German chancellor Angela Merkel is facing an escalating political revolt after challenges to her position in the refugee crisis from her conservative allies and her Berlin coalition partners. The centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), junior partner in the Berlin grand coalition, demanded Dr Merkel impose a cap on asylum applications as forecasts for 2015 near a million. Meanwhile, her Bavarian allies, the ruling Read more [...]

  Walking clubs are increasing in popularity – and Catherine Murphy is convinced she’s found the perfect hiking destination in Austria.To visit Ehrwald is to experience a tale of two regions, two countries. The pretty, peaceful mountain village is set in the Austrian Tirol but is within hiking distance of Bavaria in Germany.  While you will sleep and eat in Austria, some of your activities will take place in Germany or between the two. Zugspitze (2,962m), the highest mountain in Germany and Read more [...]

BERLIN—Political backlash against German chancellor Angela Merkel intensified Friday as her most conservative ally threatened to take the government to court if it doesn't adopt measures to limit the flow of migrants into Germany. As the number of migrants flocking to Germany has continued to swell, Merkel's open-arms policy has exposed a widening rift inside the government over how to tackle the biggest migrant tide Germany has witnessed since WWII. Merkel has come under Read more [...]