Warm and cosy on the inside, peaceful on the outside.

I love to go camping. Before and now even more so with my husband and children. The most sacred moment for me is early in the morning when it’s still cold under the canopy. That’s when we put on our carpet slippers and enjoy a cuddle together. M.O.

Lose yourself in the mixing bowl.

I have always loved baking. As a child with my parents and grandparents, later for friends and colleagues at work and now with my own children and their friends. And as nice as it is to bake together and as tasty as the biscuits, cakes and tarts turn out – the best moment is when you get to lick the bowl. K.L.

I call the tune – my way.

My parents always wanted me to learn a musical instrument but I was always very successful in resisting. In the last few years, I discovered the guitar for myself. Sometimes I play with friends around the camp fire, but most of all I prefer to play on my own. I decide the beat, the rhythm and the melody. I call the tune – my own way. B.M.

2 gnomes & 2 large coffees

Usually the little one is the first to creep into the bed, and a little later, the big one arrives and cuddles up between us. Served with two morning coffees and two little bottles of milk. This one moment. Every morning. Snuggle cuddling with the whole family. It doesn’t get any cosier.​​​​​​​ A.R.

When my granny discovers something new.

My granny has had dementia for a few years. The time I get to spend with her is beautiful and sad at the same time. Her world is steadily shrinking. On my last visit, I brought Pom-Bears and she discovered salty crisps – at the age of 94. There are always beautiful moments, however short they are. A.G.

Making Christmas decorations under professional supervision

For me, the best thing about Christmas was getting ready for it. Of course, national holidays are also magnificent but the anticipatory thrill and the many jobs to be done together before Christmas Eve arrives, those are my best childhood memories. Making Bascetta stars with my mum on long afternoons – that’s Christmas for me. L.M.

Imagination takes over from reality.

Everyday life is often hard to cope with. Right now, there are many issues on my mind that set my thoughts racing. When I read a book, I can travel in my head, become part of the story, lose myself in a different world and in this way recharge my batteries. I.H.

Looking at green, immersing yourself in the green, embracing the green.

I love to escape the hustle and bustle for a little while. Then I go forest bathing in the midst of greenery. Take a deep breath. Enjoy the silence to the fullest. My greenest moment of the day. L.C.

Don’t just send my heart on its travels. 

Some people say you have to find your own homeland. I always carry my homeland in my heart. When I’m travelling, getting to know strange cultures or losing myself in unfamiliar cities, new impressions rain down on me – then I feel at home. T.M.Z.

Playing. Hungry. Playing. Thirsty. Looking at books. Telling tall stories. Laughing yourself silly. Hiccups. Pancakes. Continue playing. Smooching. Getting up to nonsense. Rice pudding with cinnamon and sugar. Bedtime story. A peck on the cheek. Thirsty. Dreamland.

When the past doesn’t matter and the principle of future is not yet clear. When time is constantly in the now. Then every moment is a special moment. All children

Ascent. Peak. Freedom. Expanse.

As a child, I used to hate hiking with my family. These days, I can hardly wait to conquer new peaks on holiday. The exertion of the climb banishes all my worries and I am solely focused on the steep path in front of me. And when I then stand on the summit, such a vast expanse, so much horizon, that makes everything ok. L.M.

Pop music is escapism in its purest form.

For many people, pop music is just shallow entertainment. It has followed me all through my life. As soon as I hear music, a music video starts to play in my head. Again and again. And a different one every time. Nothing can make me happy or sad so quickly. Music is always there. Music doesn’t ask questions. Music understands. The soundtrack to my life. C.L.

The paradise lies in the broken chocolate heaven. Definitely.

The best thing about being a grown-up? Undoubtedly having unlimited access to chocolate. When I allow myself a large piece of broken chocolate at the weekend in my favourite armchair, a Cheshire cat could take a leaf out of my book. W.W.

At night, I let my thoughts wander far afield.

Even as a child, I couldn’t understand how you were supposed to pack all the things you wanted to discover into just one life. And even if my life is topsy-turvy, the day is never long enough for me. So every night, I go on my travels. In my dreams, I am all those things that I would never manage to be if I only had the days. D.S.

With my coffee cup in my hand, I watch the sun rise every morning.

I love adventures and I feel most at home when I’m travelling. A few years ago, I bought a camper van – the best decision of my life. Since then, the camper van and I spend our weekends together. By the lake, in the woods, on the beach. That moment in the morning when I watch the sun rise holding my cup of coffee – that’s the Ideal World for me. A.G.

Job done.

I like to work. Work gives structure to everyday life as well as offering a social framework and social space. I enjoy seeing things to a successful conclusion. The most beautiful moment, however, comes when I sit down in our garden after work in summer and watch the clouds go by. Fulfilled. Satisfied. Happy. K.S.

Actually, my soul is always at the seaside.

I moved to Lübeck to be nearer the sea. When I sit on the beach in Travemünde, the sand between my toes, the sun above me and the blue Baltic Sea before me, my longings subside. At that moment, I have arrived. M.H.

Only the music and me. And suddenly, everything is very light.

When I let the music take me, I can feel my own body. I float over the ground with ease and let the rhythm inspire me. Then I feel alive and I leave all negative thoughts behind me. W.B.

The longer you knit, the clearer your thoughts become.

At some point I started knitting. Long after students used to knit in lecture theatres but also long before it became really “hip” again. I can’t knit particularly quickly but I really like knitting. When I hear the clicking of the needles and the wool thread slowly becomes a scarf or a pullover, I am completely at one with myself. And while I knit, my thoughts wander far afield. R.M.

Three wishes for Cinderella.

The Ideal World in a nutshell. No film says Christmas for me more than “Three Wishes for Cinderella”. The first bars of the theme tune are enough to put me in the mood for Christmas straight away. If wishes can ever come true, surely only in conjunction with nuts. D.A.

Peace.

Peace. All of us

The scent of the big wide world.

After two years of the coronavirus, I left Germany to go on holiday for the first time again last summer. We were in Greece for ten days. In the middle of summer. At the heart of the action. Immersed in life. Right at the start of the trip, I bought some perfume and wore it every day. And whenever I wear it now, my thoughts take me back to this holiday which will always remain a very special one. S.W.

Softly falls the snow.

I grew up in the mountains. For me, snow was always a sign that Christmas was just around the corner. Even today, nothing is more beautiful for me than when the first snow of the year arrives. I am in love with snow. Snow shrouds everything in white. It creates peace and quiet amid the chaos. It enchants the unenchanted. S.

My grandpa’s ring – my daily inspiration.

The wedding ring of my grandpa Karl which goes back to 1936 reminds me every morning how lucky I am and how many reasons I have to be cheerful and thankful. This ring for which grandpa found a new hiding place every day through his long years as a prisoner of war, served him as a bridge to his family to whom he was finally allowed to return in May 1948. For me, too, it symbolises hope and confidence. B.S.