The variety of flavorful bratwursts reflects the variety of Franconian cities: In Ansbach, the brats are 12 to 18 cm long and a whopping 4 cm thick, in Coburg, brats are grilled over pine cones. In comparison, the Nuremberger bratwursts are only 7 to 9 cm long and skinny. The residents of Kulmbach like to eat theirs sandwiched between the halves of a crispy bun. So they call their brats „Eingezwickte“ which means something like „the pinched ones“. Anybody who loves Frankonian cuisine needs to also sample a crispy „Schäufele“, a special pork roast.

Every year in early July, the city of Ansbach comes to life. The Ansbach Rococo Festivals takes place in front of of the magnificent margravial orangery and offers royal splendor and elegance as well as music and dance. http://www.rokoko-festspiele.de

The month of May is also start of the International Guitar Concerts in Ansbach. Through October you can enjoy concerts by renowned stars and ne talents at the historical Schwanenritter Chapel and the Cultural Center Karlshalle. http://www.gitarrenkonzerte-ansbach.de

Ansbach is located in the middle of romantic Franconia and the town impresses with its congruent historical townscape and extraordinary buildings. First and foremost, there are the margravial residence with ist orangery and splendid royal garden. Ansbach is a fun place to visit. www.ansbach.de

This (October 2008) is probably the wrong time for advice on how to get subprime mortgages in Germany, but anyway: As a foreigner, most applicants for mortgages will by default be subprime, because your real estate/assets overseas don't count for anything for a German bank. Just cash does (and yes, a few banks will analyse overseas income statements, but add to this translation costs etc). To save you time trapsing through 20 banks in your first weeks in Germany, here is a shortcut, the largest mortgage broker in Germany: http://www.interhyp.de/ They offer cordial and efficient service; after giving your details through phone, on the next business day you should have your first offers by the banks they represent, which...

This is a typical German thing and quite unique, I guess, where people have separate garden lots where they go to in summer evenings and weekends; they are allowed to build small huts on these (usually leased) lots, bot normally not to connect them to power, water or sewage - keeping those lots purely for enjoying spare time and holidays. The lots can be in the middle of cities, along rail tracks or a bit further out of town; done up to the nines, with beautiful pedicured lawns, fruit trees, and yes, the ubiquitous dwarf figurines.

Ok, it's not something to be proud of, but if you need to prepare a foolproof German meal, help is at hand. Head for the Maggi and Knorr packet selection where you'll find things like Schweinebraten, Schnitzel and Spaetzle. The instructions are really easy and you know exactly what to ask the butcher for (or just give them the packet in shame!). For dessert just throw berries and a tub of quark or thick cream into a pre-made flan base or make a packet vanilla pudding. With a little bit of help you can even impress Oma - until your own Hausfrau credentials are fully polished.