For the drinker, a beer bottle; for the nurse a syringe - these coffins are the stuff of art galleries. But for others, fantasy can have as much to do with the choice of final resting place as one's profession. In life Mrs. Bartels was a baker, but it's not a loaf that's being lowered into the earth, it's a Mercedes Benz. This coffin was a gift from a husband who decided that his wife was going to go out in luxury.

The funeral matches the exuberance of the coffin. Friends purge their grief with laments, but later the event turns into a celebration of life, with plenty of food and dancing. The local priest is trying to discourage these elaborate practices, arguing that people should be saving for their children's education rather than wasting money on funerals. Few agree with him, however: going out in style is just too important!

Produced by Marion Mayor-Hohdahl