Germany is sometimes known as ‘the land of poets and thinkers' – or das land de dichter und denker; Bach, Beethoven and Goethe were all German, alongside composers Händel, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Wagner and R. Strauss. Some of the world's greatest German philosophers include Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Heidegger.
German remains the language with the most native speakers in Europe – besides Germany having the largest population in the EU, the German language was once the lingua franca of central, eastern and northern Europe.
It’s illegal to run out of fuel in the German Autobahn – although not forbidden, motorists are only allowed to stop in the legendary highway for emergencies and having an empty tank of gas is not. Drivers can be fined and also have their licenses suspended for up to six months. Walking or running in the highway system is also illegal and is punishable by a fine of around EUR 90.
Germany was the first country in the world to adopt Daylight saving time – DST, also known as summer time. This occured in 1916 in the midst of WWI and was put in place to conserve energy.
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