The Bavarian Alps, only an hour's drive south of Munich, offer the best downhill slopes and most reliable snow conditions.

BBC: Getting fresh in Germany: Cycling, hiking and skiing

Hike through the breathtaking scenery of the Bavarian Alps or hop on the cable car to reach the top of Germany's highest peak.

BBC: The classic Bavarian road trip

"You are massively wrapped up in emotions there because you've spent three and a half years preparing for it, " says Bunting, who now runs his own outdoor events company in the Bavarian Alps.

CNN: The height of teamwork on Everest

From a certain angle in the Bavarian Alps, all those broken lives are simply the regrettable down payment on essential fundamental reforms that any day now will transform the Mediterranean hinterlands into thrifty toilers worthy of continued support.

FORBES: Why Monti's Exit Is a Smooth Move

As a public service, it is obliged to deliver letters and packages to every corner of Germany, from islands in the Baltic Sea to the Bavarian Alps (its publicists peddle photographs of loyal employees punting down rivers to reach obscure addresses).

ECONOMIST: Post offices