I only heard this news over the radio and in a weather forecast in German television today. The reporter said that the Siberian wind is coming on the first day of February this year. The weather temperature will tremendously drop to sub-zero level. It is forecasted that in Germany the temperature will reach -20 degree Celsius (-4 ºF) during the night and -10 degree Celsius (14 ºF) during the day this coming Wednesday. This is probably the reason why I feel that the month of February is the coldest winter month I always experience in Germany.

Be sure to wear your thick winter jacket and be ready with your winter accessories like gloves, hat, scarf, etc. especially when going outside your home. Please also be careful in driving. Sometimes the roads and the highways can be very slippery especially early in the morning!

Keep warm folks because this will really be a very cold February winter month! Be safe too!

a snapshot I took while I was driving on the Landstrasse or the so-called back road in Bavaria, Germany. I took this photo the other weekend...such a lovely winter scenery!

When other countries like the U.S., Italy, Brazil, etc. celebrate carnivals, Germany has its own carvinal too! Germans call it Fasching or Karvenal. It is also called as Fastnacht or Fastnet. In short, we will just call it simply carnival. Witnessing carnivals in the different places and cities in Germany can be a vibrant and delightful experience. Each place has its own way of celebrating it and it is always a joyous and festive event.

Top of the cities in Germany which are famous for its carnival celebrations include Mainz, Cologne and Düsseldorf. Don't miss to watch the Faschingszug or canival parade or maybe attend a Faschingsball (carnival ball). For sure you can see a lot of people celebrating on the streets with their colorful costumes with various motives and designs. Giant and beautifully decorated floats are always present in a carnival parade in Germany.

This is one of the celebrations I love in this country!

Fussball translated as football in English, is the most popular sport in Germany. I could still remember my first years of living in Germany. At that time one of the the most famous football player was Michael Ballack who was also the former captain of the Foot ball National Team of Germany. I could still remember last 2010 when FC Bayern München became the national champion of the first Bundesliga and also the over-all champion of the DFB (Deutscher Fußball-Bund or the German Football Association) Pokal. I even witnessed it over the Television as they received their sports trophies. I learn to understand a bit about this game because I watch it sometimes in German Television.

There are millions of football fanatics in Germany. The German Football Association is said to have 6.6 million members organized in over 26,000 football clubs. I admired German people who support their children in playing football at their younger years. In fact, you can see football fields in every villages, towns and most of all bigger ones in any German city. I can say, Germans are very sport-minded people.

I was trying to find some pictures of some of my previous trips in Germany. When I was browsing my external hard drive, I found some images taken in Bayreuth, a city in the Franconian part of Bavaria in Germany. One of the sights we visited was the Hofgarten of the Neues Schloss (New Castle). It is actually the Castle's Garden in Bayreuth just located near to the downtown. We had a stroll there last summer 2009.

The flowers and trees during summer season provide some nice scenes and cooling shadows, thus perfect during hot summer. Take time to visit this place when you are in Bayreuth.

From jungles of the Amazon to Barcelona, the misty Scottish moors and great Aussie coast, eco-hostels have become an established part of the global tourism industry. And it’s not a moment too soon.

Of course, with a wide range of ‘eco’ declarations flying back and forth, it’s hard not to get lost in the lingo and rhetoric. And, with travelling green more fashionable than ever, there is always the worry that broad claims will not be backed up by a longer term game plan.

To make it all a little easier, here is a sample of the top five eco hostels heralding the global green movement…

High St Hostel (Edinburgh): Having invested in more than 75 hectares of woodland to absorb its total CO2 emissions, High Street Hostel can claim to be 100% Carbon Neutral. Now that’s an investment! In addition to this, the historic building has implemented in a waste recycling system and relies on energy sourced from non-nuclear renewable supplies, making it a popular Edinburgh hostel for eco-warriors!

Rivertime Resort and Eco Lodge (Laos): The premier eco-hostel destination in South-East Asia, Rivertime was built entirely by local labour and from local resources. Everything in the lodge is designed to minimise energy and water consumption, from its ‘green’ air conditioning to low wattage lightbulbs, hand washing, hydropower and low-water toilets. Next up on the green agenda is solar water heaters, so make sure you keep an eye out!

Barcelona Urbany Hostel (Spain): An eco project prior to its construction, Barcelona Urbany was designed around the three ‘R’ principles – reduce, reuse and recycle. Since this stage, a number of innovative eco-practices have been introduced; from a noise level absorbing façade to the recycling of water supplies, energy efficient installations and a rainwater harvesting system.

Eco Oasis (Montenegro): Tucked away in the UNESCO World Heritage Black Pine Woods, Eco Oasis is a haven of natural living. Far from just a place to sleep, the hostel offers outdoor activities including rafting, camping, fishing, hiking and mountain bike tours. Forget TV or other entertainment devices though – with a focus on the great outdoors, these electric guzzlers are seen as an encroachment on the peace.

Jetpak Forest (Berlin): Using power from 100% renewable energy sources, Jetpak has certainly got the right idea on the eco stakes. The entire hostel is heated by a modern wood-burning CO2-neutral heating system, while hot water is warmed by solar panels.

Some of of Germany's pride are its means of transportation and its convenient highways. You can drive in most large cities anywhere in Germany because of its efficient Autobahns or highways. Driving in German Autobahn is very also very fast since there are no limits unless otherwise specified in certain areas. With the help of modern navigation techniques like tom tom gps, driving in Autobahn to any destination in Germany or even anywhere in Europe is very easy nowadays. You only have to be alert all the time especially if you are overtaking or passing cars on highways.

I sometimes try driving up to 160 km/h but I would suggest that it is still safer and a bit relaxing to drive within recommended speed in German Autobahn which is 130 km/h.

Have a safe and sound trip to all drivers out there!

After a short notice today, we decided to drive to the town of Weissenburg in central Bavaria. The weather don't look friendly because it was very cloudy when we left. I said to myself rain or shine or else nothing will happen today. This town is actually written as Weißenburg in German and I even had a difficulty to input it in our navigator. Good to know that I had its postal code or else we will be lost. Typing the postal code of a town or city in Germany is better because sometimes there are a lot of places that have the same name. There are even Weißenburg in other states of Germany.

Since we drove on the back road which is quite slow as the Autobahn or motorway, it took us almost two hours to reach this town. One advantage of driving on this so-called Landstrasse or back road is that, you will be passing a lot of interesting small towns and villages.

Weissenburg is a historical city dating back to the Roman times. The many stages in the history of Weißenburg can still be seen today. There are many ruins from the Roman times. One of the finest is the remains of a Roman bath was excavated in 1977 and has been turned into a museum. The city wall from the Middle Ages has survived almost intact with its towers and in the Gothic Town Hall the city's elected members have held their meetings from 1476.

Sights to visit in Weissenburg are;

The Late Gothic Andreaskirche (St Andrew's Church; 14th-15th century)
Ellinger Tor, a town gate of 1469-1510
Late Gothic Town Hall (1476)
The Carmelite church (15th century; now a cultural center)

Also take a walk around the walls of the town where you can find a lot of historical buildings.