Tales of the Unexpected: Frankfurt, A-list city for bees

You may not believe it, wandering around the city centre, but Frankfurt is both a city of money – and honey. The honey thing started as an artist’s installation on the Museum of Modern Art (MMK), but has since been emulated by hotels and finance companies, which now have beehives on their roofs. In the MMK, you can go on a monthly bee tour up to the apiaries and buy the honey in the Museum shop. Meanwhile, the KfW banking group has three hives on the roof of their building in Bockenheim, and the five-star Jumeirah Hotel (rooftop honeycomb pictured left) offers honey from its hives in its menus, as well as in selected spa treatments for its guests.

It seems that bees like city life. The generally higher temperatures compared to the surrounding countryside prolong their season, and pesticides are rare. It’s a fine place to be(e).

Tales of the Unexpected: Lower Saxony's potato heads

Set in a traditional red-brick farm building surrounded by farmland on the Lüneburg Heath, southeast of Hamburg, the Kartoffel Hotel is a pilgrimage destination for lovers of the potato. And it is not just the hotel’s restaurant which is nuts about spuds: the hotel has its own specialist spa with potato treatments, too. There’s a potato balm for the skin. A potato body wrap (pictured left). A potato-based mud. And why not? The treatments are based on long-lost home remedies, and the tuber is rich in vitamins such as B1, B2, carotene and vitamin C. And, as with Lower Saxony itself, the hotel's rates are good value too.

Tales of the Unexpected: Exploring Berlin by house boat

Germany’s premier boat charter operator Kuhnle-Tours may be better known for coverage of the lakes in Mecklenburg and Brandenburg, to the north of Germany's capital, but their base in Zeuthen is actually ideally placed in south-east Berlin, between the city waterways and the idyllic lakes and waterways of the river Dahme. It is a very convenient location, even for short breaks in the city: Berlin’s Schönefeld airport is nearby, and you don’t need a license to drive a boat away (as you do in some locations).

With boats that sleep up to 12, this has to be a very economic way of seeing the city from an refreshingly unusual perspective.

Tales of the Unexpected: SouthWest Germany's surprises

Whether you are into flowers, cars, ice-cream, road tripping or horror, the holiday region of SouthWest Germany has something for you.

The region is home of a number of inventions such as cars, bikes and even spaghetti ice-cream which all first saw the light of day in the city of Mannheim. Karl Drais invented the two-wheeler principle here in 1817, followed by Carl Benz with the first automobile in 1886. Today, Mannheim is as much known for its joie de vivre with shopping and going out options galore.

Speaking of cars, the region also has Germany’s oldest scenic route, the Schwarzwaldhochstraße, which was opened between Baden-Baden and Freudenstadt in 1932 and provides magnificent views of the Black Forest and over the Rhine plain towards the Vosges Mountains.

Changing gear, Mainau Island (pictured above) on Lake Constance brings a touch of the Mediterranean with its luxuriant blossoms throughout the year. An unexpected attraction of the flower island, permanent residence of the Bernadotte family, is a vineyard. Visitors can sample Mainau wine and go on guided tours.

Last but not least, for a bit of family fun, there’s Europa-Park, Germany’s largest theme park down south near Freiburg where “Horror Nights” will take over from 27 Sep to 2 Nov this year featuring seven horror attractions and lots of zombies, mummies and vampires.

Tales of the Unexpected: Weimar’s famous prisoner

Johann Sebastian Bach spent more than ten years of his life in the enchanting Thuringian town of Weimar. So far, so good. But even many a Bach aficionado doesn’t know that he spent the last four weeks of that time in the town jail. His detention was a result of the then ruling duke of Weimar being miffed about Bach taking on a better paid post in Köthen. With his family already moved to their new home about 100 miles up north, Bach did his time, including the odd spot of composing in his cell.

In 2014, Weimar will be putting on some extra Bach time to celebrate a special anniversary: his son Carl Philipp Emanuel who during his lifetime achieved even more fame than his father was born in Weimar in 1714. The same year his father was appointed Hofkonzertmeister to the duke of Weimar. From 30 April to 4 May 2014, concerts will celebrate the work of father and son. Tickets: tourist-info@weimar.de

Tales of the Unexpected: Baiersbronn's mighty bottle

Who knew? The first German Champagne bottle with its dented bottom was produced in Baiersbronn in the Black Forest. In the 19th century, winemaker Georg Kessler from Esslingen who had learned sparkling wine production in France and set up Germany’s oldest producer, encountered a bit of a problem: the conventional German bottles couldn’t withstand the pressure generated during the process of bottle fermentation. Ingenious glass makers Böhringer in Baiersbronn developed a bottle with an extra thick wall, put a dent in the bottom and voilà, problem sorted. The former Baiersbronn-Buhlbach glassworks is now open to visitors as a cultural park from April to October.

Tales of the Unexpected: gnome sweet gnome in Leipzig

Germany’s Schrebergärten or allotments are unique.  These small, private, recreational gardens are as much a part of German culture as orderliness and Wurst, and are found all over the nation. But did you know that their origins are in Leipzig (reached by direct flights with Ryanair)? Today their history can be retraced in the only museum of its kind in the world, the German Allotment Museum (pictured left). Its historic location - the club house of the first German Schreber Association, built in 1896 - lets you follow in the footsteps of founder Daniel Gottlob Moritz Schreber. Here the museum hosts the permanent exhibition 'Germany's Allotment Holders from the 19th to the 20th Century', with a display garden of historic buildings dating from 1890 to in 1924. Also on show until April next year is a special display of unmissable garden gnomes, called Kult.Kitsch.Gartenzwerg!

Tales of the Unexpected: Regensburg’s stellar attraction

The riverside city of Regensburg has long been a darling of UNESCO, with its 1,400 buildings of serious historical significance still standing, many of them more than 500 years old. Hidden discreetly away amongst them (only open on weekends and bank holidays) is the house where the astronomer Johannes Kepler died, back in the 17th century. The first person to properly understand and record inter-planetary motion, he was also the first person to understand how a telescope works. Importantly, in a world where religion ruled, he managed to create a vision of the cosmos which didn't tread on hallowed toes. Even if you have limited interest in the science of the stars, his house is a perfectly preserved example of his era, complete with his original instruments (pictured) and documents.