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BERLIN

Exberliner Magazine’s best of Berlin this month …

Exberliner, the German capital's leading English-language magazine, presents its picks of the month, including where to find African books and vintage shades.

Published: 5 June 2008 12:10 CEST
Exberliner Magazine’s best of Berlin this month ...
Someone hasn't been reading Exberliner... Photo: DPA

Black books

The closest contact most Berliners get with African culture is dancing to reggae at Cassiopeia on Wednesdays, buying pot in Görlitzer park, or eating a savory Nil chicken on Grünberger Straße. Until the opening of A-U Headquarter, that is. Berlin’s first and only African bookstore provides background knowledge and a bit of authenticity to supplement the city’s profusion of poseur dreads. Opening out into Karl-Marx-Straße, the shop welcomes you with radiating orange and yellow walls lined with myriad books, handmade clothing, and artwork straight from south of the Sahara. Whether you want a book on the history of West African cuisine (complete with recipes!), the works of Nigerian author Wole Soyinka, or a Chinua Achebe novel, A-U Headquarter is a guaranteed source for information, literature, and theatre dealing with the under-known continent. Although the majority of books are printed in German, about a quarter are in English, and the odd French copy peeks out here and there. More than a shop, the space has become a thriving community since it was opened last November by a friendly Hamburgerin and her Sierra Leonean husband. Go to one of their monthly readings and experience some traditional cooking and music, make an appointment to have your hair extended, or simply hang out in the evening with the regulars in the back room. Check the website for details on upcoming events.

A-U Headquarter, Karl-Marx-Str. 21, Neukölln, U-Bhf Hermannplatz,

Tel 6290 0259, www.a-u-headquarter.de

ShopWindoz

It’s no secret that artists have been a bit slow on the uptake in the information age, many avoiding new technologies out of either stubborn principle or simple ignorance. This became clear to Darryl Feldman soon after he moved to Berlin from London two years ago. Speaking with artists and designers in Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg, he discovered that few had successfully reached an international audience. Coming from a soul-crushing product development job with Yahoo despite having studied illustration and graphic art, he was in the perfect position to shed his corporate chains and start ShopWindoz. Something of a cross between MySpace and eBay, the website enables the technologically impaired to sell their work through fully personalized shops in an interconnected community. The site provides a flexible environment, free of ads, where hundreds of small designers and artists who don’t have an outlet in Alexa can present their goods – from leather lingerie to trippy lighting fixtures – while maintaining their integrity. No matter what the product, you can guarantee it won’t be listed next to a whack-a-mole Flash game promising free tickets to a lumberjack drinking contest. Looking to sell your own ideas? Creating a new shop is currently free, so jump in the network while the offer lasts.

www.shopwindoz.com

Brille-iant

A naked face is a blank canvas, and no one is going to take you seriously in this city unless you frame it with a pair of decent Brille. Your glasses of choice will project your personality so pick with care: thick, blackrimmed spectacles convey a post-modern sense of irony, black wayfarers are de rigueur if you totally love art, or make them neon to show that you like to party until the afternoon of the day after tomorrow. (Whoa man, that sun is bright!) Now: no one except Italian tourists wear shades shouting couture initials unless … they are vintage. And besides, vintage follows the Berlin mantra of eco-style. Two years ago Uta Geyer, herself a glasses wearer, set the trend in Prenzlauer Berg with Lunettes, a small boutique full of hand-picked antiques from the 20th century: vintage designer (Ray Ban, Christian Dior), costume sunglasses and frames for prescription glasses, all in mint condition and all oh-so-reasonably priced. Optiking followed suit: as palatial as the name would suggest, the shop houses a plethora of bargain-priced styles from the 1970s, 80s and 90s, that manager Carsten Dennhardt has had restored. Gold glittery sunnies, Jackie O-style Christian Diors, skiing wraparounds and what seems like a museum on the history of Ray-Ban. Bug-eyes are fashionable this summer!

Lunettes, Marienburgerstr. 11, Prenzlauer Berg, U-Bhf Eberswalder Str., Tel 3408 2789, www.lunettes-brillenagentur.de; Optiking, Eberswalder Str. 34, Prenzlauer Berg, U-Bhf Eberswalder Str., Tel 4737 2488, www.optiking.com

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BERLIN

EXPLAINED: Berlin’s latest Covid rules

In response to rapidly rising Covid-19 infection rates, the Berlin Senate has introduced stricter rules, which came into force on Saturday, November 27th. Here's what you need to know.

Published: 27 November 2021 16:16 CET
Updated: 29 November 2021 14:17 CET
A sign in front of a waxing studio in Berlin indicates the rule of the 2G system
A sign in front of a waxing studio indicates the rule of the 2G system with access only for fully vaccinated people and those who can show proof of recovery from Covid-19 as restrictions tighten in Berlin. STEFANIE LOOS / AFP

The Senate agreed on the tougher restrictions on Tuesday, November 23rd with the goal of reducing contacts and mobility, according to State Secretary of Health Martin Matz (SPD).

He explained after the meeting that these measures should slow the increase in Covid-19 infection rates, which was important as “the situation had, unfortunately, deteriorated over the past weeks”, according to media reports.

READ ALSO: Tougher Covid measures needed to stop 100,000 more deaths, warns top German virologist

Essentially, the new rules exclude from much of public life anyone who cannot show proof of vaccination or recovery from Covid-19. You’ll find more details of how different sectors are affected below.

Shops
If you haven’t been vaccinated or recovered (2G – geimpft (vaccinated) or genesen (recovered)) from Covid-19, then you can only go into shops for essential supplies, i.e. food shopping in supermarkets or to drugstores and pharmacies.

Many – but not all – of the rules for shopping are the same as those passed in the neighbouring state of Brandenburg in order to avoid promoting ‘shopping tourism’ with different restrictions in different states.

Leisure
2G applies here, too, as well as the requirement to wear a mask with most places now no longer accepting a negative test for entry. Only minors are exempt from this requirement.

Sport, culture, clubs
Indoor sports halls will off-limits to anyone who hasn’t  been vaccinated or can’t show proof of recovery from Covid-19. 2G is also in force for cultural events, such as plays and concerts, where there’s also a requirement to wear a mask. 

In places where mask-wearing isn’t possible, such as dance clubs, then a negative test and social distancing are required (capacity is capped at 50 percent of the maximum).

Restaurants, bars, pubs (indoors)
You have to wear a mask in all of these places when you come in, leave or move around. You can only take your mask off while you’re sat down. 2G rules also apply here.

Hotels and other types of accommodation 
Restrictions are tougher here, too, with 2G now in force. This means that unvaccinated people can no longer get a room, even if they have a negative test.

Hairdressers
For close-contact services, such as hairdressers and beauticians, it’s up to the service providers themselves to decide whether they require customers to wear masks or a negative test.

Football matches and other large-scale events
Rules have changed here, too. From December 1st, capacity will be limited to 5,000 people plus 50 percent of the total potential stadium or arena capacity. And only those who’ve been vaccinated or have recovered from Covid-19 will be allowed in. Masks are also compulsory.

For the Olympic Stadium, this means capacity will be capped at 42,000 spectators and 16,000 for the Alte Försterei stadium. 

Transport
3G rules – ie vaccinated, recovered or a negative test – still apply on the U-Bahn, S-Bahn, trams and buses in Berlin. It was not possible to tighten restrictions, Matz said, as the regulations were issued at national level.

According to the German Act on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, people have to wear a surgical mask or an FFP2 mask  on public transport.

Christmas markets
The Senate currently has no plans to cancel the capital’s Christmas markets, some of which have been open since Monday. 

According to Matz, 2G rules apply and wearing a mask is compulsory.

Schools and day-care
Pupils will still have to take Covid tests three times a week and, in classes where there are at least two children who test positive in the rapid antigen tests, then tests should be carried out daily for a week.  

Unlike in Brandenburg, there are currently no plans to move away from face-to-face teaching. The child-friendly ‘lollipop’ Covid tests will be made compulsory in day-care centres and parents will be required to confirm that the tests have been carried out. Day-care staff have to document the results.

What about vaccination centres?
Berlin wants to expand these and set up new ones, according to Matz. A new vaccination centre should open in the Ring centre at the end of the week and 50 soldiers from the German army have been helping at the vaccination centre at the Exhibition Centre each day since last week.

The capacity in the new vaccination centre in the Lindencenter in Lichtenberg is expected to be doubled. There are also additional vaccination appointments so that people can get their jabs more quickly. Currently, all appointments are fully booked well into the new year.

 

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