With steady but gentle rainfall, fertile soil, and flat fields, Germany is ideal for agriculture. Germans cultivate wheat, onions, beets, potatoes, and many other types of crops. When you walk into the supermarket and you can see the exact region your produce comes from. The catalog even has it’s own page for sales of crops grown in Germany!
Even in the city, there is farmland. I volunteered with a community garden when I first got here, when they were doing their end-of-season harvesting in Fall. Here, members of the community can come together even in the middle of the city to farm and cook.
Here in northern Europe, Vitamin D deficiency is very common. Humans get vitamin D from sunlight, but in the winter, less sunlight hits Germany. You may be surprised to learn that Berlin is at the same latitude as Edmonton, Canada! That’s why Vitamin D deficiency is much more common there than in New England states, despite the fact that it tends to be colder in Vermont than in Berlin.
The many different climate zones means that Germany is an 'in-between' place. So, Germans pride themselves on being prepared for any situation! There is a saying in Germany: There is no bad weather, only bad outfits. I am fascinated by how invested Germans are in ‘proper’ clothing or equipment. Fast fashion is despised here: one German told me very casually his shoes had lasted him ten years. He shrugged at my suprise and told me that high-quality items last a long time.
