Germany, with a population of about eighty-one million inhabitants, is the wealthiest nation in all of Western Europe. Since it is situated at the center of the continent it naturally lies at the crossroads of Europe's business and cultural worlds. The North Sea, Denmark and the Baltic Sea all lie to Germany's north; Poland and the Czech Republic border Germany to the east; Austria and Switzerland are to the south; France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands are all to the west. If you include the islands in the North and Baltic Seas, the size of Germany is almost equal to the size of the state of Montana. Politically, the land is divided into sixteen states, called Länder, and geographically the land includes mountains, forests, lakes, agricultural regions, rugged coastlines and winding rivers.

Germany's main rivers, such as the Rhine, the Weser and the Elbe, all flow northward into the North or Baltic Sea. The Danube flows from west to east across the southern part of Germany. Its largest lake, Bodensee, is also in the south and gives a smaller part of itself to both Switzerland and Austria. Though the Bavarian Alps may be relatively small in area, an important ski area is located in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and in the winter the slopes there are covered with skiers. Bavaria is also known for its beautiful Schlösser (castles or palaces).

One of these castles, Herrenchiemsee, has beautiful, formal gardens with fountains, reflecting pools, statues, shrubs and floral patterns. The Bavarian Alpine region called Berchtesgaden is an especially beautiful part of Germany. A large part of the area is maintained as a national park and Germany's second highest mountain, Watzmann (8,901 feet), is located there. The Black Forest, in the southwestern corner, got its name from the fact that the evergreen trees are so dark that they look black. Besides being known for its Black Forest cherry cake, this region is where the hand-carved cuckoo clocks are made. The most difficult thing about crafting these clocks is to make the little bird that pops out of the door able to sing the cuckoo sound in two pitches. You can visit the clock museum at Triberg, in the Black Forest region, and learn more about this uniquely crafted clock and at the same time see a beautiful waterfall