We don't do "can't do"!

Germany, simply superlative

Bayerische Zugspitzbahn

Flair Hotel Nieder probably offers the deepest location in the country: Candlelight "mine dining" 300 metres below the ground. The hotel offers a fine culinary experience in the romantically lit galleries of the Ramsberg ore mine between original mining tools and boulders of ore. An evening not to be missed and never to be forgotten – tour of the mine included. (http://www.flairhotel.de/)

Get to know the chocolaty side of the cathedral city of Cologne: Visitors to the Chocolate Museum quickly succumb to the temptations of the country's sweetest location. 3,000 years of the story of chocolate and Cologne's history melt together in a ship made of glass and metal. Suitable for gatherings of all kinds from festive galas to exclusive product presentations and major events. (http://www.koelntourismus.de/ / http://www.schokoladenmuseum.de/)

"Have you ever looked deep into a predator's eyes while eating?" asks Catering’s Best when they invite you to lunch and dinner events in the country's most dangerous location – the big cat enclosure at Frankfurt Zoo. The lion's den offers plenty of space and thrills for receptions of up to 100 guests and seated meals for up to 60 persons. (http://www.cateringsbest.de/)

The idea for Germany's darkest location in Frankfurt is brilliantly simple. Blind guides lead visitors of small groups around an exhibition in total darkness. Smells, wind, temperatures, sounds and textures create a park, a city and a bar - everyday situations, which become a completely new experience once the light of day is removed. The roles are completely reversed – normally-sighted people are removed from their social routine and accustomed perceptions while becoming dependent on blind people for orientation and mobility. (http://www.dialogmuseum.de/)

Since 1999, Germany's most sporting hotel, Lindner BayArena in Leverkusen, has been welcoming football fans to box seats with a direct view of the stadium, which is home to Bayer Leverkusen football team. Depending on your mood, up to eight combinable conference rooms are available for meetings and teamwork events of between ten and 130 persons, all with boxes and a view of the pitch. (http://www.lindner.de/)

Wolfsburg is home to Germany's most experimental location. 250 interactive experiment landscapes spread over an area of 9,000 m² are an irresistible invitation to explore and investigate mysterious scientific phenomena and ingenious technology. Three visitor laboratories, a science theatre, a show crater and the ideas forum also encourage visitors to examine all sorts of the most fascinating topics from the worlds of science and technology. And visitors will certainly notice that the emphasis is on fun by the time they take a ride on the flying carpet. (http://www.phaeno.de/)

The Fleesensee region is a record holder in several categories. Connoisseurs of the greens can savour Germany's largest holiday and leisure park (550 ha), which with 72 holes and a golf arena is the largest golf resort anywhere in Northern Europe. And with 6,000 m² of relaxation de luxe on offer, nothing beats Germany's largest day spa with Qi Gong, Shiatsu and Ayurveda treatments. All in all, Fleesensee offers its guests a broad range of outdoor incentives and attractive events. From horse trekking to dragon boat racing and Beach Olympics to canoe and kayak tours, basketball- and golf tournaments. And there is plenty of space for conventions, too - in the RadissonSAS, in the Dorfhotel Fleesensee or at Germany's first and only Robinson Club. (http://www.fleesensee.de/)

Osnabrück is not just Germany's oldest congress location – in 1644 it was the venue for the congress, which eventually led to the signing of the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 and the end of the Thirty Years' War. These negotiations lasted approx. 1,400 days making Osnabrück, the city of peace, the record holder for the longest congress in history. A special highlight for incentive planners is an event that combines dinner and a tour of the city: The culinary night watchman tour. It starts in the "Friedenssaal" of the historic town hall, where the Peace of Westphalia was signed in 1648. There, each participant is given a lantern with which the night watchman – naturally in authentic historical costume - guides them through the dark, narrow medieval streets of the old town. The first culinary station is the Bürgergehorsam, formerly a defensive tower. Here the participants are offered a unique and specially created aperitif known as "Böser Bube" ("Bad Boy"). The tour continues via the historic city defences and streets into the vaults of a wine dealer who offers tapas and sherry as a starter. Finally, the main course is served in one of the city's historic restaurants, such as the Gasthaus Walhalla – founded in 1690, it is the oldest tavern in the city and occupies a half-timbered building dating from the 17th Century. Hausbrauerei Rampendahl is the ideal choice for a more rustic flavour offering plain, hearty fare such as spent grain bread (so-called because of the addition of the "spent grain" used in brewing) and beer brewed on the premises. A digestif is served after further exploration of the old town either at the top of the Marienkirchturm – a church tower with fabulous views of the city once the participants have climbed up its 192 steps - or finishing in the Friedenssaal of the town hall. For dessert the night watchman will be pleased to escort you back to your hotel or to one of the old-fashioned pubs nearby. (http://www.kongressbuero-osnabrueck.de/)

Bathed in light - that is Germany's first and only floating conference and event centre. The unique Mercure Hotel Hamburg City "event pontoon" offers convention planners 450 m² for gatherings of up to 350 people on three levels – at and above water level. The two rooms of the conference area alone can accommodate 160 persons but the welcome glass of champagne is best enjoyed in the lounge – or on the club terrace directly overlooking the canal. (http://www.thefloatingexperience.de/)

On the 37th floor of Berlin's tallest city hotel, the 149m Park Inn at historic Alexanderplatz, lovers of roulette, black jack and poker can enjoy a flutter in Europe's highest casino. Conventions are held in Germany's highest conference suite, which is also on the 37th floor and provides breathtaking views of the capital city and its landmarks. (http://www.parkinn.de/)

Organisers seeking exclusivity need look no further than "axica" - the prime address for events in Berlin's most exclusive congress and event centre. The multimedia architectural experience designed by Frank O. Gehry is situated directly next to Brandenburg Gate. (http://www.axica.de/)

More superlatives in brief:

• The Zugspitze is Germany's highest location. (http://www.zugspitze.de/ / http://www.bayern.by/)
• The fastest location is without doubt at the Hockenheimring race track. (http://www.hockenheimring.de/)
• The atomic clock at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (national metrology institute) in Braunschweig is the world's most punctual location. (http://www.ptb.de/)
• The world's largest collection of dyes is housed at the Institute for Organic Chemistry at the TU Dresden and is indisputably the world's most colourful location. (www.chm.tu-dresden.de/farbstoffsammlung.shtml)
• For Germany's most devout location, planners look to the Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche church in Berlin. (http://www.akanthus.de/)
• Who dares to hold a meeting in Germany's wildest location, the hippopotamus house at Berlin Zoo? (http://www.zoo-berlin.de/)
• No location is better for secret underground meetings than an underground station and tunnel in Berlin. (http://www.u3bahnhof.de/)

That tops it all!

Every year, the hanseatic city of Hamburg celebrates the birthday of its world famous port on the River Elbe with the world's largest harbour festival. Three tall sailing ships and five cruise liners are among the floating players in the 819th festival from 9th – 12th May 2008, during which Hamburg dons its finest for four days around the famous quays. Exclusive evening events and twilight boat trip are on offer. (http://www.hafengeburtstag.de/)

For five days, starting on 14th May, the 38th International Dixieland Festival will again transform Dresden into the "Capital of Dixieland". The motto of the second largest festival of its kind is simple: Sing and swing till you can swing no more. 65 venues will be hosting concerts performed by over 30 bands and solo artists from all over the world. (http://www.dixieland.de/)

Nine days of celebrations, more than 5,000 sailing boats and tall ships, more than 1,000 events and an average of 3.5 million guests will again make Kiel Week the biggest sailing party in the world in 2008 (21st – 29th June). A classic maritime experience is guaranteed – whether you are just a spectator or a participant, e.g. on an exclusively chartered yacht. (http://www.kieler-woche.de/)

On 20th October at precisely 12 noon, the Lord Mayor of Munich, Mr. Christian Ude, will open the 175th Munich Oktoberfest by tapping the first "Hirsch" barrel of the festival. With 6.5 million visitors consuming 6.8 million litres of beer, 102 roast oxen, 42,492 knuckles of pork and featuring a total of 642 stands, the meadows of Munich remain unchallenged as the world's biggest fair in the Oktoberfest's jubilee year. (http://www.oktoberfest2008.de/)

The world's largest cauldron of "Feuerzangenbowle" punch will be glowing from mid-December to the beginning of January at Munich's Isartor city gate. The preparation of the drink in a giant cauldron is a spectacle in itself. As darkness falls, sugarloaves of giant proportions are soaked in rum and ignited over a specially-constructed cauldron – holding 9,000 litres of wine – into which it drips molten, burning sugar. The legendary film "Die Feuerzangenbowle" starring Heinz Rühmann sets the festive scene. (http://www.die-kessel-gbr.de/)

It would be hard to overlook the world's largest free-standing advent calendar – at an amazing 857 m² (!) it is an unmissable attraction at Leipzig's Sachsenplatz. One of the
2 x 3m doors is opened each day from the 1st – 24th December. (http://www.leipzig.de/)

Every year in March, poets and thinkers gather at lit.COLOGNE – the largest festival of literature in the world. The bestselling international literary festival scores with a high density of top quality authors and welcomes visitors with readings and galas in some of the city's most unusual venues around the world-famous Cologne Cathedral. (http://www.litcologne.de/)

Probably the world's most famous hotel lies on Germany's Baltic coast - the Kempinski Grand Hotel Heiligendamm. "Sleep like a head of state" has been the slogan of the gleaming white town by the sea since German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her G8 guests left the most beautiful and luxurious holiday resort in Europe open to the public once again. (http://www.kempinski-heiligendamm.com/)

The oldest and largest fleet of paddle steamers in the world is not to be found cruising on the Mississippi but between Sesslitz near Meissen and Schmilka in the region of "Saxon Switzerland". The fleet of nine vintage paddle steamers are between 79 and 129 years old and can look back over a rich history. They are complemented by two elegant saloon ships. Not only do they ease their way along one of Europe's most beautiful river landscapes - they also serve the Elbe valley around Dresden, which has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2004. Passengers are enchanted by the nostalgic charm of the paddle steamers, the gentle swishing of the paddles and the puffing of their steam engines. (http://www.saechsische-dampfschifffahrt.de/)

The Asisi Factory presents the world' largest 360-degree panorama paintings in the cultural metropolises of Leipzig and Dresden in Saxony. The "Panometer" Leipzig, a disused gasometer, features the 360° panorama "Amazonia" with a height of 31 m and a circumference of 106 m, which will be on display from March 2009. The Panometer Dresden is home to a permanent exhibition of the panoramic painting entitled "1756 Dresden". Both are outstanding venues for events such as banquets and get togethers of up to 450 persons. (www.asisi.de)

According to the Guinness Book of Records, the Estrel Berlin is the largest convention-, entertainment- and hotel complex anywhere in Europe. To put this in figures: 1,125 rooms, 5 restaurants and 3 bars in the 2,800 m², 13 m high glass-roofed atrium; a 15,000 m² event area, 4,700 m² convention hall as well as 80 further event rooms; eight different show productions unique to the venue…. (http://www.estrel.de/)