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FRANKFURT

This Week’s Highlights: February 7 – 13

This Week's Highlights: Weimar cinema screens in Berlin, a Carnival parade processes through Cologne, and Washington DC's National Symphony Orchestra sets up in Frankfurt.

Published: 7 February 2013 09:12 CET
This Week's Highlights: February 7 – 13
Photo: DPA

BERLIN

Film

Berlinale Retrospective 2013 – The Weimar Touch: The International Influence of Weimar Cinema after 1933

While you’re rubbing elbows with starlets and screenwriters at the Berlinale this week, be sure to save some time to discover some cinematic gems from the past. Thirty-three films from the 1930s through the 1950s offer insight into how Weimar-era directors dealt with the rise of National Socialism in Germany. Many of them emigrated to the United States or elsewhere in Europe where they went on to create classics like Casablanca and Some Like it Hot, both of which screen this week as part of the retrospective.

Price: €8-12

Location: CinemaxX Potsdamer Platz (entrance on Voxstrasse) and the Zeughauskino, Unter den Linden 2

Times: Thursday, February 7 – Sunday, February 17

More Information: www.berlinale.de

Music/Concerts

E-Studio Grand Opening – Blixa Bargeld, Caspar Brotzmann, Michael Wertmuller

Three heroes from the German avant-garde music scene inaugurate the Acadamy of Arts’ new Studio for Electro-Acoustic Music Friday night. See Blixa Bargeld, Caspar Brotzmann, and Michael Wertmuller play works by new music composers Hans-Joachim Hespos, Georg Katzer, Chris Newman, and others in the fancy new sound space.

Price: €12

Location: Akademie der Künste, Hanseatenweg 10,

Times: Friday, February 8, 8pm

Phone: 030 200 57 2000

More Information: www.adk.de

Galleries/Museums

A Black and White Perspective: Two Cities – Berlin, Toronto

You live here. You love it. You can’t get enough of Berlin. See the capital from another person’s perspective this week. Verena Bayer moody, romantic photos of her home city hang alongside shots of Toronto by her picture-taking pal Fabio Mascarin. The artistic duo presents a dramatic portrait of two very different metropolises.

Price: Free

Location: Axel Hotel Berlin, Lietzenburgerstrasse 13/15

Times: Through February 26

Phone: 030 2100 2893

More Information: www.berlin-toronto.de

COLOGNE

Events

Rose Monday Parade

The good people of Cologne know how to throw a party. Put on your fancy dress clothes and take your places Monday among the show horses and marching bands and process through the city streets like a local. The atmosphere along the 6.5 kilometer Rosenmontag parade route is infectious. And it’s not just all the candy being thrown at the crowd. There’s a natural mystic blowing through the air.

Price: Free

Location: Parade begins at Severinstor in Südstadt

Times: Monday, February 11, 10:30am

More Information: www.cologne.de

DUSSELDORF

Dance

Ballet Revolucion

They jump, they spin, they leap, they sway with the mystery and determination of a revolutionary. A dazzling dance troupe direct from Cuba, Ballet Revolucion fuses Latin and Caribbean rhythms with classical ballet and Beyonce-worthy hip hop to create a high-energy stage show that The Guardian says is “a bit like watching an MTV miscellany while doing cardio in the gym.” Get an endorphin high without going anywhere near a StairMaster this week in Dusseldorf.

Price: €44-79

Location: Capitol-Theater, Erkrather Strasse 30

Times: Friday, February 8 – Sunday, February 17

Ticket Hotline: 01805-570070

More Information: www.balletrevolucion.com

FRANKFURT

Galleries/Museums

Lutz Bacher Exhibition Opening

A giant chessboard fills the main exhibition space at Portikus, but where are the pawns? Instead of your traditional kings, queens, bishops, and rooks, the American artist Lutz Bacher’s chess pieces take the form of dinosaurs, pop heroes, and icons of conceptual art – see the replica of Marcel Duchamp’s bicycle wheel. After planning out your strategy, take a seat upstairs in the sparkling black sand and watch Bacher’s 1996 video piece Blue Moon.

Price: Free

Location: Portikus, Alte Brücke 2

Times: Friday, February 8, 8pm (Opening): Tuesday – Sunday, 11am-6pm; Wednesday, 11am-8pm; through April 14 (Regular Hours)

Phone: 069 962 44 540

More Information: www.portikus.de

Music/Concerts

National Symphony Orchestra Washington

In the midst of a tour through Europe, The National Symphony Orchestra stops off in Frankfurt Saturday. With Musical Director Christoph Eschenbach and first violinist Arabella Steinbacher at the helm, the Washington DC based ensemble presents grand orchestral works by Beethoven, Mozart, and Bartok. Sit in the audience at the Old Opera and succumb to the waves of string section enchantment.

Price: €32 – 120

Location: Alte Oper Frankfurt, Opernplatz

Times: Saturday, February 9, 8pm

Ticket Hotline: 069 1340 400

More Information: www.alteoper.de

HAMBURG

Film/Music

Little Sun Blackout Night

Everyone needs light. Even after the sun goes down. But some people live in places where there isn’t any electricity. Olafur Eliassons’ “Little Sun,” is a solar powered light developed as an attractive and affordable option for off-grid light-loving folks. See sixteen short films about the pretty palm-sized lamp in Hamburg Thursday. The series of bite-sized cinematic bits is accompanied by musical sets by the Ten Cities DJ Team and Fatoumata Diawara. It’s all part of the Lux Aeterna Music Festival, which presents a range of musical artists until March 4.

Price: €10

Location: Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Johannes-Brahms-Platz

Times: Friday, February 7, 9:30pm

Tickets: 040 357 666 66

More Information: www.elbphilharmonie.de

LEIPZIG

Music/Concerts

Mala in Cuba

A superstar of the dubstep scene, Mala and his pals Coki, Loefah, and St Pokes pioneered the genre over a decade ago in South London clubs. For his latest project, the British producer traveled to Havana, where he loaded up his hard drive with piano, horn, and percussion samples from local musicians. Check out his mix of Cuban sounds and dubstep beats at Conne Island in Leipzig Saturday.

Price: €11

Location: Conne Island, Koburger Strasse 3

Times: Saturday, February 9, 10pm (doors); 1am (start)

Phone: 0341 301 3038

More Information: www.conne-island.de

MUNICH

Events

Mardi Gras at the Museum of Man and Nature

Put on your lion mask and head to the Museum of Man and Nature Tuesday. The natural history museum is hosting a zoologically themed party to celebrate the end of the Carnival season. Clowns and jugglers create a circus-like atmosphere that the little ones will lap up as they run around like little monkeys. Strap on some butterfly wings or paint your face like a tiger! Anything goes as long as your costume resembles a member of the animal kingdom. An extinct one you ask? Even better. Party like a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Price: Free

Location: Museum Mensch und Natur, Schloss Nymphenbur

Times: Tuesday, February 12, 11am-5pm

Phone: 017 95 890

More Information: www.musmn.de

Music/Concerts

The Stars – A Tribute to the Rolling Stones

There are the Rolling Stones, and then there are the Rolling Stones cover bands. Have a couple of pints and you’ll never know the difference. Not that The Stars do too shabby of a job. Fritz Wimmer yelps through “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” like a veritable Mister Jagger. Shake your hips at Muffatwerk Friday.

Price: €17

Location: Ampere, Muffatwerk, Zellstrasse 4

Times: Thursday, February 7, 9pm

Phone: 089 458 750 10

More Information: www.muffatwerk.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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