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FRANKFURT

What’s on in Germany: Nov 29 – Dec 5

This Week's Highlights: English theatre in Berlin, African music in Cologne, and an opera staged in Egypt premiers in Frankfurt.

Published: 29 November 2012 07:00 CET
What's on in Germany: Nov 29 – Dec 5
Photo: Hail at The Berlin Festival of Festivals

BERLIN

Film

Around the World in 14 Films – The Berlin Festival of Festivals

From Switzerland to Senegal, China to Chile, film fans can embark on a cinematic trip around the world this week in Berlin. Kino Babylon presents independent films from fourteen different geographical regions. Benh Zeitlin’s 2012 Sundance star Beasts of the Southern Wild opens the festival Friday night with its inspiring tale from the Louisiana bayou. Bring your hankies.

Price: €7, €40 (Festival Pass)

Location: Kino Babylon, Rosa-Luxemburg-Strasse 30

Times: Friday, November 30 – Saturday, December 8

Tickets: 030 2425 969

More Information: www.berlinbabylon14.net

Theatre

Hotel Methuselah

Death, sex, kids. Scary stuff! The UK theatre company Imitating the Dog, and playwright/director Pete Brooks have created a haunting play about a hotel night porter unable to remember his past. Live action merges with video projection and a fascinating war-time narrative in what the Yorkshire Evening Post calls “a piece of art in its own right.” Get swept up in “Harry’s” story when Hotel Methuselah premieres in Germany this week.

Price: €20 (€10, Dec 5)

Location: English Theatre Berlin, Fidicinstrasse 40

Times: Tuesday, December 4 – Sunday, December 9, 8pm

Phone: 030 693 56 92

More Information: www.etberlin.de

Comedy

The Fish Bowl – Episode 8

Every two weeks, funny guys and gals from around town gather at a neighborhood bar turned art space in Mitte. There might be some live music, usually there’s a DJ set, there’s always lots of laughs. And the best thing is, it’s all in English – your good old mother tongue, or maybe it’s your second language. Whatever it is, you speak it, you understand it, you actually get the joke. Brilliant. Join in on the fun Thursday at Naherholung Sternchen. We could all use a few laughs.

Price: Free

Location: Naherholung Sternchen, 
Berolinastrasse 7

Times: Thursday, November 29, 8pm

More Information: www.thefishbowl.de

COLOGNE

Events

Homemade Cologne – Winter Bazaar for Design and Handmade Items

Tagged as “The Alternative Christmas Market,” Homemade Cologne’s Winter Bazaar promises a tantalizing selection of handmade accessories by over fifty local designers and artisans. Stock up on pretty printed pencil cases, knit scarves, crafty advent calenders, and lots of creative accessories for both homemakers and fashionistas. Live music, culinary specialties, and Glühwein offers a cozy pause for weary shoppers.

Price: €3

Location: Jack in the Box Hallen,
Vogelsanger Strasse 231

Times: Saturday, December 1, noon-10pm; Sunday, December 2, noon-6pm

More Information about “Homemade Cologne” and other alternative Christmas markets: www.koeln.de

Music/Concerts

African Music Night

Stomp your feet to the beat of the drum and sway to the rhythm of the kora. Musicians from Germany, Senegal, and Gambia celebrate the majesty of the African night sky Sunday at the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum in Cologne with an evening of West African music. Percussion and dance group Mama Africa shares the stage with Aziz Kuyateh, Sidiky Coulibaly, Hayden Chisholm, and the famous German street musician known simply as “Klaus the violinist.”

Price: €15

Location: Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum, Cäcilienstrasse 29-33



Times: Sunday, December 2, 7:30

Phone: 0221 221 236 20

More Information: www.museenkoeln.de

FRANKFURT

Opera

George Frideric Handel – Giulio Cesare in Egitto

In 48 BC Julius Caesar met Cleopatra in Egypt, commencing one of the most legendary love stories of all time. In 1724 the Baroque composer George Frideric Handel’s opera based on that extraordinary affair premiered on the London stage. As riveting now as it was nearly three centuries ago, the story of Giulio Cesare in Egitto (Julius Caesar in Egypt) unfurls in Frankfurt this week. Get carried away by the drama of it all Sunday when Frankfurt Opera’s new production premieres with baritone Michael Nagy and soprano Brenda Rae in the leading roles.

Price: €17 – 140

Location: Opera House, Willy-Brandt-Platz

Times: Sunday, December 2, 6pm (Premiere); Performances continue throughout the months of December, January, and May, 2013

Tickets: 069 212 49 494

More Information: www.oper-frankfurt.de

GENGENBACH

Events

Gengenbach Advent Calender and Christmas Market

Down near the French border, the little mediaeval town of Gengenbach in Baden-Württemberg has become famous for a very special holiday attraction. Every November, the town hall transforms into the world’s largest Advent calender. Each night until December 24, one of the nineteenth century building’s twenty-four windows opens to reveal a magical surprise. Go and immerse yourself in the enchanting atmosphere that descends on Gengenbach each winter. The splendour starts Friday.

Price: Free

Location: Rathaus Gengenbach, Am Marktplatz

Times: Friday, November 30 – Sunday, December 23, window opens at 6pm

More Information: www.stadt-gengenbach.de

HAMBURG

Galleries/Museums

Christmas Traditions From Around the World

In Sweden they put a bowl of porridge on the window sill. Italians bless the poor. And Father Christmas wears shorts in Australia. Learn more about how the holidays are celebrated in other cultures at Spicy’s Spice Museum. The exhibition “Christmas Customs and Goodies From Around the World” offers visitors a chance to taste homemade spice punch, cinnamon coffee, and other seasonal delights from nations near and far.

Price: €3.50

Location: Spicy’s Gewürzmuseum, 
Am Sandtorkai 34

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

Phone: 040 36 79 89

More Information: www.spicys.de

LEIPZIG

Music/Concerts

Gewandhaus Orchestra Grand Benefit Concert

Each year, the Gewandhaus Orchestra holds a concert on the first weekend of Advent dedicated to children who live in poverty. Proceeds from the concert go to the Leipzig Helps Children organization which gives less fortunate children in Germany opportunities that wouldn’t normally be available to them. Conducted by Christian Vásquez, this year’s concert features the mezzo soprano Vesselina Kasarova who joins the Gewandhaus Orchestra in works by Georges Bizet, Jose Pablo Moncayo, and Arturo Marquez.

Price: €5 – 52

Location: Gewandhaus, Augustusplatz 8

Times: Saturday, December 1, 8pm

Tickets: 0341 1270 280  

More Information: www.gewandhaus.de

MUNICH

Music/Concerts

Bluegrass Jamboree

A trio of bluegrass bands are plowing an Appalachian trail through Germany this month. Hitting up eighteen cities and towns between Stuhr in Lower Saxony and Kempton in the Bavarian region of Allgäu, the Americana-inspired musicians stop in Munich Sunday. Join the jamboree at Amerikahaus and rock out with Audie Blaylock and Redline, Bearfoot, and Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms.

Price: €29.60

Location: Amerikahaus
, Karolinenplatz 3

Times: Sunday, December 2, 9pm

Phone: 089 2322 5787

More Information: www.club2.de

REMAGEN

Galleries/Museums

Arp Museum Advent Magic Family Day

If you’ve been meaning to get down to the Arp Museum in Remagen, just south of Bonn, here’s a little incentive. On Sunday, the museum celebrates the start of the holiday season with a day devoted to Christmas crafts, a choir concert, and a special fairytale tour guided by the Snow Queen and Father Frost. Housed in a former train station, the museum features works by Dada founder Hans Arp and his wife Sophie Taeuber-Arp, and holds exhibitions of celebrated nineteenth and twentieth century artists. The current show focuses on impressionist paintings with a wintertime theme like Monet’s “Houses in Snow.”

Price: Free Admission For “Advent Magic”; €8 Regular Times

Location: Arp Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck, Hans-Arp-Allee 1

Times: Sunday, December 2, 11am-6pm; “Winter in Impressionism” runs through April 14, 2013

Phone: 022 28 94 250

More Information: www.arpmuseum.org

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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