Even within the Federal Repubic the difference between the States is huge. Bavaria is a very different place from North Rhine-Westphalia. One could argue that the Bavarians have more in common with the Austrians culturally.
And the states hold quite some authority in health matters, so this does directly impacts how they react, and coordinating things among them has cost a lot of effort and time.
It wasn’t so long ago that they were more or less independent kingdoms, palatinates, principalities, free cities, and several more that don’t spring to mind. Europe is a treasure trove of cultural diversity and Germany especially so since it took so long to unite. Italy is another good example of the phenomenon.
