own constitution, its own flag and even a very short-lived currency, the Saarmarks.

02:30 This part of Germany fell under the administration of the League of Nations after World War I.

02:35 Then it was returned to Germany.

02:37 Then it was in the French-occupied zone after World War II, when France gave it "protectorate" status,

02:42 effectively releasing it from Allied control.

02:45 But the region's strong connection to Germany remained, and in a 1955 referendum,

02:49 the people voted to be released from their special arrangement with France.

02:53 In 1957 they officially joined West Germany.

02:56 So is this history still visible today?

02:58 Definitely. Saarland is basically the most French of all the German states.

03:05 You don't go and get a baguette here, you get a flut, a thinner baguette.

03:09 That's typically French.

03:11 You can also see the French influence in some of the buildings.

03:14 German beer is known the world over, but a slightly better-kept secret is German wine.

03:19 Around two-thirds of all German wine comes from Rheinland-Pfalz,

03:23 and the absolute front-runner is the Riesling variety.

03:26 Dotted along the Mosel River between quaint villages and hillside castles,

03:30 you'll find row after row of seriously steep vineyards.

03:34 What's special about Mosel wine is of course our unique landscape.

03:38 What distinguishes the character of the wine is the slate.

03:41 It's a very dark stone, and black, and very good at drawing and holding warmth.

03:46 When it gets colder in the valley at night,

03:48 the slate releases the warmth to its surroundings and our grapes.

03:52 So what's the best way to sample the local produce?

03:55 Well, you could go on a Weinwanderung, or wine hike.

03:58 Yep, that involves hiking between vineyards and wine taverns.

04:02 The more relaxed variation would be to do a Weinprobe, or wine tasting,

04:06 which traditionally goes from dry to sweet.

04:09 And that brings us to the end of the Meet the Germans road trip.

04:12 I've loved gallivanting around the country to find what makes each region unique.

04:15 Prost!

Category

Transcript

Recommended