19th Century German Stories (in German and English) 

This ever expanding site belongs to the Foreign Language Department of the Virginia Commonwealth University. Some of what you can find here are the classic stories and fairy tales that German children grow up with. Beautifully presented with original illustrations you will find Struwwelpeter, Max and Moritz, Rumpelstilzchen, The Frog King and other stories. For many of those you are now able to choose among illustrations of different versions or take a quiz that tests your understanding of the story. If you are near Frankfurt you might want to visit the Struwwelpeter Museum (in German).

Project Gutenberg DE (in German) 

The Project Gutenberg is an ongoing volunteer effort aimed at publishing classic German literature on the Web. The collection currently comprises about 370,000 pages of text, including 1,500 complete novels, 1,500 fairy tales etc. If you have a scanner and OCR software you can contribute to the collection.

To escape the city Berliners take to the "Pampa" on the weekend ("Wir fahren in die Pampa!"), preferably by bike. This is not the Argentinean pampa, but rather Berliner slang for the natural surroundings of Berlin. Formerly Eastern Germany, little money was spent for reconstruction after WWII, hence nature remained untouched and lovely villages abound. 

To prepare for a trip to Brandenburg (Brandenburg's English homepage), you might want to get a copy of Theodor Fontane's (in English w/pictures) Wanderungen durch die Mark Brandenburg (Walking tour through Mark Brandenburg), the first volume of which was published in 1861. It is one of Germany's literary master pieces. German speaking academics and students might enjoy Betrachtungen zur literaturgeschichtlichen Bedeutung der Wanderungen durch die Mark Brandenburg Fontane's best known work is the novel Effi Briest (novel online in German).

Hyde Flippo has put together this excellent German language guide at About.com. (He also hosts the excellent The German Way And More).

The German language has undergone significant changes in recent years: in the summer of 1999, German media agreed to implement a limited number of changes proposed by the language reform. The Duden, the authority on German language, has published an information page with examples and self-tests. While the new German is taught in most schools, the majority of adults continue using the German they know. The changes will not go into effect on all levels until 2005, but magazines and newspapers are leading the way.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude Homepage (in English)

Photo: A. Kazimir Ciesielski 

A great site devoted to artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude. This page contains a large collection of exquisite photographs of the wrapping of the Berliner Reichstag that took place in Berlin in the summer of 1995. 

Die Karl May Gesellschaft (in English) 

Over a hundred years ago and after a troubled life the German Karl May set out to create a phantasy world in print. To this day the adventures of "Winnetou" and "Old Shatterhand" in the Wild West (a place Karl May never visited) have sold close to a hundred million times. Written during colonialism his stories promote peace among the white and native Americans. Even today his story's heroes have lost none of their appeal to young people: Karl May festivals throughout the country continue to have tens of thousands of visitors each year. The Karl May Society presents an expansive collection of photos, literary material and Karl May's books to read online.