Stung by the economic crisis, a brothel in Berlin has leapt on the "green" bandwagon and is offering discounts to clients who can prove they arrived by public transport or bicycle - with some success.
"Everyone's a winner," explained Regina Goetz, a former prostitute who runs the Maison d'envie (House of Desire) brothel in Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg, a district in the former East Berlin, which is a stronghold for the ecologist Green party.
"The environment is a topic on everyone's lips and it's pretty difficult to park around here. So we came up with the idea of an 'eco discount' of five euros ($7.40) to anyone who leaves the car at home," Ms Goetz said.
"The crisis has slashed our turnover in half in the last year," the 56-year-old said.
But the green discounts have proved a roaring success and got business back on track, she said.
Fifteen minutes in the brothel costs €25 ($37) rather than €30 for environmentally-conscious punters, around 10 per cent of whom have taken up the offer.
To qualify for the discount, "clients who come by bike show their helmet or their padlock keys," she said. "Others hand in their ticket or monthly pass if they have come on the bus."
All the employees of the Maison d'envie wholeheartedly approve of the eco tariff. "Regina is full of good ideas," said one.
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