After months of hard work, you're more than ready for a vacation. In German, you would literally be "vacation ripe." Quick, get that bikini on before you start feeling like a plump tomato. And if you really need a break from the office, then it's probably best to leave that laptop at home.

Do you suffer from "distance pain"? That means you want to travel to a far-off land so badly it hurts. Germans are known for being world travel champs (though the Chinese surpassed them in 2012), but what happens when you're abroad and miss your mom's homemade sauerkraut? Then you have Heimweh: "home pain," or homesickness.

Vacation time is relaxing when you don't have to cook - and don't even have to go to the trouble of looking for a restaurant. When all your meals (and often drinks) are included in your one-price resort stay, it's called an All-In Urlaub, or all-inclusive vacation. While Germans otherwise love long words, they often shorten English terms. The German term Pauschalurlaub is also commonly used here.

In many ways, Germans like to play things safe and be prepared. If you want to book a vacation early, but there's a chance something might come up - like an illness or a political crisis in your destination country — it's a good idea to buy insurance that will guarantee a refund if you cancel. The German word for that is a real tongue twister that literally means "travel withdrawal insurance."

Germany's 16 states stagger their schools' six-week summer breaks so that the entire country isn't traveling all at once during the summer months. But traffic jams — Stau — still tend to break out on the first and last weekend of each state's school break. It's a good idea to travel mid-week. Since fewer people commute to work in the summer, the city roads are noticeably clearer then.

Meaning "summer freshness," Sommerfrische is a more or less outdated term from the 19th century. In their German dictionary, the Brothers Grimm defined it as the desire of urban dwellers to flee to the countryside for a refreshing break during the summer months. That was a common practice among the nobility of the time. Back then, sewage systems were lacking, making cities less fresh in the heat.

It's so hot outside that you're sweating like a pig. In that situation, Germans would put another animal into the mix: an ape. This Borneo orangutan in Indonesia seems to be dealing with the Affenhitze ("ape heat") quite well by finding a shady spot in the treetops.

If you can't find shelter in a tree like an ape, then you'd better find another shady spot. Otherwise you risk getting a "sun sting," or a Sonnenstich. Symptoms include dizziness, fatigue, dehydration and the inability to think straight. These chairs, which are typical for Germany's northern beaches, are intended to block the wind — but on particularly warm days, they'll also prevent a sunstroke.

There are some 7,000 public swimming pools in Germany and over half of them are so-called "free pool" — Freibäder. No, they're not free of charge; they're dubbed "free" because they located outdoors rather than in a hall (Hallenbad). While indoor pools are open all year, the Freibad is particularly popular during the summer months.

Summer is "pickle time" — or Sauregurkenzeit in Germany. No, people here don't eat more pickles this time of year. Instead, the term dates back to the 18th century when it referred to times when food was scarce and pickles were all that was left. Later it was adapted to refer to times with little work. With parliament out of session, journalists in particular often call summer Sauregurkenzeit.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if summer lasted forever? Some years early fall brings a stretch of sunny days, too. What we'd call Indian summer in English is Altweibersommer in German. At first glance, the term literally seems to mean "old hag summer," but "weiber" is more likely derived from the word for weave, refering to the spider webs that become more prevalent as summer merges into autumn.

In Germany, most ice cream shops are only open during the warmer months of the year. When the first rays of sunshine appear, nearly everyone walking through town only has one hand free; the other is gripping a cone full of the sweet stuff. While in some countries cones may be reserved for kids, many German adults stay young by ordering their ice cream in what's called a Hörnchen, Waffel or Tüte.

Germans are notorious for their phobia of stuffy rooms, which means they are constantly opening the window no matter how wet and cold it is outside. Warm weather means more windows stay open even longer. After all, air conditioning is rare in this country where hot days can practically be counted on one hand. It's a pity, then, that window screens are just as rare, because flies sure aren't.

Germany's 16 states rotate the start of their six-week summer school break so the country's Autobahn doesn't get clogged when families take off. But that doesn't quite work. Even though Germans are not having enough children to increase the population, everyone, it seems, has school-aged kids. So you need to calculate extra time when traveling on weekends. But during the week streets are empty.

"There's no bad weather, there's only the wrong clothing," goes a wise German saying. For those who don't want to miss out on outdoor activities despite Germany's finicky summer weather, there's one solution: pants with zippers that can be shortened when the mercury rises. Since they're so practical, many Germans can be spotted wearing them during their entire summer vacation.

Germans are known for being quick to complain, and if you lived with the German weather you would be, too. But since average summer temperatures in Germany hardly reach 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees F), you'd think people would jump for joy when thermometers do finally climb to 25 or 28 degrees - or even higher. But it's then that the real chorus of complaints begins: "It's so hot!"

Instead of installing precautionary A/C units for the rare event of amazing weather, German schools and workplaces declare "hitzefrei" (literally, heat free) when temperatures climb to unbearable levels. In some cases, workers are sent home when their workplace exceeds 26 degrees Celcius. In schools, the limit varies by state. Those already on vacation don't get to make up the extra free day.

That Germans love to swim is evident in the extraordinary number of public pools found in every city. There are two types: indoor and outdoor. The latter follow a schedule similar to the ice cream shops, so they are taken advantage of during the short summer season. Private backyard pools are a rare luxury. When you're at the public pool, just be sure to warn the masses before you dive in.

Germans value their vacation time - after all, most have six weeks per year - and don't want to leave anything to chance. That's why it's common for people to book all-inclusive stays at sunny destinations in Spain, Turkey or Italy. Breakfast, lunch and dinner (German-style) are included. It's not hard to find last-minute discounts, but beware: You don't alway get what you see in the catalogue.