German road trip: Discovering the western side
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.
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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!