Funny Facts About Germany

1) Oktoberfest is the famous German Beer festival with a very iconic name. Every year it actually takes place mostly in September though! I suppose Septemberfest just doesn’t sound as good?

2) The German word for father is ‘vater’ and it is pronounced ‘farter’. Nothing funny there then.

3) In Germany there is a famous sausage named after Vienna. It is called a ‘wiener’. Nothing funny there then.

4) The most-married prime minister of a monogamous country is former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who has been married four times. As a result he has earned himself two nicknames with the German people, “Audi Man” (because of the four rings logo) and “Lord of the Rings”.

5) German people traditionally do not say hello when the answer the phone, instead saying their surname. Just remember this if you ever call Germany, as Fuchs, Horni, Schitter and Krapp are all common German surnames.

6) David Hasselhoff became a German pop icon when his single ‘Looking for Freedom’ resonated with West German citizens who kept it at number one in the charts for eight weeks. Elsewhere in the world it hasn’t been quite as popular though, ranking at number 98 in AOL Radio’s Worst Songs Ever list!

7) In Germany, dogs are allowed in restaurants and department stores, and many German people refuse to clean up after their dogs in public … so watch your step, or take a spare pair of shoes!

8) Unlike what some people think, the hamburger does not contain ham, it is made of beef. The name originates from the ‘Hamburg Steak’, which was a precursor to the modern hamburger. German immigrants brought it to New York from the town of Hamburg in the late 19th century. What do you think these original pioneers would have thought of an ‘XXL flame grilled cheese and bacon burger with chilli fries’? All I know is that I am now very hungry!

9) Germany is famous for producing excellent cars, with iconic brands such as Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, Audi and Volkswagen. You don’t look too cool bending over in front of a traffic cop with your hands spread on the bonnet though do you? A German car, the Mercedes-Benz SL-Class was recently crowned as the most ticketed car for speeding in the U.S.

10) There are over 1,500 different beer brands in Germany and it is also the cheapest place in Europe to buy beer. The residents of Bayern certainly like a drink, their normal everyday sized beer glass being a whopping one litre (1.8 pints)!

We hope you enjoyed those, please browse around the rest of the site where we have lots more amusing facts for you to enjoy!