Germany now comes with a set of instructions. Actually, it is more of a user's guide. But whatever you call it, the new Manual for Germany aims to show foreigners what life in the country is all about.
Published in six languages by the government to ease the integration of new immigrants into German society, the 224-page book covers everything from an overview of the political system to the German love of sausage.
Yes, sausage. Because apparently you can't have your hand on the pulse of the world's third-largest economy unless you know how important bratwurst is to Germans.
'This handbook has been put together to make it easier for you to come to terms with your new environment,' reads the foreword by Marieluise Beck, Germany's commissioner for migration, refugees and integration.
Efforts to modernise Germany's restrictive immigration laws have long been stalled by conservative politicians, who complain the nation's foreign population - currently 9 per cent of the total 82 million - needs to be better integrated first. How much the new handbook will help in this regard is unclear.
To be fair, there is plenty of useful information that could aid someone wading through the country's sea of bureaucracy for the first time. But perhaps the greatest lesson to learn from the manual is that you are now living in a country that has come up with an officially sanctioned set of instructions.
