One of the things I find most fascinating about Germany are the vast number of different dialects spoken around the country. Although most everyone in Germany speaks what is called Hochdeutsch (high German, which is what I speak), it's estimated there exist around 250 different dialects around Germany.
Dialects differ from accents, in that they sometimes use entirely different words to describe things, making it difficult for everyone to understand if you're not from the area. For example, in Bavaria and the Swabian Alps, I've encountered some older Germans that only speak Bavarian or Swabian German, making it difficult for me to understand them. Leipzig is in the state of Sachsen (Saxony), and the typical dialect spoken here is Sächsich, which is like different language. For example, the word for "great" in Hochdeutsch is "großartig", but in Sächsisch they say "bomforzionös" -- an entirely different word!
Like most countries part of the European Union, Germany uses the Euro as the main form of currency today. However, they only started using this system relatively recently. Prior to 2002, Germany used the "Deutsche Mark" or "D-Mark" as it's primary form of currency.
