La Cultura Germany

Food

Wurst

There are more than 1500 different types of wurst (sausage) made in Germany and you’ll find street stalls selling them everywhere. The most popular include bratwurst (fried sausage) made of ground pork and spices, Wiener (Viennese), which is smoked and then boiled, and blutwurst and schwarzwurst, which are both blood sausages. Look out for regional specialities like Berlin’s currywurst (sausage with curried ketchup on the top), Bavaria’s weisswurst, a white sausage that you peel before eating with sweet mustard, and Nuremberg's grilled rostbratwurst, served with fermented shredded cabbage known as sauerkraut.

Schnitzel

A schnitzel is a thin, boneless cutlet of meat, which is coated in breadcrumbs and often served with a slice of lemon. You can choose a Wiener schnitzel, which is made of veal, or a schnitzel Wiener made of pork. If you order a Hamburg-style schnitzel, it will arrive with a fried egg on top; while a Holsten-style schnitzel will come with an egg, anchovies and capers.

Apfelstrudel

Apfelstrudel (apple strudel) is a delicious pastry filled with apples flavored with sugar, cinnamon, raisins and breadcrumbs – and has been popular since the 18th century. The delicate flakey pastry is made from elastic dough, which is kneaded and stretched until it’s as thin as phyllo pastry. The pastry is wrapped round and round the filling building up many layers, and then baked. It’s served warm in slices sprinkled with powdered or icing sugar.

Rote Rutze

This red fruit pudding is a popular dessert in the North. It’s made from black and red currants, raspberries and sometimes strawberries or cherries, which are cooked in their juice and thickened with a little cornstarch or corn flour. It’s served with cream, vanilla sauce or milk.

Brezel

Brezel are soft, white pretzels, made from flour water and yeast and sprinkled with salt (and sometimes different seeds), and great to eat as a side dish or snack – or with a beer. They’re in every bakery and on street stands, sold plain, sliced and buttered (butterbrezel) or with slices of cold meats or cheese.

Music

Musical history in Germany is just as colorful as the country's dress. The Reformation, the religious movement away from the Catholic church that gave birth to Protestantism, was led by Martin Luther, from Germany, and John Calvin, from France. Luther felt music was one of God's greatest gifts and made it a cornerstone of his movement. This environment cultivated generations of musical development and paved the way for German composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Volksmusic and Oompah music are two traditional genres that have become synonymous with the Germany. Volksmusic , which originated in the mountainous region of southern Germany, translates to "music of the people" and is played primarily in Bavaria. These folk songs are usually very colloquial and performed on simple instruments such as guitars or harmonicas.

Oompah music is a term that encompasses several forms of horn-centric music played in Eastern European countries.

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