Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

FRANKFURT

What’s on in Germany: December 17 – 23

This Week's Highlights: A 1980s supermodel party in Berlin, an Alice in Wonderland opera in Cologne, and Hannover does Bach for the holidays.

Published: 17 December 2009 10:26 CET
What's on in Germany: December 17 - 23
Photo: Roman Klonek at the Jorg Heitsch Galerie

BERLIN

Galleries/Museums

Henri Chopin Exhibition

Sound, especially when created by the human voice, forms the core essence of the late French artist Henri Chopin’s work. See an elegant collection of his “typewriter poems” at Supportico Lopez this week.

Price: Free

Location: Supportico Lopez, Graefestrasse 9

Times: Tuesday – Saturday, 10am-6pm; through January 23, 2010

Phone: 030 3198 9387

More Information: supporticolopez.blogspot.com

Music/Concerts

House Concert: “Beate es, virgo Maria…”

Delve into the delights of the early Baroque era Thursday night. Alexander Schneider and Ophira Zakai create a sixteenth century setting with an alto lute and a voice. Monteverdi, Sances, and Merula are just a few composers on the program.

Price: €20

Location: Haus am Waldsee, Argentinische Allee 30

Times: Thursday, December 17, 8-11pm

Phone: 030 801 8935

More Information: hausamwaldsee.de

Parties

Last Days of Gia

She was the original supermodel. An Italian-American beauty whose short life had a most tragic ending. Celebrate the life of Gia Carangi with iHeartBerlin.com and Naughty Girls (Need Love Too) Friday night at Trattoria Focolare. A mix of “super electronic,” indie, and 80s and 90s tunes will be pumping through two floors.

Price: €6

Location: Trattoria Focolare, Torstrasse 171

Times: Friday, December 18, Midnight

More Information: www.iheartberlin.de

COLOGNE

Music/Concerts

New Model Army

Named after Cromwell’s revolutionary army, this band of British rockers have been at it since the early 1980s. Energy levels will be peaking Saturday night when the guys roll through Cologne.

Price: €38

Location: Palladium Cologne, Schanzenstrasse 40

Times: Saturday, December 19, opening bands start at 6:30 pm

Tickets: 0221 2801

More Information: www.newmodelarmy.org

Opera

Unsuk Chin: Alice in Wonderland

Take a wild romp through Wonderland. Korean composer Unsuk Chin’s adaptation of the Lewis Carroll classic premiered two years ago at the Bavarian State Opera Festival. See the film version of that multifaceted event Saturday at Museum Ludwig.

Price: €6.50

Location: Filmforum Cinema at Museum Ludwig, Bischofsgartenstrasse 1

Times: Saturday, December 19, 6pm

Phone: 0221 221 24498

More Information: www.filmforumnrw.de

FRANKFURT

Events

Winter Solstice Bonfire

Take an excursion outside the city this weekend. Journey into the woodlands of Wiesbaden where the sun is low in the winter sky and a bonfire blazes in celebration of the longest night of the year.

Price: Donation

Location: Schloss Freudenberg, Freudenbergstrasse, Wiesbaden

Times: Saturday, December 19, 4pm

Reservations: 0611 41 101 41

More Information: www.schlossfreudenberg.de

Galleries/Museums

Constantin Brancusi – The Sculptor as Photographer

See the Romanian artist’s sculptures such as “Endless Pillar” in photograph form. Works of art in their own right, thirty images from the Pompidou collection in Paris hang at Frankfurt’s Museum of World Cultures until early January.

Price: €2

Location: Museum of World Cultures, Schaumainkai 29-37

Times: Tuesday, Thursday – Sunday, 10am – 5pm; Wednesday, 10am-8pm; through January 3, 2010

Phone: 069 1340 400

More Information: www.mdw-frankfurt.de

HAMBURG

Music/Concerts

Elfi Baby Concert

Calling all moms, dads, and pregnant women too! Bring your babies and toddlers to this fourty-five minute concert of Mozart, Bach, and Philip Glass, performed by the Ensemble Resonanz. There will be plenty of space for buggies, prams, and car seats.

Price: €4

Location: Sasel-Haus, Saseler Parkweg 3

Times: Friday, December 18, 3pm

Tickets: 040 357 666 33

More Information: www.elbphilharmonie.de

HANNOVER

Music/Concerts

Bach’s Christmas Oratorio

It’s always nice to hear a Bach cantata during the holiday season. The Bach Choir sings the renowned composer’s “Christmas Oratorio” three nights this week, while the Bach Orchestra performs on historic instruments.

Price: €6 – 34

Location: Market Church Hanover, Hanns-Lilje-Platz 2

Times: Thursday, December 17 – Saturday, December 19, 8pm

Tickets: 03 53 68 36

More Information: www.hannover.de

MUNICH

Galleries/Museums

Jan Petersen and Roman Klonek

With “Comicuts” and “Kunstsupermarkt” this pair of comic artists, one Polish, the other German, present their latest works. If you like graphics, colour, and crazy characters, go check it out.

Price: Free

Location: Jorg Heitsch Galerie, Reichenbachstrasse 14

Times: Tuesday – Friday, 2-7pm; Saturday, 12-4pm; through January 9, 2010

Phone: 089 26 94 91 10

More Information: www.heitschgalerie.de

Cante Flamenco

Escape winter’s chill with an evening of heated music and dance. Vocalist Estela Sanz Poteguillo, guitarist Ricardo Volkert, and dancer Anette Darda bring the passion of Spain to the Munich stage.

Price: €14

Location: Ars Musica in the Stemmerhof, Plinganserstrasse 6

Times: Friday, December 18, 8-10:30pm

Phone: 089 54 32 05 13

More Information: www.ars-musica-muenchen.de

For members

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.

 

SHOW COMMENTS