THE WORLD’S BEST NATION IN THE WINTER OLYMPIC DISCIPLINES

German winter – a guide to happiness

When you first encounter it, you may think it’s rather cool, uninviting, and sometimes even harsh. But once you get to know the German winter better, you’ll discover a depth and beauty that will quickly warm your heart and fill you with happiness, especially when it’s crispy cold and the snow is gently falling.

The German winter makes its star appearance wherever altitudes create the ideal conditions for its grand entrance: in the Black Forest, the Harz Mountains, the Erzgebirge, the Taunus, the Rhön and of course in Germany’s only high mountain region, the Alps and their foothills.

Germany’s snow regions are focal points for winter SPORTS. They offer a multitude of opportunities to revel in this world in white, such as skiing, snow shoe hiking, snowboarding, tobogganing or ice skating.

Germany can even boast some “eternal ice” with three glaciers on the Zugspitze, including the two largest in the country: the Northern Schneeferner covering 30.7 hectares and the Höllentalferner covering 24.7 hectares.

When you think about it, the German 
winter is like a long-established cultural asset. Winter journeys have a history in 
literature ranging from Goethe to Heine and Wolf Biermann. And the winter has produced some lovely traditional songs, such as the one about the little snowflake “Schneeflöckchen, Weissröckchen” and innumerable other wonderful wintertime essentials. For instance, the Grimm’s fairy tale about Mother Hulda which explains not only where the snow really comes from but also the origin of all the goodies that belong to a real winter, such as mulled wine, hot sugary red WINE punch, roast goose and gingerbread. All this adds up to one simple conclusion: the German winter is really a guide to happiness.