In general with Germany, I like to open honor(then Piety/Tradition) so I get barb radar. Then I amass a barb army & then war my neighbors. No city taking, just pillaging, stealing workers, & taking gold, gpt, & luxuries in peace deals. I rinse/repeat this, that way my neighbors can't get a leg up on me. Then once I get hanses I go commerce, I get to mercenary army, & use my massive treasury to spam landschneckts, & then the glorious conquests starts...then the snowball begins...