Michael Wigge carries on his search for ”The Truth About Germany”. This week he looks at hiking. 17 Million Germans enjoy the sport which means in fact one in every five Germans. It’s the second most popular holiday activity after bathing. Every weekend it attracts up to 2 million hikers and nature-lovers, but why? Michael Wigge hits the trails of the famous Rennsteig in Thuringia to find out.

• 10/23/09
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Today our intrepid reporter Michael Wigge explores the differences between Eastern and Western Germans to find out what die-hard stereotypes and prejudices about "Easties" and "Westies" still exist nearly 20 years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall.

• 10/17/09
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Today our intrepid reporter Michael Wigge examines the nation’s East-West issue. He wants to find out, 17 years after the Fall of the Wall, whether and which die-hard stereotypes and prejudices about "Easties" and Westies" still exist.

• 8/25/09
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Germany is reknowned as a great beer nation but recent surveys show that consumption is slipping and the country is now only ranked third in the world. Michael Wigge learns all about the fine art of beer brewing and drinking...

• 8/25/09
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Michael Wigge takes a look at the German obsession with cleanliness. He learns the ultimate sweeping technique in Swabia and joins the Keep Stuttgart Tidy campaign. But is Germany really as clean as it’s made out to be?

• 8/25/09
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Germans are famous all over the world for being conformist, conventional and conservative. Indeed, they even have a concept which combines all of these three great German qualities. It's called being "spiessig". Michael Wigge investigates the German petit bourgeois.

• 8/25/09
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Our continuing series on clichés about Germans deals this time with Germans as the kings of traveling. Our roving reporter Michael Wigge asks his countrymen why they're so often underway around the world and what their expectations are abroad. He's also at the Union Lido camping site near Venice which is traditionally overrun with Germans.

• 8/25/09
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Germany is generally considered to be a country where tradition plays a big role: Lederhosen, the famous Oktoberfest and half-timbered houses. But Michael Wigge finds little evidence of this in Cologne and sets out to find out if Germans are still in touch with their tradition.

• 8/25/09
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Michael Wigge is out and about once again in search of The Truth About Germany! This time he investigates the inventive side of the German Volk. Germans, after all, did invent the automobile, computer and MP3 player. Wigge travels to Munich to pay a visit to the European Patent Office. With 25,000 patents registered annually, Germany is the European champion! Curiously, over half of the registrations come from the state of Bavaria.

• 8/25/09
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Today our roving reporter Michael Wigge follows up on the term „krauts“, an uncomplimentary term used to designate Germans due to their supposed exuberant love for sauerkraut. Wigge explored private and professional kitchens to checked out what’s cooking in stewing pots and engaged people eating currywurst at the stand to take a sauerkraut test.

• 8/25/09
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Germans are considered affluent and according to the German Central Bank, the country has a gold reserve of 50 billion euros; unfortunately the national debt is 1,500 billion euros. Michael Wigge goes out to see how average Germans are fairing financially, how they feel about their money and what they do or don’t do with it. He also takes a few tips from the stock exchange in Frankfurt am Main, examines his own reserves and passes out money on the street.

• 8/25/09
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Germany is dog-crazy. People simply love dogs and our roving reporter Michael Wigge this time explores this theme in his continuing series about German clichés. Even though only 13 per cent of German households have a dog - putting Germany in 14th place re: dog ownership - the people are still known internationally as looking upon dogs very affectionately. And they spend more than two billion euros on them each year. We visit a wellness centre for dogs, a dog show and a dog salon...

• 8/25/09
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Our continuing series on clichés about Germans deals this time with Germany’s so-called 5th season, carnival. Our roving reporter Michael Wigge asks his countrymen what their atttitude towards the merry and crazy tradition is and shows us what kind of costumes people come up with.

• 8/25/09
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The German constitution guarantees citizens the right to free assembly. But many Germans seem to think, getting together in organized groups is compulsory. Germans love clubs so much they've founded a grand total of 594 thousand 277 of them. That's one for every 138 citizens and that makes Germany undisputed world champion of clubbing. Wigge heads for club stronghold Hessen to find out why Germans are club crazy.

• 8/25/09
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Every week, roving reporter Michael Wigge finds out more about The Truth About Germany. This time around he looks at how true the image of Germany as a snow-covered winter wonderland really is. Not very, is the conclusion he comes to, especially not in his native Rhineland where it often doesn't snow at all.

• 8/25/09
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Every week Michael Wigge investigates The Truth About Germany for euromaxx, roving around the country to find out how true the clichées are and to discover what Germany is really like. The Black Forest boasts some 7.5 million overnight stays a year with about two million of those clocked up by tourists from abroad. Black Forest crafts like cuckoo clocks and specialities like Black Forest gateau and Black Forest smoked ham are world famous. Wigge gets to the bottom of the charm of the Black Forest.

• 8/25/09
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In another installment about German habits - perceived and real - our roving reporter Michael Wigge looks at the German obsession for health food. In the last 10 years the consumption of organic food has gone from 1.5 billion euros to 4.5 billion. But why this mania? Our man travels to the biggest health food market place in Europe - located in Berlin - to find out!

• 8/25/09
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This week Michael Wigge challenges the German clichee of being control freaks. The complaint hotline gets approx. 155,000 tattle tale calls a year. In Cologne, every 5th inhabitant annually calls the authorities to rat on his/her fellow men/women on average. Psychologist Stephan Grünewald tries to explain this peculiar behaviour. Finally, Wigge will show us when Germans actually lose control.

• 8/25/09
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Roving reporter Michael Wigge continues his quest for the truth about Germany and this time he is investigating one of Germany's leading brands, Mercedes. What does the magical word actaully mean to Germans? Wigge went to the home of Mercedes, the city of Stuttgart to find out.

• 8/25/09
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And now you know a bit more about our Easter traditions here in Germany. But next up you can learn something else about this country. Our intrEpid reporter Michael Wigge, who is always trying to find out the truth about us Germans, he is on the road again. This time around he wants to find out why Germans love popular music. Do they? or is it just another cliché? Well, one thing is certain...millions of Germans refuse to go out when their favourite entertainers are on TV. Michael Wigge reveals more...

• 8/25/09
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This time our reporter Michael Wigge wants to find out what the perfect home sweet home means to Germans.

• 8/25/09
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Germany is one of the greatest football nations on earth. They won the World Cup in 1954, in 1974 and in 1990. Even their women have won the world cup! But is the passion for soccer shared by all Germans?

• 8/25/09
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Our intrepid reporter Michael Wigge has, over the last few months, been searching the highways and byways of this country for "The Truth about Germany". Every country has its cliches and he's been finding out whether those about the Germans and Germany hold true. Now, it's generally thought that here people are efficient, reliable, on time, that sort of thing. But what about deep down, when it comes to affairs of the heart? Yes, do the Germans have strong emotions? Let's find out.

• 8/25/09
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In this installment of roving reporter Michael Wigge's quest for the truth about Germany, he explores why Germans are so good at fairy tales. Just look at the Brothers Grimm whose book on fairy tales is the most widely read German cultural book in the world and translated into more than 160 languages and dialects. Wigge visits the Fairy Tale Park "Frau Holleland", and goes to Polle, the alleged home of Cinderella.

• 8/25/09
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We continue our search for The Truth About Germany with roving reporter Michael Wigge. There are lots of medieval castles in Germany and in fact the middle ages are a big money spinner with medieval markets banquets and jousting tournaments staged throughout the country. Wigge heads for a medieval market in the Rhineland to see just how well he would have made out as a knight in shining armour back in the Middle Ages.

• 8/25/09
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Now, wherever Germans go on holiday in large numbers, you'll find a German bakery in the vicinity, or a local bakery that sells German style bread. Why is this?

• 8/25/09
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Germany is famous for its environmental protection policies. We were one of the first countries to separate rubbish for recycling. And now we are one of the leading countries when it comes to alternative energy technologies. But how green can we really be when we look at all our cars? What are Germans doing to save the world?

• 8/25/09
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Every week our Euromaxx roving reporter sets out to find the Truth About Germany and investigate the clichés about the country and things typically German - techno, for example. The Germans are commonly seen as the inventors of techno. Kraftwerk was a pioneer of this kind of music in the 70s and DJ’s like Sven Väth and Paul van Dyck helped establish techno internationally. The biggest techno party in the world, the Love Parade, is very much made in Germany. First held in Berlin in 1989 with 150 ravers, the 2007 Love Parade boasted 1.2 million visitors and was held in the Ruhr Valley. But why are the Germans so mad on techno? Wigge takes a techno DJ crash course in Frankfurt and gets Techno guru Sven Väth to explain the hype.

• 8/25/09
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