Errol my 6 year old is wearing his snowboots already, but my 8 year old is still wearing canvas trainers (with a ski jacket which she refuses to do up, and woolly hat) - we are in Bavaria, which is generally one of the coldest and snowiest parts of Germany. No snow yet, actually quite mild - hovering around 4 degrees, no wind chill, doesn't feel that cold. Tea, Whisky, local honey or jam, for the parents. For the girl herself I don't know - some teen mags in English along with something edible - toffees go down well. Are you near the lake district - Kendal Mint Cake would definitely be something you don't get here! My eldest is 8 so I don't know what 15 year olds are into! Inexpensive locally made jewellery?
People here put onions (sliced in half, cut part on the ear) on the ears for earache - tied on with a scarf, I've seen it! (They only seem to do it to children, although maybe in private they do it themselves). Under the bed is a bit of a mystery? Maybe the idea is a bit like primitive vapour-rub? Though they'd have to be peeled - in the process of being peeled... :)
Those long school days without food sound horrible. In year 1 and 2 DD finished school at 11.20 4 days a week and 12.15 the other day, and still took Brotzeit to eat in the 20 minute break :) Now in year 3 she has school 8-1pm (except Fridays when she finishes at 11.20), but they get 2, 20 minute breaks and she takes a sandwich, babybells, an apple, and often goes to the tiny village shop 20 meters down the road from school and buys sweets a Bretze with her pocket money too - then is home for lunch by 1.30pm as well. I hope once she is at secondary school she'll continue to take Brotzeit and to eat it! I can't imagine any of my kids going more than an hour and a half without food atm! 
plantanos I can imagine my kids flipping out like that in the afternoons too - when DS1 was doing a slightly longer KiGa day he was a nightmare in the afternoons, and there was no hunger in that equation, it was just too much for him - he's much pleasanter after a 4 hour KiGa day, even though he'd like to stay longer as I often interrupt some important building project he and his mates are deeply engrossed in when I pick him up at 12.30 :o
Wooly my DD never got out of her cot on her own at night, even though like your DS she had bars out and got in and out herself in the day and at bedtime. She just used to howl for me from her bed - even when in a toddler bed and sleeping through til 5am, she'd just howl for me when ready to get up, and I had to go to her quite promptly before she woke her baby brother so it self perpetuated, in the end I did a reward chart to get her to get up quietly and come to us, when she was about 3, or nearly 3... My boys have never had the issue, I think its just personality (DD has a somewhat fevered imagination and has since tiny, so can imagine all sorts of horrors if she gets out of bed in the dark - I think this is also why she was night dry later than DS1, as she didn't want to get up and go to the toilet in the night!)
Which reminds me Linzer it's great that your doctor is being so helpful with you DS's night issues - there is an 11 year old boy who lives opposite us, he's at Gymnasium, but his mum still tells people about the night time pull ups he still has to wear! I really think she should stop chatting to other mums about it now the poor boy is 11! 
Best go, the kids are demanding second breakfast... :)