ARD & ZDF

ARD and ZDF are two public service broadcasters in Germany. ARD is made up of a number of smaller, regional broadcasters whereas ZDF is more centralised and is based in Mainz-Lerchenberg.

Major shows such as Wetten Dass…? and Fernsehgarten are broadcast by ZDF, and the daily news Tagesschau is broadcast by ARD.

Besides their own channels, both are involved in other public service projects such as KiKa – a channel for childrens’ programmes.

To hear a simple explanation in German, listen to the podcast:

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Das Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket

The Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket is an offer from Deutsche Bahn that allows you to travel anywhere within Germany for a whole day on certain types of trains. Currently these are the RegionalExpress, Regionalbahn, InterRegioExpress and S-Bahn.

The ticket is valid for up to 5 adults or for parents with all their own children, or for grand-parents with all their own grand-children.

For the exact details and current pricing and conditions please refer to the Deutsche Bahn homepage.

To hear a simple explanation in German, listen to the podcast:

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ICE: Der Intercity-Express

ICE is the abbreviation for Intercity-Express, the high-speed trains that run between the major cities in Germany.

To use the ICE you need a ticket that entitles you to do so, stating that a particular part of your journey is using such a train.

Visitors to Germany may prefer avoid using ICE trains, in order to travel the older, more scenic routes.

To hear a simple explanation in German, listen to the podcast:

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