Kings Journal: The heart of Europe?! (Patreon)

It´ s Germany! Located between the north, the south, the West and East, Germany has always been influenced by other European cultures and the country has faced (and sometimes caused) Europes brightest and darkest events in history.

But how is life in Germany today?
After receiving some patron questions dealing about my home country I decided to write a Kings Journal providing you a personal view about a country that is sometimes a fairy-tale and most times tough reality.
Let´ s start with some basics. Germany has a population of 81 million people plus over 1 million refugees currently.
One third of the country is covered by woods, one third by agriculture and one third are human settlements. There are several mountains, with the Alps as the highest in the south and the landscape becomes more flat (totally flat) when moving north to the Nort Sea and the East Sea.

There are 16 federal states, most based on former kingdoms.
Regarding economy the south is wealthy and the north and east have still some potential to evolve their economy. A special law distributes money from rich states to the poor ones to support their development.

Check out the map to see the 16 states in German. 

Some states - my opinion
Bayern - Bavaria

Neuschwanstein castle is probably Bavarias most famous landmark and also an ispiration for the Disney company. I have visited the castle, too.
Bavaria has many beautiful cities, a strong traditional culture and is in my opinion (very) conservative. As a tourist it is a great location, but for a non-bavarian person (foreigners and other Germans) it will be hard to integrate. Bavaria is it´ s own world.

Niedersachsen - Lower Saxony

Like Bavaria, Lower Saxony is huge, but completely different. There are plain fields, marshes, the North Sea coast and a famous mountain, where witches meet to dance once a year. The country is also Germanys granary with lots of agriculture. I have spend some time in the state in a region called "Emsland" close to the border of the Netherlands. The landscape is totally flat and many houses look the same. First I thought it was dull, but after a while I kinda fell in love with it a bit, because there are many marshes, what I consider romantic, you can go everywhere easily by bike (everything is flat) and the towns are charming and people are nice.
And houses are affordably.

Did you ever see the show "Alfred Jodocus Kwak"? It takes place in a country inspired by the Netherlands, but parts of Lower Saxony remind me of the show, too, what is nice.

Rheinland-Pfalz - Rhineland-Palatinate

Castles, castles and more castles. That is Rhineland-Palatinate, the state where I am born... So my opinion on this one might be a bit corrupted.
Unlike other states this one is not based on a former kingdom. It is a fusion of different kingdoms, duchesses and countries.
Simply put France, Prussia, Sweden, Spain, Bavaria, Hessia, ancient Rome, Germanic tribes and many castles into a cauldron and the result is Rhineland Palatinate. The biggest influence has been France and the area has been a part of France in history, but also Sweden and Spain wanted to own it and finally Prussia bought it.

People here are proud of their heritage: Romans founded some of their cities in the antique and they are the descendants of Frenchs and Germans (and other nations).
People are welcoming and kind, but also stubborn and cheeky.
They are also more carefree compared to other Germans I guess.

The landscape is hilly, filled with mountains and the economy is average. There are also no huge cities. The biggest one has around 200.000 residents.
The famous racetrack "Nürburgring" is also located in Rhineland-Palatinate.

Unfair Germany
Germany is not very fair and without a proper education you will hardly have a chance to get a good job. Degrees and titles are still important to many people and even if you get a job it is usually badly paid compared to other European countries.
If you ever wondered why Germany was not harmed much during the financial crisis: People are paid badly and the government saves all money ignoring that public transport, education, public buildings, social balance and much more are literally breaking into pieces.
The only thing the government seems to use money for are refugees, what makes Germans angry. The whole refugee debate has torn Germany apart and right parties (racists and Nazis) grow stronger, because many Germans feel forgotten by politicians and vote in revenge for questionable parties.

Annoying traits
Germans are known for punctuality and order, but it is only a small step away from being bourgeois and petty.
Germans also complain a lot and tend to be negative, but do not move their lazy asses to change something. I totally hate that.

Personally I do not feel very "German" regarding some traits. I tend to be carefree, do not care about titles and I consider myself an optimist.
But on the other hand I am "German", because I keep my word and when I say something will be done tomorrow it will be done tomorrow. Being a reliable is a good trait somehow.
Religion
Something I really appreciate is that over 30% of Germans do not have a religion. Me neither. So the "no religion" people are actually the biggest group, bigger than christians and others. I respect religion, but Germany has been controlled by the pope, kings, emperors, a dictator, communism and capitalism and many people are just sick of any brainwashing and control.
Oh wait... Except for Bavaria, where religion is important and for example in Munich women are not allowed to enter churches with exposed shoulders.
Welcome to the middle-ages!

Art
Being creative is tough in Germany, because most people only consider office jobs as true jobs. Musicians, fiction writers, artists, dancers... They all have to deal with disrespect, dumb questions and are not appreciated well. Germans are proud of their rich art history, especially music, but in daily life I hardly see any support. Nobody seems to care.
There once was a time, when families played music together nearly each evening and parents were proud of creative kids, but WW2 broke Germanys creative neck and the consequences are still felt today.

There is also no illustration/comic culture like in France, Spain or the USA. If I tell people, that I am an illustrator, they have no clue what that is.

Conclusion
16 states mean 16 different mentalities and in a single Journal I can hardly tell everything about Germany.

I sometimes wonder, where I would like to live. I want to live where life is affordable and I do not like big cities, because for creative work serenity and peace is important.
But I do not want to live among rednecks.

Sometimes I also wonder if I should move to another country.
Sweden or Canada maybe, because I dislike summer, but my imagination of those countries might be as corrupted as yours of Germany: Oktoberfest and beer everywhere...

Well, that is not reality.
In case you want to visit or move to Germany.
Think about, what you want to see and to experience and choose a destination, that reflects your interests.

Would I recommend Germany for a living: Yes and No.
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Would you recommend your country for a living?
Is there a country for artists at all??

Tell me your opinion in the comments.