NOV20
All country briefings

Europe · Country briefing

Germany

A child-friendly mission briefing for 20 November — capital, climate, school day, languages, fun facts, native animals, and five questions to ask the class on the other side of the world.

  • Capital
    Berlin
  • Population
    ~84 million
  • Time zone
    Europe/Berlin (UTC +1)
  • Currency
    Euro (EUR)
Germany, with Berlin marked
loading map…

Climate in November: Cool autumn; first snow possible in some regions.

Berlin, the capital of Germany

The capital

Berlin

Photo · Unsplash

Fun facts

What makes Germany a bit special.

  • Autobahn

    Some roads have no speed limit

  • Christmas trees

    The tradition started here

  • Pretzels

    Folded by hand, baked golden

  • Castles

    Over 20,000 — more than any country

  • Inventions

    The printing press, the car, aspirin

  • Black Forest

    Dense fairy-tale woodland in the south

Native animals

Wildlife your partner class might know best.

  • 🦌

    Red deer

    Lives in the German forests

  • 🦬

    European bison

    Brought back from extinction in the wild

  • 🪿

    White stork

    Migrates 10,000 km each year

  • 🐈

    Lynx

    A wild cat returning to German forests

  • 🦫

    Eurasian beaver

    Builds dams in slow rivers

School life

In a Germany classroom

Many German children walk or cycle to school. Reading and writing get a lot of focus in the early years.

Typical school day: Often 08:00–13:00 in primary; longer in secondary.

School year: September to July; varies by state.

Greetings to learn

Say hello like a local

  • Hallo!
    German
  • Guten Tag!
    German · GOO-ten tahk

Five questions to ask

Conversation starters

  1. 01What time does your school day finish?
  2. 02What's your favourite subject?
  3. 03What food do you like at home?
  4. 04What sports do you play?
  5. 05What's a tradition you love?

What not to assume

Friendly cautions

  • ℹGermany has 16 states with different school holidays and systems.
  • ℹMost primary schools finish around lunchtime.

Culture

Food, music, sport, festivals.

  • Food

    • Bread
    • Pretzels
    • Sausages
    • Apfelstrudel

  • Music

    • Classical traditions
    • Pop
    • Electronic

  • Sport

    • Football
    • Handball
    • Cycling

  • Festivals

    • Sankt Martin (Nov)
    • Christmas markets
Reflection prompts
  • “What would a shorter school day let you do?”
  • “What festival would you most like to share?”

Could your class meet Germany?

Choose Germanywhen you register — we’ll show you the time-zone feasibility.

Register your classroom