Google’s had a difficult time launching Street View in Germany; over the past two years, there have been random outcries, more formal protests, and a first-of-its-kind opt-out program.  Finally, though, Google’s made it possible to drag Pegman over the country and view at least a few spots from the perspective of a pedestrian.

This move doesn’t constitute a full launch; the first batch of photographs just covers the town of Oberstaufen, a handful of traditional landmarks (including Berlin’s Victory Column and a public square in Dresden), and ten sports stadiums.

Later this year, Google is still supposed to release images of 20 German cities to really get Street View going.

Nonetheless, the development should act as a nice introduction of sorts.  Germans, who are heavy users of Street View when it comes to touring other countries, can get accustomed to seeing high-resolution pics of their own nation online, and can also inspect Google’s approach to blurring entire buildings upon request.

If you want to keep an eye out for the next step, The Local ("Germany’s news in English") reported, "The German cities Google plans to feature on Street View by year’s end are: Berlin, Bielefeld, Bochum, Bonn, Bremen, Dortmund, Dresden, Duisburg, Dusseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Hannover, Cologne, Leipzig, Mannheim, Munchen, Nurnberg, Stuttgart und Wuppertal."