Taunts, threats and a stern scolding — scenes that you'd expect from a classroom, but not so much from the leaders of Germany's 16 states.

But that's the situation officials found themselves in this week, trading ever-escalating barbs and issuing terse remarks as years of simmering resentments came to a head over setting a schedule for school summer vacations.

The bitter dispute pits northern and southern states against one another, with the south refusing to budge on rotating their block of summer vacation so that the north could have a change of pace.

Under Germany's system of federalism, powers are divided between the federal government and the states, with the latter enjoying broad controls over police, regional planning, culture — and crucially — education.

"It's unbelievable that some think that federalism exists for them to push through their own interests, rather than it being a give and take," Berlin Mayor Michael Müller told German public radio Deutschlandfunk on Thursday.

Read more: Could Germany's digital education initiative threaten states' rights?

Why are they fighting about vacation?

The fight began when the city-states of Berlin and Hamburg suggested changing up rules for school holidays for the period between 2025 and 2030, making it fairer for all.

The southern states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg balked at the idea. For years, they've enjoyed a special status of almost always having their six-week summer vacation fall between late July and early September.

The 14 states, however, agreed to rotate their summer holidays so that some years they begin earlier while others began later.

Coordinating the summer break between the states is crucial for ensuring that highways and hotels aren't overwhelmed with a flood of German vacationers.

Read more: EU court bolsters vacation time rights

The Germans' favorite travel destinations Mecklenburg-West Pomerania Thirty-four percent of Germans spent their holidays in Germany in 2018, according to the Foundation for Future Studies (FFS). With its Baltic beaches, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania was the most popular destination. The Hanseatic cities of Stralsund, Wismar and Rostock, with their Brick Gothic centers, also proved very popular — making the north a favored destination during the hot summer of 2018.

The Germans' favorite travel destinations Bavaria Bavaria dropped to No. 2. On the popularity scale, the southern state has been competing head-to-head with Mecklenburg-West Pomerania for the most popular domestic destination for years. In 2018, the beaches beat the mountains. The fairy-tale castle of Neuschwanstein is still one of Bavaria's top sights. Even though it is currently being renovated, it remains open to visitors.

The Germans' favorite travel destinations Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg saw its first increase in visitors in years in 2018. The Black Forest in particular registered a record numbers of visitors. The amount of overnight stays rose by 2.4 percent to 20.7 million. The Black Forest, Germany's highest and largest low-mountain range, is popular for its evergreen forests, picturesque villages and lively traditions.

The Germans' favorite travel destinations Spain In 2018, 54 percent of Germans citizens spent some of their holidays elsewhere in Europe. For those travelers, Spain remained the No. 1 destination. The Balearic Islands — such as Mallorca (pictured here) — were again the most popular destination, combining beach holidays with partying: The islands saw more German leisure travelers than Greece and Turkey combined.

The Germans' favorite travel destinations Italy Germans also remained faithful to Italy in 2018, according to the FFS, which is funded by British American Tobacco: Second place on the list of destinations within Europe went to Bella Italia! And Matera, a small town in the south, is expecting its own rush of visitors this year. With its caves, churches and palaces, the city is a European Capital of Culture for 2019.

The Germans' favorite travel destinations Austria Germany's neighbor Austria came in third among the top destinations in 2018. Holidaymakers appearted to appreciate Austria's mix of hiking in summer, winter sports in the colder months, lonely alpine pastures, magnificent views, imperial history and Baroque architecture — not to mention the delicious Alpine cuisine.

The Germans' favorite travel destinations Turkey Turkey offers protected coasts, a turquoise sea and nearly 400 beaches with the infrastructure that travelers expect. In 2018, after years of declining tourist numbers, Turkey experienced a recovery and became the No. 4 international destination for German holidaymakers. Especially well liked is the Turkish Riviera around Antalya.

The Germans' favorite travel destinations Scandinavia Northern Europe has become increasingly popular with German holidaymakers. No. 5 on the list of vacation destinations for 2018 went to Scandinavia, with its endless forests and sources of water — from rivers to lakes to coastlines. Scandinavia is the classic destination for nature lovers and is especially popular with campers. There are about 1,500 campsites in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark.

The Germans' favorite travel destinations Asia About one in eight German holidaymakers left Europe for their primary vacation in 2018. Destinations in Asia — such as Vietnam's Halong Bay (pictured) — were their preferred choice of travelers seeking beautiful landscapes with unblemished nature. Clean air and beaches are particularly important for older travelers.

The Germans' favorite travel destinations The United States of America From New York to San Francisco and Niagara Falls to the Grand Canyon, the United States was a close second to Asia for destinations outside of Europe. Almost 3 percent of German tourists went across the pond for their vacations in 2018. Author: Anne Termèche



Bavaria: Don't disturb our 'biorhythm'

Bavaria's state premier, Markus Söder, dismissed calls from other states to re-work the vacation schedule.

"We have our biorhythm for the summer holidays, and we'd like to keep it that way," he told the daily Bild newspaper on Wednesday.

"We've always done it this way and it's worked well," he added.

On Sunday, Söder also pulled Bavaria out of a planned national education council that was supposed to try and better coordinate education systems between the states. Baden-Württemberg also followed suit.

'Have fun sitting in traffic'

In response to the vacation and education dispute, Hamburg threatened to call off all cooperation between the states.

"This shot fired from Bavaria will backfire. Now every state can determine summer holidays on its own," Hamburg's state education minister Ties Rabe told the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.

"Have fun sitting in traffic on Bavaria's highways," he added.

Growing concerned and also fed-up with the war of words, German teachers' union GEW strongly reprimanded state leaders for their behavior, reported the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland newspaper network.

"It's like in the classroom — everyone can't just do whatever they want," union board member Ilka Hoffmann said.

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