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FRANKFURT

What’s on in Germany: September 6 – 12

This Week's Highlights: Fantasy films screen in Cologne, contemporary art hangs in Hamburg, and it's “Music Week” in Berlin.

What's on in Germany: September 6 – 12
Photo: DPA

BAD FREIENWALDE

Festivals

Old Town Festival

As the long days of summer slip slowly into Autumn, why not hit the road this weekend and take a little excursion over to the mediaeval town of Bad Freienwalde? An hour’s drive from Berlin, the German spa town hosts an annual Old Town Festival, and this year’s event kicks off Friday night with a classic rock band, electro DJs, and karaoke. A beer garden sets up under the trees by the historic concert hall.

Price: Free

Location: Bad Freienwalde, Old Town

Times: Friday, September 7, 7pm-2pm; Saturday, September 8, 11am-2pm; Sunday, September 8, 10am-6pm

More Information: www.bad-freienwalde.de

BERLIN

Music/Concerts

Berlin Music Week & Club Night

Hope you’ve been drinking your orange juice, because you’re going to need your energy in Berlin this week. From Astra to Lido, venues around town are presenting artists from across the spectrum of musical genres. Be sure to join in on the clubbing adventure Friday when buses shuttle party people around five different club routes during “Club Night.” This is club hopping like you’ve never seen it.

Price: €30 (Club Night)

Location: Various; Club Night buses leave from Schlesisches Tor

Times: Wednesday, September 5 – Sunday, September 9; Friday, September 7 (Club Night)

More Information: www.berlin-music-week.de

Galleries/Museums

Murr-ma: Uncovering Aboriginal & Australian Contemporary Art

“Murr-ma” is an Aboriginal method of “gently feeling the way with ones feet to search for shellfish at low tide in streams and mud flats.” Isn’t it a beautiful image? Go and see works meant to convey this theme by an emerging group of artists from Australia in Berlin this week. The group show includes poignant portraits by Julie Dowling, painterly photographs by Deborah Paauwe, and realistic still lives of wombats and lorikeets by Marian Drew.

Price: Free

Location: Halle am Wasser, Invalidenstrasse 50

Times: Friday, September 7 (Opening); Tuesday – Saturday, 11am-6pm, through October 28 (Regular Hours)

More Information: www.berlinartweek.de

Literature

International Literature Festival

Mingle with Anglophone writers at a launch party for an English Literary Journal, or gaze at drawings inspired by Philip K. Dick at a gallery opening. Berlin’s International Literature Festival offers plenty of opportunities to dwell for a while on the written word – in whatever language you prefer. Check the schedule for readings and discussions by authors from Great Britain, Denmark, Columbia, Spain, Ukraine, and beyond.

Price: €15 (Day Ticket); €50 (Festival Pass)

Location: Various

Tickets: 30 254 89 100

Times: September 4 – 16

More Information: www.literaturfestival.de

COLOGNE

Film

Fantasy Film Festival

If zombies and vampires make your heart stop and your blood run cold (in a good way), then take a seat at the Fantasy Film Festival in Cologne this week. Many of the frightening flicks will be shown in their original English language including Sightseers a British film about serial killers in love, Beasts of the Southern Wild, an American film about mythical beasts, and Chained, an awesomely gruesome new movie by the American director Jennifer Lynch.

Price: €9, €11 (3D Movies)

Location: Cinedom, Mediapark 1

Times: Thursday, September 6 – Thursday, September 13

More Information: www.fantasyfilmfest.com

FRANKFURT

Children’s Film

Lucas – International Children’s Film Festival

Some really cute cartoons for kids as young as four are screening this week in Frankfurt. Non-animated movies are also included in the festival’s charming program for your little rug rats, and many of them include English subtitles. From a girl who lives inside the heart of a giant, to a pint-sized hero from Nigeria, and a pair of well-meaning chicken thieves, Lucas presents a beloved cast of characters. Now’s as good a time as any to get the progeny hooked on foreign film.

Price: €7 (Adults); €3.50 (Children)

Location: Deutsches Filmmuseum, Schaumainkai 41; CineStar Metropolis, Eschenheimer Anlage 4; and CinemaxX Offenbach, Berliner Strasse 210

Times: September 2 – 9

More Information: www.lucas-filmfestival.de

HAMBURG

Galleries/Museums

15 Years of the Gallery of Contemporary Art

Major pieces by art world superstars are going up at the Gallery of Contemporary Art this week in honour of the museum’s 15th anniversary. The special exhibition includes works by Sophie Calle, Bruce Nauman, Sigmar Polke, Gerhard Richter, and Andy Warhol, and offers an excellent view of late twentieth century art history. Take a tour of the two-story display and get invigorated by the vibrant paintings and installations.

Price: €9

Location: Hamburger Kunsthalle,
Glockengiesserwall

Times: Tuesday – Sunday, 10am-6pm; Thursday, 10am-9pm; Saturday, September 8 – April 30, 2012

Phone: 040 428 131 200

More Information: www.hamburger-kunsthalle.de

MUNICH

Film and Discussion

Jasmila Zbanic – Do You Remember Sarajevo?

Since the end of the Bosnian War in 1995, filmmakers from the region have used their medium to try to come to terms with what happened in their homeland. Sarajevo-born director and producer Jasmila Zbanic made a film with found footage taken by Sarajevo residents during the war. See Do You Remember Sarajevo? Tuesday evening at the Haus der Kunst followed by a discussion with the filmmaker.

Price: €5

Location: Haus der Kunst, Prinzregentenstrasse 1

Times: Tuesday, September 11, 7pm

Registration: 089 21127 113

More Information: www.hausderkunst.de

Festivals

Street Life Festival

Dance to rock-a-billy bands while you learn about organic farming this weekend in Munich. Leopoldstrasse and Ludwigsgstrasse are going car-free for Green City’s Street Life Festival, a two-day, open-air extravaganza celebrating healthy living. Munich-based environmental organizations will be demonstrating ways to help save the earth, while organic chefs will offer a few new ideas for dinner. Go play in the streets.

Price: Free

Location: Leopoldstrasse and Ludwigstrasse

Times: Saturday, September 8, 4pm-1:30am and Sunday, September 9, 11am-8pm

More Information: www.greencity.de

Literature

Nathan Englander

One of the New Yorker‘s “20 Writers for the 21st Century,” Nathan Englander is a playwright and an award-winning author of short stories. On Wednesday, the writer discusses his forthcoming collection What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank at the Amerika Haus in Munich.

Price: Free

Location: Amerika Haus, Karolinenplatz 3

Phone: 089 55 25 3737

Times: Wednesday, September 12, 7:30pm

More Information: www.amerikahaus.de

NUREMBURG

Film

Clint Eastwood Film Series

Clint Eastwood has been making headlines lately after delivering his infamous speech at the Republican National Convention. Get swept up in the frenzy and witness some of the iconic actor’s finer hours in cinematic masterpieces like Sergio Leone’s Fistful of Dollars this week in Nuremburg. The KunstKulturQuartier pays tribute to the leading man by screening a selection of his movies from the last half century.

Price: €6.50

Location: KunstKulturQuartier Filmhaus Nürnberg, Königstrasse 93

Times: Various, through October 3

Phone: 0911 231 58 23

More Information: www2.kubiss.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.

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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