Why does the sun go down late in germany during the spring and summer monthes?

There ar two simple reasons:

(1) from march to october is "Sommerzeit" (light saving time), means GMT +2 hours.

(2) because in the northern hemisphere the lenght of the day changes with the seasons; at the equator day and night are the same lenght, but the more you go to north (or south) it changes to 1/2 year "day" and 1/2 year "night". Germany is located 52掳 so it will be clear until ~21.40 (in June at Hannover).

The earth is 'tipped' at an angle to the sun that exposes more of the country to the sun for longer during late spring, summer and autumn so the sun gets higher in the sky

Oh, late indeed, but not quite as late as in e.g. Norway or beyond the Polar Circle where in mid-June it never sets.

I've always wondered that too. I just know it makes it hard for me to get my daughter to go to bed, her reasoning is that it's still light outside therefore it's not night time yet.

"One of the things I like best about living in Germany is the endless hours of sunlight in the summertime. I remember lying in bed and looking out of the skylight during the longest days of the year during my first summer here and thinking that it seemed to be perpetually twilight. Even at 11:30 pm I would only see a few stars poking out and the sky wouldn't be black at all: It would be a lovely shade of dark blue instead. When I remarked on how I really liked those long daylight hours, A. told me I would remember them fondly in December." Read the rest of this article at the Source below...