This hotel in Rittersbach in Bavaria, is all about a specific German sausage: bratwurst - bratwurst wallpaper, bratwurst-shaped pillows and bratwurst decorations everywhere. On the ground floor there's a bratwurst restaurant with a butcher's shop next door that delivers the goods fresh. Guests can request individually-filled sausages and take them home as souvenirs - or just eat them.

Criminals used to serve time here. Nowadays whodunnit enthusiasts spend the night in these cells. Kaiserslautern's former prison now houses the Alcatraz adventure hotel. Even the hotel bar still has plenty of bars - the steel kind - but of course guests are free to move around as they please.

Each room is unique. In one, you can spend the night in a coffin; in another, the furniture hangs from the ceiling. The highlight is a polygonal room entirely covered in mirrors. The Berlin hotel Propeller Island sees itself as an all-round work of art, designed by artist Lars Stroschen. He's even composed fitting background music for each room.

In Jüterbog, 60 kilometers from Berlin, you can experience the flair of the Trans-Siberian Express without days of travel. The Schlafwagenhotel - sleeping car hotel - has room for 25 guests. Each compartment has a double bed, a seating area and ensuite bathroom.

It's possibly the world's smallest hotel, if you can even call it that: the Kofftel in Lunzenau near Chemnitz. The suitcase-shaped sleeping cabin has been in existence since 2004. It's a meter and a half wide, just under three meters long and two meters tall. Spending the night there in your own sleeping bag costs about 15 euros.

You don't have to travel to Middle Earth or the film sets in New Zealand to spend the night in a hobbit hole. In the Feriendorf Auenland - The Shire Holiday Village - in the Thuringian Forest, Tolkien fans can stay in compact holiday quarters, each with a bedroom, cosy living area and bath.

It's twilight, the wolves are howling, and there's not another human in sight. If you're looking for adventure, spend the night in the Tree Inn near Bremen. This tree house hotel is in the middle of the young wolf enclosure in Dörverden's Wolf Center. From a height of five meters, a glass facade gives you a clear view of the animals.

Now you can sleep where wine was once matured. Six large wine casks stand in the inner courtyard of the Lindenwirt Hotel in the wine-making town of Rüdesheim on the Rhine. With their 6000 liter capacity, each barrel has enough space for two guest beds, plus an extension with a small living room and a bathroom.

The Arthus Hotel near Lake Constance invites you to journey into the past. The rooms are furnished like those in a medieval inn, and the Ritterkeller restaurant offers Arthurian feasts. A cup-bearer guides you through the evening as you dine in historical style.

The drinks at the bar in the Iglu-Lodge are guaranteed to be ice cold! The ice and snow hotel atop Mount Nebelhorn near Oberstdorf is open from December to mid-April. Its two- and four-person igloos can accommodate up to 40 guests. Their interior decoration is designed by local artists from the Allgäu region. The hotel at an elevation of 2000 meters provides a panoramic view of the Alpine summits.