German telly has been thus far unfazed by the US writers strike, reports DW, thanks to a season-long backlog of German-dubbed American TV shows. "We are hoping the strike will end, and that we don't have to change our schedule," says ProSieben spokeswoman Katja Pichler, adding that ProSieben needs six months to dub an episode of an American series into German.

John and Sandra Nowlan discover for the Boston Globe that Hapag Lloyd's ship, Europa, does indeed offer the the best cruise experience in the world. "A voyage on Europa is a cross-cultural education. Germans tend to dress up in the evenings with jackets and ties favored among the men. Two very formal occasions on each cruise encourage elegant gowns and fine jewelry for the women and tuxedos for the men. There are no Las Vegas-style shows; Germans prefer classical music and poetry readings."

Reuters finds that Uwe Boll, leading contender for the title of world's worst director, following his third consecutive flop, is scaling back his multi-million dollar productions to smaller video game adaptions like "Zombie Massacre". You gotta give the man credit for perseverance if nothing else. Says Boll, who likes to arrange boxing matches against his internet critics during his spare time, "These are films that represent my true passion, and they can be done with small budgets."

David Crossland at Spiegel International sees the main float in this year's Karneval in Cologne -- a non-too-subtle jab at England's failure to qualify for the European football championship this year -- as rooted in a long-standing rivalry dating back to 1966. "England won the World Cup by beating Germany 4-2. Ask any German over five about that match and they will point out that England's third goal should not have been allowed. Ask any England fan, and they will reply: 'So what?' "

Video: Johan de Nysschen, Executive Vice President of Audi of America, explains to TIME the meticulous nature of Germans as their secret to success.