What's on in Germany: March 11 - 17

This week's highlights: Trojan warriors dance across a Berlin stage, Cologne hosts a spring festival, and continental Europe's largest St. Patrick's Day parade marches through Munich.

• Germany expels four Syrian diplomats (9 Feb 12)
• What's on in Germany: February 9 - 15 (9 Feb 12)
• Rent-jumping family caught by police (9 Feb 12)

BERLIN


Theatre


Troy

Drama, passion, and intrigue combine to create an extraordinary stage show based on the Legend of Troy. Directed by Turkish choreographer Mustafa Erdogan, "Troy " features a vivid cast of one hundred and twenty exceptional dancers. For one night only, these legendary characters grace the stage at Berlin's O2 World. Be seduced by Spartan warriors and Anatolian maidens.

Price: €54 - 102
Location: O2 World, Mühlenstrasse 12
Times: Saturday, March 13, 8pm
Ticket Hotline: 01803 20 60 70 (.09/Min)
More Information: www.o2world.de



Galleries/Museums


Sounds: Radio - Art - New Music

In an age of high tech 3D cinema, radio as an artistic medium is often overlooked. This exhibition at Berlin's Neuer Berliner Kunstverein highlights radio's ability to create interesting experiences. Have a listen to the radio plays and sound compositions, new and historic, that circulate through the space through the end of March.

Price: Free
Location: Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Chausseestrasse 128/129
Times: Tuesday - Sunday, noon-6pm; Thursday, noon-8pm ; through March 28
Phone: 030 280 7020
More Information: www.nbk.org



The Secret Garden of the Nightingale

The mysteries of the forest emerge in the works of German artists Claas Gutsche and Sebastian Nebe. Illuminated bird's nests and bare branches create a setting reminiscent of a Brothers Grimm fairy tale. Mingle with the artists at Friday night's opening reception.

Price: Free
Location: Wagner + Partner, Karl-Marx-Allee 87
Times: Friday, March 12, 7-10pm (Opening); Tuesday - Saturday, noon-6pm; through May 2
Phone: 030 2196 0137
More Information: galerie-wagner-partner.de





COLOGNE



Events


Spring Culture Festival

Bands, ballet, theatre, and circus performances! Spring is nearly here, and Cologne's Bürgerhaus Kalk is celebrating with a vibrant cultural festival on Saturday. Bring the whole family and kick off the season with a day full of fun.

Price: Free
Location: Bürgerhaus Kalk, Kalk-Mülheimer Strasse 58
Times: Saturday, March 13, 3-5pm
Phone: 0221 987 6020
More Information: www.buergerhauskalk.de



Dance


Aterballeto

The Italian dance company Aterballeto puts on the kind of show that leaves you stunned. Physical power, unabashed elegance, and spirited Mediterranean vibrancy shine through as the dancers' sparsely costumed bodies enact exquisite choreography on stark stages. Monday, the group performs three works "Omaggio a Bach," "Pression," and "Cantata" in Cologne.

Price: €37 - 56
Location: Cologne Opera House, Offenbachplatz
Times: Monday, March 15, 7:30-10pm
Tickets: 0221 22 12 82 49
More Information: www.operkoeln.com



Film


South Africa Special: The Myth and Reality of Freeing

Apartheid is the subject of three films screening this weekend at Filmforum. "When the Mountain Meets its Shadow," a new documentary directed by Alexander Kleider and Daniela Michel portrays the struggle for survival in settlements around Cape Town. "Memories of Rain," a documentary by Gisela Albrecht and Angela Mai, traces ten years in the lives of two underground resistance fighters. And John Kani's narrative "Nothing But the Truth," explores the harsh reality of life in post-apartheid South Africa.

Price: €6
Location: Filmforum NRW in the Museum Ludwig, Bischofsgartenstrasse 1
Times: Saturday, March 13, 7pm; Sunday, March 14, 5pm and 8pm
Phone: 0221 221 24498
More Information: www.filmforumnrw.de




HAMBURG



Events


Easter Market

With the chocolate bunny holiday just a few weeks away, it's time to get into the Easter spirit. The Museum Elbinsel Wilhelmsburg's Easter Market features all sorts of springtime crafts. Browse the hand painted eggs, spun wool knitwear, and little ceramic animal figurines, Sunday.

Price: Free
Location: Museum Elbinsel Wilhelmsburg, Kirchdorfer Strasse 163
Times: Sunday, March 14, 11am-5pm
Phone: 040 31 18 29 28
More Information: www.museum-wilhelmsburg.de



Music/Concerts


Taxi Taxi

There's something about waif-like Swedish twins that few can resist. Brooding passion mingles with acoustic innocence in the sweetly philosophical tunes of Miriam Eriksson Berhan and Johanna Eriksson Berhan. They pour their hearts out Thursday night in Hamburg.

Price: €8.75
Location: Fundbureau, Stresemannstrasse 114
Times: Thursday, March 11, 10pm
More Information: www.myspace.com/taxitaximusic



Galleries/Museums


Paperficial

From "pleated containers" to "origami vases," designers from around Europe are doing some pretty amazing things with paper. Each object in this new exhibition exudes a delicate fragility that makes it all the more precious.

Price: Free
Location: craft2eu - Agency and Gallery for European Craft & Design, Eppendorfer Weg 231
Times: Monday - Friday, 12-7pm; Saturday, 11am-4pm; through May 8
Phone: 040 480 928 22
More Information: www.craft2eu.com




LEIPZIG



Galleries/Museums


To Nature - The ALTANA Art Collection

The relationship between nature and art is a timeless one. On Saturday, nearly 600 works from the ALTANA collection in Bad Homburg go on display in Leipzig. Be surrounded by flowers and trees, forests and wheat fields, in the cosy environs of the Museum for Contemporary Art.

Price: €5
Location: GfZK, Museum of Contemporary Art, Karl-Tauchnitz-Strasse 9-11
Times: Tuesday - Friday, 2-7pm; Saturday and Sunday, noon-6pm; March 13 - May 24
Phone: 0341 140 81 26
More Information: www.gfzk.de




MUNICH



Events


St. Patrick's Day Parade

No St. Patty's Day parade is complete without a good old troupe of bagpipers, and though Claymore Pipes & Drums comes from Italy, the IPS Pipe Band is as Irish as they come. Both groups lead the boisterous crowd through the streets of Munich, Sunday, and once the marching is done, six post-parade parties keep the Gaelic spirit going. On St. Patrick's Day, everybody's Irish! Erin Go Bragh!

Price: Free
Location: Münchner Freiheit to Odeonsplatz via Leopold and Ludwigstrasse
Times: Sunday, March 14, 2:30pm
More Information: www.stpatricksday.de