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FRANKFURT

What’s on in Germany: August 16 – 22

This Week's Highlights: Palace Night in Potsdam, a city festival in Dresden, and Berlin kicks off its annual celebration of Jewish culture.

Published: 16 August 2012 10:50 CEST
What's on in Germany: August 16 - 22
Photo: DPA

BERLIN

Events

Jewish Culture Days

The Avishai Cohen Trio kicks off Jewish Culture Days in Berlin this week. Applaud the Israeli jazz bassist at the Rykestrasse Synagogue Thursday, then hit up all the festivities at Jewish centers and synagogues around the city. On Sunday, the Fasanenstrasse street festival will bring the spirit of Tel Aviv’s largest market to Berlin as artists, vendors, musicians, and dancers provide a bustling atmosphere.

Price: Various

Location: Various

Times: Thursday, August 16 – Sunday, August 26

More Information: www.juedische-kulturtage.org

Film

Alfredo Jaar Film Selections

To accompany his exhibition at NGBK, the Berlinische Gallerie, and the Alte Nationalgalerie, the Chilean artist Alfredo Jaar has selected a series of films that relate to his “aesthetic of resistance.” The Bang Bang Club (2010) follows a group of photographers as they document the final days of apartheid in South Africa, while Il Conformista (1970) is Bernardo Bertolucci’s drama about an Italian fascist’s plan to assassinate his old teacher. Both screen either in English or with English subtitles this week.

Price: €7

Location: fsk-Kino
, Segitzdamm 2

Times: Monday, August 20, 6:15pm (The Bang Bang Club); Tuesday, August 21, 6:15pm (Il Conformista)

More Information: www.ngbk.de

BREMEN

Festivals

La Strada – International Street Circus Festival

They breath fire, they walk on stilts, they juggle better than anyone you know. Street circus performers from around the world gather in Bremen this week to fete their craft. The four-day festival features a diverse program of music, miming, magic, and more at venues around the city. Marvel at a most spectacular troupe of acrobats and clowns.

Price: Free

Location: Various

Times: Thursday, August 16 – Sunday, August 19

More Information: www.lastrada-bremen.de

COLOGNE

Galleries/Museums

Gute Aussichten – Young German Photography

Gute Aussichten is Germany’s most prestigious competition for young photographers. This year’s selections have been traveling around the world from Berlin to Washington D.C., Innsbruck, and Hamburg. Starting Saturday, they’ll be hanging at Cologne’s Museum of Applied Arts. See how architecture fits into its natural surroundings in Nicolas Wollnik’s “Constructures,” and how different television studios around the world set up their spaces in Shigeru Takato’s series before they continue on to the Frankfurt Book Fair in October. The artists will be in attendance at Friday night’s opening.

Price: €9 (Collection and Special Exhibition)

Location: MAKK – Museum für Angewandte Kunst Köln, An der Rechtschule

Phone: 0221 221 23 860

Times: Friday, August 17, 7pm (Opening); Tuesday – Sunday, 11am-5pm; through October 14 (Regular Hours)

More Information: www.guteaussichten.org

DRESDEN

Festivals

Dresden City Festival

This weekend, the beautiful city of Dresden is throwing a big party. From jazz bands to rock groups, classical trios, and live DJs, dozens of musical acts set up on open air stages around the city. Rock out all day then check out the 3D light show at the Zwinger Saturday night.

Price: Free

Location: Various

Times: Friday, August 17 – Sunday, August 19

More Information: www.dresdner-stadtfest.com

FRANKFURT

Events

Bahnhofsviertel Night

It’s always nice when local shops and restaurants band together to celebrate their community. This Thursday, Frankfurt’s Bahnhofsviertel neighborhood is doing just that. Roam the streets, grab a bite, and pop into a shop or two. You’ll find live music and a variety of special events at thirty spots around the district.

Price: Free

Location: Bahnhofsviertel

Times: Thursday, August 16, 7-11pm

More Information: www.bahnhofsviertelnacht.de

HEIMERSHEIM

Festivals

Heimersheim Historical Wine Festival

A new wine queen parades through the streets of Heimersheim amidst a swirl of mediaeval knights, jugglers, and musicians this weekend in honour of the town’s 17th Historical Wine Festival. Head to the Ahr Valley, one of the northernmost wine growing regions in the world and taste the late summer bounty in a magical setting right out of the Middle Ages.

Price: Free

Location: Heimersheim, Marktplatz and surrounding areas

Times: Friday, August 17 – Sunday, August 19

More Information: www.historisches-weinfest-heimersheim.de

MUNICH

Galleries/Museums

Otl Aicher – Olympic Design 1972

The London Olympics may be over but that doesn’t mean you can’t keep the torch aflame. In your heart anyway. An exhibition at the Munich Volkshochschule celebrates the 40th anniversary of the 1972 Olympic Games, which were held in Munich. Go and see the posters and prints designed by German graphic designer Otl Aicher, plus photographs from that beloved event.

Price: Free

Location: Munich Volkshochschule,
Gasteig, Rosenheimer Strasse 5

Times: Daily, 10am-10pm; through September 9

Phone: 089 480 060

More Information: www.mvhs.de

Festivals

LILALU Summer Festival

Got a gaggle of kids who need to burn of some end of the summer steam? Bring them to the Olympic Park this week. The LILALU Summer Festival features live theatre, cinema, circus workshops, and fun things to jump on like bouncy castles and trampolines. And there’s a beer garden with live music every weekend. Bonus!

Price: Free

Location: Olympic Park South

Times: Monday – Saturday, from 2pm; Sunday, from Noon; through September 2

More Information: www.lilalu.org

POTSDAM

Events

Potsdam Palace Night

Potsdam is enchanting all year round, but especially so on Potsdam Palace Night. The gardens and palaces of Sanssouci Park become a baroque paradise Saturday night as actors in period costumes promenade around the romantically lit grounds. Follow their lead and revel in the atmosphere as baroque ensembles fill the air with music. The night magic culminates in a grand fireworks display. Dear Old Fritz would most certainly approve.

Price: €42

Location: Sanssouci Park

Times: Saturday, August 18, 5pm

Tickets: 01805 288 244

More Information: www.potsdamer-schloessernacht.de

STUTTGART

Dance

26th German Open Championships Stuttgart

Ballroom dancing! Get swept up in the drama of it this week in Stuttgart. The best of the best compete for the prize as they tango, waltz, and boogie woogie around the Liederhalle Culture and Congress Center. That precision! That flare! Gape at the dazzle of it all.

Price: €29 – 83

Location: Liederhalle Culture and Congress Center, Berliner Platz 1-3

Times: Tuesday, August 14 – Saturday, August 18

Tickets: 0711 222 8243

More Information: www.goc-stuttgart.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.

 

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