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FRANKFURT

What’s on in Germany: November 1 – 7

This Week's Highlights: A new music festival in Berlin, a long night of museums in Cologne, and rare silent films in Leipzig.

Published: 1 November 2012 09:10 CET
What's on in Germany: November 1 – 7
Photo: DOK Leipzig 2012

BERLIN

Music/Concerts

Klangwerkstatt Berlin – Festival for New Music

Berlin is home to one of the most respected new music scenes in the world. Champions who help give it that status like flutist Erik Drescher, guitarist/composer Annette Krebs, and groups like Ensemble Mosaik and Polwechsel strut their stuff this week at the city’s oldest continually running festival for new music (Klangwerkstatt was founded in 1989). Go experience works by John Cage, Philip Glass, Peter Ablinger, Alvin Lucier and others this week in Berlin.

Price: €7 (Single concert); €30 (Five concerts); €55 (Festival pass)

Location: Kunstquartier Bethanien, Mariannenplatz 2; Evangelische Brüdergemeinde Berlin, Kirchgasse 14-17; Sophiensaele, Sophienstrasse 18

Times: Friday, November 2 – Saturday, November 10

More Information: www.klangwerkstatt-berlin.de

Dirty Projectors

If their wacky rhythms and voracious vocal harmonies of records past threw you for a loop, the Dirty Projectors’ latest disc “Swing Low Magellan” might be more your speed. The Guardian called it their “most accessible work to date.” The Brooklyn band makes one stop in Germany this month. Head to Berghain in Berlin Thursday where they’re sharing the bill with Callers and Ballet School.

Price: €21.60

Location: Berghain, Am Wriezener Bahnhof

Times: Thursday, November 1, 9pm

Tickets: 01805 570070 (.14/min mobile; .42/min landlines)

More Information: www.berghain.de

Galleries/Museums

Jan Elhoj and Morten Kirckhoff – Abandoned

Since their childhood days, Danish photographers Jan Elhoj and Morten Kirckhoff have been fascinated by abandoned buildings. So it was only natural that when the pair grew up, they would go out in search of abandoned places with their cameras in tow. A new exhibition at Gallery Kuchling shows the treasures Elhoj and Kirckhoff discovered during expeditions around the globe. See their photographs of quiet, rusty factories, dilapidated theatres, Cold War era control rooms, and ghostly train depots when the show opens Thursday night.

Price: Free

Location: Galerie Kuchling,
 Prenzlauer Allee 188

Times: Thursday, November 1, 7pm (Opening); Monday, Tuesday, Thursday – Saturday, 2-7pm; November 2 – 23 (Regular Hours)

Phone: 030 2574 7430

More Information: www.galerie-kuchling.de

COLOGNE

Galleries/Museums

Long Night of Cologne Museums

Dance to West African music at the Chocolate Museum, hear tunes from Ancient Rome at the Praetorium Archaeological Zone, and sway to the sounds of a Brazilian bossa nova trio at the Carnival Museum. On Saturday, 45 museums, galleries, and cultural spaces join forces for a long night of art, theatre, film, music, and dance. One ticket gets you access to it all.

Price: €16

Location: Various

Times: Saturday, November 3, 7pm-3am

Phone: 0221 95 15 4147

More Information: www.museumsnacht-koeln.de

Music/Concerts

La Vera Costanza Basset Horn Trio

The basset horn. A woodwind instrument. A little bit like a clarinet. What else do you know about the basset horn? Learn all about it Tuesday in Cologne when La Vera Costanza Basset Horn Trio presents a history of the intriguing instrument through the music composed for it. Hear the group, made up of performers dedicated to playing early instruments, present works by Mozart at Bläserforum, Cologne’s emporium of brass and woodwind instruments. Hey, you might even get inspired to pick one up after the show. Or at least a recorder.

Price: €25

Location: Bläserforum, Martinstrasse. 16-20

Times: Tuesday, November 6, 7pm

Tickets: 0221 399 3860

More Information: www.blaeserforum.com

FRANKFURT

Theatre

Nature Theatre of Oklahoma – Life and Times

Nature Theatre of Oklahoma is actually from New York. And they get their name from Kafka. Their latest piece “Life and Times” is a musical biographical epic that’s based on a transcription of a telephone conversation between “Kristin” and the theatre group’s founders Pavol Liska and Kelly Copper. See all four episodes documeting Kristin’s life this week in Frankfurt; or go Saturday, November 10, for the ten-hour marathon.

Price: €17

Location: Kunstlerhaus Mousonturm, Saal 
Waldschmidtstrasse 4

Times: Thursday, November 1, and Saturday, November 3, 8pm; Sunday, November 4, 6pm; Thursday, November 8, 8pm; Saturday, November 10, 4pm

Box office: 069 40 58 95 20

More Information: www.mousonturm.de

HAMBURG

Events

Mexican Day of the Dead Festival

Every year Mexicans honour their deceased loved ones with a colourful celebration known as the Dia de los Meurtos, or the Day of the Dead. This weekend, the Museum of Ethnology in Hamburg is holding its own celebration complete with Mexican food, mariachi bands, and a special altar where visitors can place their own photos of those who have passed away.

Price: €7

Location: Museum für Völkerkunde Hamburg, Rothenbaumchaussee 64

Times: Saturday, November 3, 4:30 and Sunday, November 4, 11am

Phone: 040 42 88 790

More Information: www.voelkerkundemuseum.com

LEIPZIG

Film

DOK Leipzig – International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film

Among the excellent documentary and animated films being shown at this year’s DOK festival in Leipzig, you’ll find a retrospective of silent films from the 1920s and 1930s made by the Berlin-based German-Russian film studio Mezhrabpom. Entitled “Utopias and Realities – The Red Dream Factory,” the retrospective includes early cinema treasures like “The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen” and “Skating Rink” accompanied by live music.

Price: €7 (Single Ticket); €20 (Day Ticket); €70 (Season Ticket)

Location: Various

Times: October 29 – Sunday, November 4

Phone: 0341 30864 20

More Information: www.dok-leipzig.de

MUNICH

Events

Market of Senses – Autumn on the Prater Island

The aroma of spiced tea fills the air as shoppers stream into the Praterinsel to take in the sites and sounds of one of Munich’s colorful autumn markets. Dozens of artists and artisans set out their paintings, jewelery, toys, fashions, pottery, sculptures, and housewares beneath the Praterinsel’s vaulted ceilings this weekend during the Markt der Sinne. Browse through the market’s four sections “Arts & Crafts,” “Eat & Enjoy,” “The Wellness Oasis,” and “The Garden Market,” and get a head start on your Christmas shopping, or pick up a few seasonal things for your autumn table.

Price: €5

Location: Praterinsel

Times: 11am-7pm, Friday, November 2 – Sunday, November 4

Tickets: 089 780 60 70

More Information: www.markt-der-sinne.com

Literature

Don Winslow – The Kings of Cool

According to Wikipedia, the American author Don Winslow “writes every day from 5:30 to 10:00 in the morning and then hikes six or seven miles before returning to work.” Talk about motivated. With 18 books under his belt, Winslow could teach us all a thing or two about productivity. His latest, “The Kings of Cool” is a sequel to “Savages” his 2010 New York Times bestseller, which came out on the big screen last summer directed by Oliver Stone. See the word man read from his book Saturday at America House.

Price: €10

Location: Amerika Haus, Karolinenplatz 3

Times: Saturday, November 3, 8pm

Tickets: 089 55 25 370

More Information: www.amerikahaus.de

SCHLUCHTERN

Festivals

Kalter Market

Schluchtern’s Kalter Market dates back to the 12th century. Among the highlights of the merry autumn festival is a torchlight fairy tale parade and a fireworks show. Head to the mediaeval town just to the northeast of Frankfurt this week and ride the Ferris wheel high over the hills of Hesse. Tuesday is family day.

Price: Free

Location: Schluchtern City Center

Times: Wednesday, October 31 – Tuesday, November 6

More Information: www.schluechtern.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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