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FRANKFURT

What’s on in Germany: December 3 – 9

This Week's Highlights: Tattoos in Berlin, The Pet Shop Boys play Hamburg and Munich gets mediaeval for Christmas.

Published: 3 December 2009 10:33 CET
What's on in Germany: December 3 - 9
Photo: DPA

BERLIN

Galleries/Museums

Romy Schneider. Vienna – Berlin – Paris

Germany’s cinematic sweetheart is the focus of this new exhibition, which opens at Berlin’s Film Museum Saturday. See rare photographs, correspondence, and other memorabilia documenting Romy Schneider’s career in Vienna, Berlin, and Paris during the 1950s through the 1970s.

Price: €6

Location: Deutsche Kinemathek, Museum für Film und Fernsehen, Potsdamer Strasse 2

Times: Tuesday – Sunday, 10am-6pm; Thursday, 10am-8pm; December 5 – May 30, 2010

Phone: 030 300 9030

More Information: www.filmmuseum-berlin.de

Events

International Tattoo Convention Berlin

Show some skin this weekend. For tattoo enthusiasts there’s no better place to be than Berlin. Nearly 200 artists from around the world converge on the German capital for this annual convention. Who knows, you could even be the next Tattoo Queen, or at least walk away with a new rose on your shoulder.

Price: €17 (day pass), €38 (weekend pass),

Location: Arena Berlin Treptow, Eichenstrasse 4

Times: Friday, December 4, 2pm-midnight; Saturday, December 5, 11am-midnight; Sunday, December 6, 11am-7pm

Ticket Hotline: 030 780 99 810

More Information: www.tattoo-convention-berlin.de

Film

The Fall of the Iron Curtain

An excellent programme of films from Greece, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, and other countries affected by the collapse of the Soviet Union is being shown at the German Historical Museum over the next two weeks. Many feature English subtitles including Saturday’s “Lamerica” and Sunday’s “Myrsky (Stormheart).”

Price: €5

Location: German Historical Museum, Zeughauskino, Unter den Linden 2

Times: Various, through December 20

Phone: 030 20 30 4770

More Information: www.dhm.de

DÜSSELDORF

Sporting Events

Cross Country Skiing World Cup

Though it may not have fallen from the sky, there will be snow on the banks of the Rhine River in Düsseldorf this weekend. Watch as the world’s most skilled cross-country skiers make their way around the track followed by live performances by local bands. Saturday’s Family Festival includes ski lessons for the little ones.

Price: Free

Location: Burgplatz

Times: Friday, December 4 – Sunday, December 6

More Information: www.worldcup-duesseldorf.de

FRANKFURT

Clubs/Parties

Dirty Disco with Smudo

Old school hip hop and funk and soul classics. Sounds like a party you won’t want to miss. Smudo, one fourth of the German rap group Die Fantastischen Vier, turns the tables.

Price: Free before 11:30pm

Location: Walden Frankfurt, Kleiner Hirschgraben 5

Times: Friday, December 4, 10pm

More Information: www.dirty-disko.de

HAMBURG

Music/Concerts

Pet Shop Boys – Pandemonium Tour

“West End Girls,” “It’s a Sin,” “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” Classic anthems from the soundtrack of your life. Sure, they’ve got a new album, and it’s a pretty good one too, but the Boys always kick out a classic jam or two. They hit Hamburg Wednesday.

Price: €51.90

Location: CCH – Congress Center Hamburg, Am Dammtor

Times: Wednesday, December 9, 8pm

Ticket Hotline: 01805 570 070

More Information: www.petshopboys.co.uk

Barbie and Santa Claus

Who knew that Santa and Barbie were such good friends? The pop culture icons are the subjects of this delightful exhibition at Hamburg’s Altonaer Museum this winter. See a fascinating display of about 450 Barbie dolls and 1500 Santas that depicts the evolution of the pair through the ages.

Price: €6

Location: Altonaer Museum, Museumsstrasse 23

Times: Tuesday – Sunday, 10am-5pm; through January 31, 2010

Phone: 040 42 81 35 35 82

More Information: www.altonaermuseum.de

MUNICH

Events

Advent Spectacle and Medieval Christmas Fair

Munich’s medieval roots run deep, so it’s only fitting that one of the city’s many Christmas markets would be medievally themed. This weekend’s festivities include magic shows, Arabic storytelling, tightrope dancers, and lots of live music. Go and mingle with the sites, sounds, smells, and tastes of early Munich.

Price: Free

Location: Brienner Strasse 6-10/Wittelsbacherplatz

Times: Daily, 11am-8pm; through December 23

More Information: www.mittelaltermarkt-muenchen.de

Music/Concerts

Bluegrass Jamboree

There’s an Appalachian spirit flowing through the air, or at least their will be on Wednesday when bands from the US and the UK break out some good old fashioned bluegrass. The Toy Hearts, The Steep Canyon Ranchers, and Beverly Smith and Carl Jones are all scheduled to perform at this year’s Festival of Bluegrass and Americana Music.

Price: €29

Location: Amerika Haus, Karolinenplatz, 3

Times: Wednesday, December 9, 8pm

TIckets: 0180 54 81 81 81 (0.14/Min)

More Information: www.bluegrassjamboree.de

Swedish Christmas Concert

As the choir sings enchanting Swedish Christmas songs, Saint Lucia, with a crown of light on her head, leads a candlelit procession around Munich’s Kreuzkirche. Can an evening get any more magical?

Price: €10

Location: Kreuzkirche, Hiltenspergerstrasse 55

Times: Sunday, December 6, 4pm

Phone: 089 30 00 79 0

More Information: www.fromnorth.de

STUTTGART

Galleries/Museums

Elger Esser: Eigenzeit

Pale colours, washed out blues, faded greens, this is the palette of German photographer Elger Esser’s work. Fifty of his stunning images, depicting riverbanks, bridges, villages, and coastlines are currently on view at Kunstmuseum Stuttgart.

Price: €8

Location: Kunstmuseum Stuttgart, Kleiner Schlossplatz 1

Times: Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday, 10am-6pm; Wednesday and Friday, 10am-9pm; through April 11, 2010

Phone: 0711 216 2188

More Information: www.kunstmuseum-stuttgart.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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