Frankfurt, Germany - Jewellery is experiencing a revival as a feature of outfits that are currently in. 

"Jewellery in over-dimensional sizes and large, shiny costume jewel in classic gold and silver is particularly eye-catching," said style consultant Andreas Rose of Frankfurt. Along with that there are stones inspired by natural colours in the shape of water droplets, flowers and leaves. 

These pieces look especially well when combined with black or other solidly coloured outfits. Rose said they are even being worn over coats. 

Berlin - Plaster crumbles off building facades and when the street car rumbles by, the ground shakes a bit. 

At first sight Berlin's Alte Schoenhauser Street looks like an ordinary residential street. But in fact this is where the city's young fashion scene pulsates in row after row of designer shops. The area near the Hackeschen Hoefe has become so well-known in the fashion world that it has boosted Berlin's reputation as one of Europe's most important fashion centres to a position on par with Paris, Milan and London. 

Tourists who explore the area just north of downtown Berlin will find that they can both admire the newest styles and buy them. 

Hamburg - The leaves are changing to brown and red tones, a sign that the cold weather months have arrived. 

Gradually, thicker coats are appearing, often wrapped around a man or woman carrying a hot chocolate or cappuccino. The delicious brown tones in those drinks are not just in the paper cups this season. They can also be found in the make-up of the women passers-by, as many cosmetic companies this season feature shades of brown. 

Hamburg - Glittery stars, ornaments piled on ornaments, tinsel and wooden figures: The practice of digging deep into the decoration box will be part of Christmas 
2008. 

People tuned in to tradition are delighted by such displays, while purists are horrified. But Christmas is a time when contrasting worlds of taste collide but still manage to celebrate the holiday peacefully together under the Christmas tree. 

The two conflicting decoration styles seem to have particularly inspired younger designers who have used entirely different forms in their creche and incense smoker creations. 

Washington, October 25 : The world’s oldest cooked cereal, enjoyed by European diners about 8,000 years ago, was prepared instantly just by soaking it in hot water.

The researchers behind this finding have revealed that the ancient cereal, dating from between 5920 to 5730 B. C., consisted of parboiled bulgur wheat that Early Neolithic Bulgarians could refresh in minutes with hot water.

"People boiled the grain, dried it, removed the bran and ground it into coarse particles," Discovery News quoted lead author Soultana-Maria Valamoti, an assistant professor of archaeology at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece, as saying.