Baby storks in the eastern Austrian province of Burgenland, are learning to fly. The birds, which have become a symbol of the province, migrate here every spring – to the same nests, perched on the roofs of houses and municipal buildings. Bethany Bell reports from the town of Rust, on the banks of Lake Neusiedl.

BBC Storks Report Burgenland

Introduction: Earlier this year, the German Green party was riding high in the opinion polls, ahead of the parliamentary election later in September. But currently the party is in third place, with about 18 percent, trailing the conservative CDU and the Social Democratic Party. The Green Chancellor Candidate Annalena Baerbock has made a number of missteps. And the Greens, which have traditionally tended to be stronger in Western Germany, also face challenges in the former Communist East, a stronghold for the nationalist Alternative für Deutschland party, the AfD.  Bethany Bell reports from Saxony in Eastern Germany.

German Elections The Greens In East Germany BBC World Service Radio

Greek Honey Report BBC Radio 4 Today Programme 4.11.2021

Tens of thousands of people have paid their respects to former Pope Benedict ahead of his funeral on Thursday. Bethany Bell reports from the Vatican.

Former Pope Benedict report for BBC Radio

The former Pope, Benedict the Sixteenth, has been buried at the Vatican after tens of thousands of mourners attended a requiem mass for him in St Peter's Square. Pope Francis led the service alongside his predecessor's wooden coffin. Bethany Bell reports from the Vatican

Former Pope Benedict's Funeral - Report For BBC News

Vienna’s Central Cemetery, the second largest in Europe, is where Beethoven, Schubert and Johann Strauss are buried. It features in the classical movie, The Third Man – and these days people also grow vegetables there. You can hire an allotment there for 139 euros a year, if you have a relative buried in one of Vienna’s graveyards. Bethany Bell reports from Vienna.

Vienna Vegetables Cemetery - Report for BBC World Service Radio

Austria’s stunning Alpine lake region, the Salzkammergut, is one of Europe’s cultural capitals this year.  It’s the first time a rural Alpine region has been chosen, instead of a city. Over the next twelve months, towns and villages in the area, southeast of Salzburg will be hosting a range of cultural and artistic projects. The region has a rich heritage in both folk and classical music, as Bethany Bell discovered when she visited the old imperial spa town of Bad Ischl.

New Year's Day Austria Culture Report for BBC Radio 3

Report for BBC World Service Radio: May 7th is the 200th anniversary of the premiere of a work that is widely regarded as one of the great masterpieces of Western classical music: Ludwig van Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. The symphony, which culminates in the Ode to Joy, was first performed in 1824 in Vienna, where the German composer lived and worked for most of his life. Now the city is celebrating with a series of performances of the symphony, notably by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Riccardo Muti.

New Year's Day Austria Culture Report for BBC Radio 3

Bethany Bell

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