The recipe is simple: limes, cachaça, sugar and ice. But the secret lies in the skillful crushing of the limes. The success of the caipirinha dates back to the late 90s and it's now available in nearly every bar. In Germany, the caipirinha is made with brown sugar and crushed ice, while in Brazil you'll find it with white sugar and whole ice cubes. The drink is generally served with two straws.

In nearly every large German city, you're bound to stumble upon a Brazilian restaurant. In addition to the popular meat dishes, "feijoada" is a staple on every Brazilian menu. Originally meant for slaves, the black bean stew has since become the country's national dish. It's typically made with dried meat and pigs' ears and feet, and it's served with "farofa" (roasted manioc flour) and rice.

Capoeira has also been passed down by slaves. They disguised the martial art as a dance, in order to fool their captors. Two people stand in the midde of a circle - the "roda" - and gracefully direct hits and kicks and each other to the music of a one-string "berimbau." Learning capoeira is a popular pastime in Germany - but careful! It will challenge your inner acrobat.

Two Brazilian writers in particular are popular among German readers. Bahianer Jorge Amado, who died in 2001, portrays ordinary people's struggle to survive in novels like "Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon" (1958). Paulo Coelho (pictured) became famous with "The Alchemist" (1988), in which he accompanies the reader on a spiritual journey.

It's nearly impossible to resist the hypnotic sound of samba rhythms. Since the 1950s, the samba has been a regular part of courses at German ballroom dance schools. It's only been recently that the lambada is giving it a run for its money as the most popular Brazilian dance in Germany. Samba dancers at the annual Carnival festivities in Bremen pull out all the stops to exude a true Rio feeling.

Where there are samba dancers, "batucada" is not far away. That refers to the percussion style used in samba music. The percussion ensembles, known as "bateria," don't reserve their performances for Carnival season, but can also be heard at festivals, demonstrations, large events like marathons - or simply in local parks.

The most popular flip-flops in Brazil are from the brand, Havaianas. The footwear is inspired by the 19th-century Japanese zori sandal, which was made of grass. On June 14, 1962, the first rubber flip-flops were released on the Brazilian market and sales skyrocketed. Today, they are available in every imaginable color and style and Havaianas exports all over the world.

The bikini was invented in France, not Brazil, in 1946, but in the 1970s, Brazilian designers presented the tiniest swimsuit bottom yet. It was just a strip of cloth the width of a shoelace, meant to fit snugly in the middle of the wearer's rear end. In Brazil - and Germany too - the string tanga became known as the dental floss bikini. They continue to be popular at Rio's Copacabana (pictured).

The plant from the Amazon is said to give you energy when you're fatigued. That's because it contains five times as much caffeine as a coffee bean, but has fewer side-effects. The native Brazilians have used guarana for centuries as an energy source. In Germany, it is harder to find Brazil's popular soda pop "Guaraná," but the seed is readily available in the form of a powder, capsule or tee.

Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer designed a house in Berlin, located next to the park at the Bellevue Palace, where Germany's president resides. It's the star architect's only work in Germany. Niemeyer, who was otherwise active in Brazil's capital, Brasília, made this contribution to the International Architecture Exhibition in 1957. The house is considered a monument to the New Modern style.