A lot of river cruises are centered around Germany. It’s a country well-known for having major rivers passing through the lands, including the Rhine, the Danube and the Elbe. With that in mind, I’ve put together a list of top facts about the nation, some of which you might find useful on a river cruise, but mostly just for fun. One of the facts is actually made up – let us know in the comments if you can spot the fake fact.

#1 German people tell the time different. To us, “half four” would mean 4.30 but in Germany, “halb vier” (half four) would actually be referring to 3.30., as they count forward. So be careful if you don’t have a watch, your phone has run out of battery and you ask the time!

#2 The city of Reutlingen in the south of the country is home to the world’s most narrow street. Measuring just 31cm across at one point, it’s actually under threat as one of the wall is bulging, meaning it soon might not count as a street.

#3 Appropriately for the theme of river cruising, the longest word in the German language is donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitaenswitwe. Translated, this word actually means “widow of a Danube steamboat company captain”. This is only the longest word as the previous word, Rindfleischetikettierungsueberwachungsaufgabenuebertragungsgesetz, is no longer needed as it is related to beef label monitoring, and the laws on this have changed.

#4 At some stage in history, the following cities have been capital of Germany: Aachen, Regensburg, Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Weimar, Bonn and of course Berlin, twice.

#5 Most people know about currywurst, the traditional spiced German sausage dish that is popular throughout the nation. But did you know there’s a museum dedicated to the dish in Berlin? That’s the equivalent of a fish and chips museum in England, which to my knowledge doesn’t exist (yet).

#6 Germany was the first country in the world to adopt Daylight Savings Time in 1916, along with its World War I allies. It very quickly spread around much of the world.

#7 Berlin is over eight times the size of Paris. There are a lot more suburbs though, which accounts for this huge difference in size.

#8 Liquorice allsorts were first made in Germany, when in 1989 salesman Karlos Thomsen dropped a tray of samples he was showing a potential client and got them muddled together.

Can you guess/work out which is the fake fact?

By Ian Lewis
Google