Schedule for Adventure Earth

Wild Bavaria

Wild Bavaria

Mighty and mysterious, King Watzmann sits above Germany's only alpine national park.

2026-07-03 11:36:40 +0000 UTC2026-07-03 12:27:18 +0000 UTC(50m)
Wild River Rhine

Wild River Rhine

Alluvial forests, roaring waterfalls, steep canyons and sunny slopes flank the river Rhine. The variety of habitats is the reason for the large biodiversity along the stream.There is hardly any other river in Germany that is surrounded by as many myths and legends as the river Rhine. No other river has been the topic of songs, has been painted and travelled equally frequently. Despite this it still seems to be true today what the French poet Victor Hugo once said about this river – the Rhine is a river everybody talks about, nobody explores, everybody visits but no one really knows. The film follows the water against the stream. It starts at the river's delta in the Netherlands, flows through six countries and ends in the Swiss Alps.

2026-07-04 12:45:22 +0000 UTC2026-07-04 13:46:43 +0000 UTC(1h1m)
Magic Lakes

Magic Lakes

At 117 square kilometres, the Müritz is the largest lake on German territory, but it's far from the only one in the north east of the country. Even the Mecklenburg Lake District, between Waren and Feldberg, contains around 2 lakes alone. Thanks to the Müritz National Park the species diversity is particularly high in the region: half of the German crane population breeds in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern the osprey is typical of the Müritz area the lively Eurasian otter hunts here and the endangered red milan circles the skies above. Fred Bollmann knows the national park like hardly any other. The former ranger and voluntary nature conservationist is actively involved in the preservation of ‘his' wildlife world. Filming for this production took two years. The outcome is a unique portrait of this stunning region.

2026-07-04 11:46:30 +0000 UTC2026-07-04 12:45:22 +0000 UTC(58m)
Wild Skagerrak

Wild Skagerrak

The strait that connects the North Sea with the Baltic, with depths of over 700 metres, is notorious for its dangerously strong currents. But currents also mean food and therefore nourishment for the large swarms of fish that inhabit the region. The sea grass meadows are comparable with those off the Californian coast. Harbour seals, grey seals and orcas hunt here, as do the rare black mouth cat shark and porpoises. Close by, catfish mate, which in itself is quite spectacular and never caught on film in this way before. Lion's mane jellyfish with nettle threads of up to 30 metres in length make their way through the open sea. Skagerrak's coastal regions are amongst the most beautiful and varied in Europe and boast one of the world's great bird paradises. Oystercatchers, sandwich and arctic terns are more plentiful here than anywhere else in Europe. The infinitely long dune landscape of the Skagerrak, is Denmark's answer to the skerries of the Swedish and Norwegian coasts. Large seal colonies can be found in the isolation of the small, picturesque islands and one can come face to face with the animals. In this rough, yet infinitely beautiful landscape, the many streams and rivers that open out into the Skagerrak, are quite remarkable. We accompany salmon in an equally beautiful river landscape and meet with ospreys and sea eagles and eventually come face to face with a brown bear mother and her little ones.

2026-07-04 07:46:12 +0000 UTC2026-07-04 08:46:08 +0000 UTC(59m)
Europe's far North

Europe's far North

Lofoten is the rugged archipelago in the Norwegian Arctic Ocean. Whoever arrives here is really at the end. Moskenes is the end of the line, and anyone who wants to go further needs a boat or a plane. The only way to get to the open sea is via the Maelstrom, which is quite dangerous. On the outermost headland, there are only a few ruins left. The last inhabitants are long gone, a supply was hardly possible. But fishermen are on the way, mainly to catch cod. And there is the coastal administration, which takes care of broken sea marks and lighthouses. A visit to one of the luxurious ships of the Hurtig Line is not to be missed. They shuttle off rough coasts on an eleven-day trip between the Russian border and southern Norway. A floating workplace for a wide variety of professions. The island of Andøya is not served by the Hurtiglinie. It lies too far out in the Atlantic. One of the most important observatories in Europe is located here. A young woman, Sandra Blindheim, is the boss. She is responsible for the large laser that delivers important information to scientists around the world. On clear winter nights, there is a wonderful panoramic view of the aurora borealis.

2026-07-04 06:54:28 +0000 UTC2026-07-04 07:46:12 +0000 UTC(51m)
Fuerteventura: The golden beauty of the Canaries

Fuerteventura: The golden beauty of the Canaries

Fuerteventura, the second largest of the Canary Islands, is located just 120 kilometres off the coast of West Africa. The climate is extremely dry and the struggle for water has always been a major setback. Then, around a century ago, returning US emigrants brought what were then modern wind turbine water pumps from the Aermotor Windmill Company with them to Fuerte-ventura. Today, the environmentally friendly and so-called “Chicago's”, experience a renaissance. Unfortu-nately, original spare parts in good condition are diffi-cult to come by. When Leocadio Araya Sanchez began planting countless cacti on a barren hillside a few years ago, people thought he was mad. His idea was to make a healthy juice drink from the prickly pears – with great success. But getting the fruit to release its pre-cious superfood juice is no simple task. On an almost daily basis, Marcos Tapia is magnetically attracted to one of the paradisiacal beaches of the island. The 44-year-old is Spanish champion and vice world champion in para-body board surfing. When he was 28. Marcos was involved in a serious motorbike accident and has been paraplegic ever since.

2026-07-04 00:28:16 +0000 UTC2026-07-04 01:18:44 +0000 UTC(50m)
Legendary Paddle Steamers

Legendary Paddle Steamers

Lake Lucerne in the heart of Switzerland stretches from the foothills of the Alps to the first three-thousand-meter peaks of the high mountains. Home waters of the paddle steamer Unterwalden. For two and a half years she was not on the water. Now, after the biggest renovation in her history, the life of the 110-year-old paddle steamer is starting all over again. Her first voyages, with all the imponderables and challenges for the crew, take her into a diverse, wild landscape, right into the mystical heart of Switzerland. In their territory, scenic contrasts collide: barren high moorland and gently rolling alpine meadows, modern tourist resorts and quiet mountain villages, caves hidden deep in the earth and snow-covered two-thousand-meter peaks. The Unterwalden is part of the oldest and largest fleet of paddle steamers so high above the sea. Here on Lake Lucerne, according to national legend, the three original cantons swore eternal allegiance to each other over seven hundred years ago. A land around which countless myths entwine and whose lifeline since the opening of the Gotthard Pass in the thirteenth century was the shipping traffic on the lake.

2026-07-03 23:27:49 +0000 UTC2026-07-04 00:28:16 +0000 UTC(1h)
Legendary Paddle Steamers

Legendary Paddle Steamers

With a length of more than 1000 kilometers, the Elbe is one of the largest rivers in Europe. The river has shaped landscapes since time immemorial: geologically, economically and culturally. One of the most beautiful sections of the river - in Saxony in southeastern Germany - has been navigated by the Saxon Steamship Company since 1836. One of its most beautiful ships is the Diesbar. Its engine is considered the oldest paddle steamer engine still in use in the world, the ship is the only steamer in the fleet still powered by coal.

2026-07-03 22:27:01 +0000 UTC2026-07-03 23:27:49 +0000 UTC(1h)
Lunenburg: Where the Land Meets the Sea

Lunenburg: Where the Land Meets the Sea

On the east coast of Canada, a place whose name sounds strangely familiar. The small town of Lunenburg, west of Halifax, was founded in 1753 by North German immigrants. Today, the idyllic town with its many wooden houses is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the 19th century, Lunenburg was one of the richest towns in the British Empire, becoming prosperous through fishing and shipbuilding. Glenn Rhodenizer's family traces back ten generations directly to German immigrants. And what the Rhodenizers primarily grow on their fields directly by the sea could hardly be more typical: it is white cabbage, which the farming family processes into sauerkraut. Sauerkraut can be found in every restaurant and supermarket in this area it is the specialty of the region. The heritage of wooden boat building is successfully maintained by David Westergard. In his ancient shed, he is assembling a 20-meter schooner from four different types of local wood. Building wooden boats, he says, is like "slow food": sustainable, conscious, environmentally friendly, waste-free.

2026-07-03 21:36:26 +0000 UTC2026-07-03 22:27:01 +0000 UTC(50m)
Dream Islands of Europe: Lanzarote and Fuerteventura

Dream Islands of Europe: Lanzarote and Fuerteventura

The film presents the two Canary Islands Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. Lanzarote has a rich culture in addition to a volcanic landscape: the film accompanies a ceramic artist, an instrument maker, shows architecture by César Manrique and a camel breeder. On Fuerteventura, in addition to livestock farming and the operation of traditional grain mills, nature conservation plays a major role: islanders are committed to preserving the sand dunes, and there is a turtle hatchery. On Lanzarote, countless volcanic eruptions have formed a bizarre lunar landscape. It is a great challenge for the inhabitants to extract the cultivation of food from the karstic, dry soil. And yet they even manage to produce wine. Protected by thousands of small depressions that act as water reservoirs, they grow vines on porous volcanic rock.

2026-07-03 19:43:49 +0000 UTC2026-07-03 20:35:59 +0000 UTC(52m)
Women Above the Clouds

Women Above the Clouds

Aerobatics is the supreme discipline in air sports. Only a few pilots dare to navigate a machine during loops, drops and steep flights because nausea and blackouts due to the strong G-forces can be life-threatening. But flight instructor Jenny Holmenes is not deterred - she wants to prove her skills. Although she is still a beginner, she competes in the "Sportsman" class at the Norwegian Aerobatic Championships.

2026-07-03 12:57:54 +0000 UTC2026-07-03 13:28:05 +0000 UTC(30m)
Survival of the Fittest in the Alps

Survival of the Fittest in the Alps

The documentary shows the survival strategies of various animal species in the high mountains of the Alps in winter. Despite freezing temperatures and limited food supply, chamois, red deer and snow hares manage to survive the cold months. Latest research reveals the amazing abilities the animals have developed to adapt to the extreme conditions and also how climate change is altering the behaviour of the alpine inhabitants.

2026-07-03 09:45:13 +0000 UTC2026-07-03 10:45:56 +0000 UTC(1h)