One of the compensations for the early nights that can make late November gloomy, is the sudden appearance of twinkling markets across the country. <b>Tracy Moran</b> went behind the sparkly scenes of German Christmas markets.
The idea of Germans getting up at dawn to claim sun loungers with their towels may be a cliché, but one cruise ship company has appointed wardens to police how long such loungers have been reserved but unused.
Good weather for ducks - and travel agents. Germany's rainy summer has turned into a windfall for operators offering package holidays in the Mediterranean, it was reported Friday.
Members of Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition called on Tuesday to create subsidies for holidays in the sun-kissed southern European countries hit hardest by the debt crisis.
As the school summer holidays kicked in on Wednesday in parts of Germany, it also emerged that the country’s wanderlust has not been squashed by the European financial crisis, with over 60 percent of people planning a holiday.
Germany may take a more relaxed attitude to smoking than other European countries, but one northern state is on the way to stubbing this out after declaring two of its beaches non-smoking last week.
It’s enough to make some choke on their choc ice – a new survey shows that not only are plenty of Germans happy to go naked on the beach, a worryingly high proportion may even try to strike up conversation with other holidaymakers.
Public workers under 30 should have the same amount of holidays as their older colleagues, and a clause which set up different entitlement should be abolished, a German court ruled on Tuesday.
The long, dark nights and short, chilly days of January in Germany can fuel dreams of running off to a tropical island. People living in or near Berlin can hop on the train and have a day out on one. Hannah Cleaver investigated.
The body of a German man killed on the Costa Concordia cruise ship was found on Tuesday, the Italian media said. Divers have recovered five more victims, bringing the confirmed death toll to 11.
Twelve Germans are missing from the huge cruise liner which ran aground and partially sank off the Italian coast on Friday night, killing at least six passengers and leaving scores injured.
Those considering taking a cruise in the new year should choose carefully – in a single trip each ship operated by top German firms Aida Cruises and Tui Cruises creates as much pollution as five million cars, says environmental group Nabu.
Germany is transformed into a winter wonderland during the holidays, but what happens when a German family has to celebrate the Yuletide during summer down under? Jeff Kavanagh reports on a very kiwi Christmas.
People planning to give their loved one a nip and tuck at Christmas could be risking more than upsetting their partners – cheap seasonal offers with time limits are not to be recommended, a top surgeon has warned.
Nutcrackers and propeller-topped pyramids abound in Germany at Christmas time. <b>Erin Huggins</b> explores the woodcarving tradition from Saxony’s Erzgebirge region.
A 15-year-old girl fell ill at a Berlin Christmas market on Saturday, bringing to eight the number of confirmed Christmas-market-poisonings this week. This time, though, the poisoner was apparently dressed as Santa Claus.
Police are hunting a man who visited two Christmas markets in Berlin Thursday evening and offered visitors a swig of a poisonous beverage that so sickened them that they had to be hospitalised.
Germans are drinking less mulled wine than usual, with unseasonably warm weather this autumn cutting consumption by nearly 20 percent – enough to fill a 25-metre swimming pool.
Dubbed Germany's “ugliest” Christmas tree, a 12-metre-tall, fire belching metal tannenbaum erected in central Berlin has dismayed many of the capital city's residents.
As millions of people prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday, Jiffer Bourguignon cooks up her own German version of the intrinsically American holiday.
Who let the fools out? Each year at 11:11am on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, Germany marks the beginning of the traditional ‘Fifth Season’ ahead of Karneval celebrations.
Controversial rock band Rammstein has been banned from performing in Munich on a German Christian holy day commemorating the dead – even though other concerts are allowed on November 20.
