In a refreshing change from the decades-old trend of building out suburban strip malls while the inner city decays, the city of Griesheim in Hesse has found a brilliant means of improving the streets for its residents old and young: Lots of play areas for the kids and seating areas for the adults. Winning prizes throughout Europe for urban innovation, see this video to find out how Griesheim became the most playable and sittable city in Europe!

Next time you find yourself on Planet Klingon and in need of a restroom, you needn’t feel shy: teacher Lieven Litaer is offering a course in the Klingon language in Saarbrücken. Careful though, if your date finds out you’re a closet Trekkie, you may be sleeping alone tonight… Lebe lang und in Frieden!
Copyright: Deutsche Presse Agentur [The German Press Agency]

The "Sternsinger School":www.kgs-longericher-hauptstr.de/ in Cologne is "going to the dogs," and what could be better than that? See how the Border Collie Felix and the Toy Poodle Mo help kids to develop social and verbal skills. Even taking the dogs for a brief walk helps the kids to focus better on their work, a lesson in the value of taking a break now and then. Enjoy!

“Sag einfach ja” [“Simply say yes”] is a nice pop song about love from Tim Bendzko’s debut album “Wenn Worte meine Sprache wären…” [“If Words were my Language”].

This time Barbara's lessons are about the verbs "to plant" and "to kiss". Things get a bit spicy with all the "kissing" and it appears poor Ian still remains heartbroken, though it is luckily not having any adverse effects on his ability to create a relative clause. Viel Spaß beim Lernen!

We know that cities use machines to clean the streets, but did you know that specially-designed sidewalks can clean the air we breathe? Learn about the new way that the city of Frankfurt is working to improve the environment in this fascinating report from Rhein-Main TV. Umweltverschmutzung? Nein danke!

This “Hymn for You” kicks off with a play on Neil Young’s classic lyric: “Hey, hey, my, my, rock and roll will never die.” The Bavarian indie band Sportfreunde Stiller gives us a refresher course in garage punk aesthetics with this song “Eine Hymne auf Dich” from their sixth studio album New York, Rio, Rosenheim. Kopfhörer aufsetzen, Musik aufdrehen!

When it comes to home decor, wallpaper designer Barbara Becker likes things diverse and colorful. Still, everything should be in its proper place! Since she doesn't need a "change of wallpaper" (German idiom for "change of scenery") at the moment, she is not going to be returning to live in Europe anytime soon. Copyright: Deutsche Presse Agentur [The German Press Agency]

It is the year 2016 and the sun has burnt up much of the planet Earth. Without water, people are struggling for bare survival. See this clip about director Tim Fehlbaum’s debut feature film, the apocalyptic vision of Hell. Da ist die Hölle los!

Two years ago Bosse was still sitting in the “Waiting Room,” and delivered, with his self-titled album, a genuine classic. With his new album “Kraniche” (“Cranes“), the Hamburg native has opened up new realms. Copyright DPA

And again it comes down to practice, practice and more practice! Much to Barbara's surprise and joy, one of her students actually manages to create a relative clause using the dative case. Viel Spaß beim Lernen!

“Whesskey,” the Hessian whisky from the Höhler Distillery, is something very special. This small family business produces its highly-prized beverage only in small batches. Music fans note: the background tune is the “Alabama Song,” composed by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, and performed by the Doors. Zum Wohl!

The path into the mountains may often but rocky, but don’t miss out on visiting the city of Chur! See Switzerland’s oldest town: Chur is the highlight of the valley!

"There are inventions that were made and later forgotten, and there are inventions that somebody forgot to invent." Walter Günther from Frankfurt/Main has done some catching up. He makes devices, which look as if they are from a museum, but which in reality never existed! (Copyright DPA)

Listen to “Halt dich an mir fest” [Hold on to me tight] by the German band Revolverheld performing together with the Czech vocalist Marta Jandová and enjoy!