11 things Germany does better than anywhere else

Germany is well-known for its industrial efficiency. But did you know the Germans excel at beer, bread and enjoying the life aquatic?

(CNN) — Cars. Efficiency. Leather shorts. Germany is known around the globe for excelling at a variety of things. Germans themselves are known as friendly and welcoming people, even if everyone thinks we have a nonexistent sense of humor.

The country also boasts two millennia of history that, for good and bad, shaped the world as we know it today. But there's much more to this large country sitting in the middle of Europe than stereotypes and war jokes.