Germany: rivers, mountains, neighbours

Germany lies in the heart of Europe — with 9 neighbours, more than any country. Alps with Zugspitze (2,962 m) in the south, North and Baltic seas in the north. Key rivers: Rhine (1,233 km — Europe\u2019s freight artery), Elbe (Hamburg → Czechia), Danube (to the Black Sea), Main, Oder. Topography dictates the cities: ports in the north, industry in the Ruhr, wine on the Rhine.

• ●Ruhr area: 5 million people — the former coal heart
• ●Black Forest — woods and cuckoo clocks; Bavarian Forest — first national park
• ●Lake Constance — "sea of three countries": Germany, Austria, Switzerland