What's on in Germany: April 21 - 27
This week’s highlights: An Easter bonfire in Berlin, Shakespeare in Munich and Swabian festivities in Stuttgart.
BERLIN
Festivals
Easter Bonfire at the Kulturbrauerei
Those in Berlin for the Easter holidays can opt to partake in Kulturbrauerei’s Easter festivities in Prenzlauer Berg. The former beer brewery has a traditional bonfire in its central courtyard from 7 pm on Sunday. Later you can work off those chocolate bunnies on any constellation of nine dance floors, including 20 DJs and a live band, starting at 10 pm. One ticket grants you access to the entire event.
Price: €10
Location: Kulturbrauerei, Schönhauser Allee 36 10435 Berlin
Times: April 24, 7pm - open end
More Information: Kulturbrauerei Easter Bonfire Website
COLOGNE
Exhibits
Opening: August Sander, The Photographic Collection
It was spring of 1927 when photographer August Sander and writer Ludwig Mathar set out from Cologne on a trip to the Mediterranean island of Sardinia. Their goal was to compose a book on the then-mysterious land, an adventure that would yield some of Sander’s most important works. This unique and revealing portrait of this region was the fruit of Sander’s only visit to the island - and will be on exhibit at the SK Stiftung Kultur starting this week.
Price: Free on opening night
Location: SK Stiftung Kultur, Im Mediapark 7, 50670 Cologne
Time: April 21, 7pm
More Information: Exhibit Website
Museums
Time Travel with the Chocolate Girl
Easter, the spring festival, is a celebration of abundance to which the free consumption of chocolate is a testament. Hard to believe then, that this ubiquitous delight was once a delicacy reserved for wealthy princes and princesses. Join the Chocolate Girl at the Chocolate Museum in Cologne this week on a journey back in time to learn just how costly and time-consuming the production of a single piece of chocolate once was. Kids can even get to try their hands at making chocolate themselves - without the use of a machine.
Price: €5
Location: Schokoladenmuseum, Rheinauhafen, 50678 Cologne
Time: April 26 & April 28, 2pm - 3:30pm
More Information: Känguru Website
BONN
Concerts
Chi Coltrane
Known as the “blonde angel with a black soul” and the “first lady of rock”, Chi Coltrane continues to entrance audiences nearly 40 years after her first hit single. Born in 1948 in Wisconsin, USA to a Canadian mother and a German father, Coltrane could play a dozen instruments by age twelve, and later became a regular on the Chicago club circuit. The soul princess takes the stage in Bonn this Thursday for the first time in Germany in several years.
Price: €31
Location: Brückenforum, Friedrich Breuerstr. 17, Bonn
Time: April 21, 8pm
More Information: Brückenforum Website
HAMBURG
Concerts
Hamburg Sounds of Easter: Festival Opening (Brahms Requiem)
Ringing in this year’s sunny spring season is Hamburg’s Sounds of Easter. The celebration of classical music with a selection of other fine art presentations and performances weaved into the programme will focus heavily on the work of Johannes Brahms among others. Stage and film will also be strongly featured in 2011.
Price: €9 - 55
Location: Laeiszhalle, Johannes-Brahms-Platz, 20355 Hamburg
Time: April 22, 11am
More Information: Hamburger Ostertöne Website
HANNOVER
Outdoors
Maschsee Boat Tours
The digging of man-made Maschsee Lake was commissioned in the 1930s to establish a place of leisure for Hannover residents. Some 80 years later, boat tours of the 78-hectare reservoir provide locals and tourists alike with a pleasant way to engage with the history and nature of the region. Panoramic views, including that of the New City Hall, are an added attraction.
Price: €6, €3 (discounted)
Location: Maschsee Lake
Times: April 22 - October 31, Mon-Fri 11am-5pm, Sat & Sun 11am-6pm
More Information: Hanover City Website
MUNICH
Theatre
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Of William Shakespeare's comedies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of the most played. Not only do its fanciful elements repeatedly captivate audiences - but also the presence of polarising themes such as dreams versus reality, especially in the realm of human relationships. With music from The Doors, Duke Ellington and Miles Davis, Hans Henning Paar’s interpretation of this classic play is guaranteed to deliver new perspectives on the depth of one of Shakespeare’s most beloved theatre pieces.
Price: €5.50-45.50
Location: Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, Gärtnerplatz 3, 80469 Munich
Time: April 21, 7:30pm, April 25, 7:30pm; May 5, 7:30pm; May 11, 7:30pm
More Information: Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz Website
Ballet
Ballet Festival Week 2011
A celebration of the art in all its forms, the Bavarian State Ballet’s Festival Week opens the season with a selection of eight special performances. This spring’s line-up will include John Neumeier's highly-anticipated interpretation of classical ballet staple Illusions - like Swan lake, followed by Nacho Duato’s Diversity - Forms of Silence and Emptiness, which has quickly reached cult status among audiences. Also on the festival bill is John Cranko's The Taming of the Shrew and Mein Ravel, which has been described as a return to contemporary ballet choreography.
Price: (various)
Location: Nationaltheater, 2 Max-Joseph-Platz, 80539 Munich
Time: (various)
More Information: Bavarian State Ballet Website
Sport
BMW Open
The BMW Open, or the 96th International Tennis Championships of Bavaria, promises an exciting nine days of competition. This high-profile tournament has yielded winners such as Mikhail Youzhny - ranked among the top ten players in the world since September 2010 - and Lleyton Hewitt, former world number one player, having defeated Roger Federer at the Gerry Weber Open 2010 in Halle.
Price: €20-72
Location: Tennisstadion MTTC Iphitos, Freimann, Aumeisterweg 10, 80805 Munich
Time: April 23 - May 1, 11am - 6pm
More Information: BMW Open Website
STUTTGART
Festival
Stuttgart Spring Festival
A celebration of Swabian proportions, the 73rd annual Stuttgart Spring Festival boasts 240 vendors, plus loads of exciting rides and other forms of family entertainment. New this year is an Après Ski Party as well as a whitewater roller coaster ride - and don’t miss the three party pavilions housing a number of beer gardens for the adults. Best of all, this lively gathering at Stuttgart’s Cannstatter Wasen is free of charge.
Price: Free
Location: Cannstatter Wasen
Time: April 23 - May 15, Mon-Fri 5pm-11pm, Sat & Sun 12pm-11pm
More Information: Stuttgart Spring Festival Website
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See Also
BERLIN
Festivals
Easter Bonfire at the Kulturbrauerei
Those in Berlin for the Easter holidays can opt to partake in Kulturbrauerei’s Easter festivities in Prenzlauer Berg. The former beer brewery has a traditional bonfire in its central courtyard from 7 pm on Sunday. Later you can work off those chocolate bunnies on any constellation of nine dance floors, including 20 DJs and a live band, starting at 10 pm. One ticket grants you access to the entire event.
Price: €10
Location: Kulturbrauerei, Schönhauser Allee 36 10435 Berlin
Times: April 24, 7pm - open end
More Information: Kulturbrauerei Easter Bonfire Website
COLOGNE
Exhibits
Opening: August Sander, The Photographic Collection
It was spring of 1927 when photographer August Sander and writer Ludwig Mathar set out from Cologne on a trip to the Mediterranean island of Sardinia. Their goal was to compose a book on the then-mysterious land, an adventure that would yield some of Sander’s most important works. This unique and revealing portrait of this region was the fruit of Sander’s only visit to the island - and will be on exhibit at the SK Stiftung Kultur starting this week.
Price: Free on opening night
Location: SK Stiftung Kultur, Im Mediapark 7, 50670 Cologne
Time: April 21, 7pm
More Information: Exhibit Website
Museums
Time Travel with the Chocolate Girl
Easter, the spring festival, is a celebration of abundance to which the free consumption of chocolate is a testament. Hard to believe then, that this ubiquitous delight was once a delicacy reserved for wealthy princes and princesses. Join the Chocolate Girl at the Chocolate Museum in Cologne this week on a journey back in time to learn just how costly and time-consuming the production of a single piece of chocolate once was. Kids can even get to try their hands at making chocolate themselves - without the use of a machine.
Price: €5
Location: Schokoladenmuseum, Rheinauhafen, 50678 Cologne
Time: April 26 & April 28, 2pm - 3:30pm
More Information: Känguru Website
BONN
Concerts
Chi Coltrane
Known as the “blonde angel with a black soul” and the “first lady of rock”, Chi Coltrane continues to entrance audiences nearly 40 years after her first hit single. Born in 1948 in Wisconsin, USA to a Canadian mother and a German father, Coltrane could play a dozen instruments by age twelve, and later became a regular on the Chicago club circuit. The soul princess takes the stage in Bonn this Thursday for the first time in Germany in several years.
Price: €31
Location: Brückenforum, Friedrich Breuerstr. 17, Bonn
Time: April 21, 8pm
More Information: Brückenforum Website
HAMBURG
Concerts
Hamburg Sounds of Easter: Festival Opening (Brahms Requiem)
Ringing in this year’s sunny spring season is Hamburg’s Sounds of Easter. The celebration of classical music with a selection of other fine art presentations and performances weaved into the programme will focus heavily on the work of Johannes Brahms among others. Stage and film will also be strongly featured in 2011.
Price: €9 - 55
Location: Laeiszhalle, Johannes-Brahms-Platz, 20355 Hamburg
Time: April 22, 11am
More Information: Hamburger Ostertöne Website
HANNOVER
Outdoors
Maschsee Boat Tours
The digging of man-made Maschsee Lake was commissioned in the 1930s to establish a place of leisure for Hannover residents. Some 80 years later, boat tours of the 78-hectare reservoir provide locals and tourists alike with a pleasant way to engage with the history and nature of the region. Panoramic views, including that of the New City Hall, are an added attraction.
Price: €6, €3 (discounted)
Location: Maschsee Lake
Times: April 22 - October 31, Mon-Fri 11am-5pm, Sat & Sun 11am-6pm
More Information: Hanover City Website
MUNICH
Theatre
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Of William Shakespeare's comedies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of the most played. Not only do its fanciful elements repeatedly captivate audiences - but also the presence of polarising themes such as dreams versus reality, especially in the realm of human relationships. With music from The Doors, Duke Ellington and Miles Davis, Hans Henning Paar’s interpretation of this classic play is guaranteed to deliver new perspectives on the depth of one of Shakespeare’s most beloved theatre pieces.
Price: €5.50-45.50
Location: Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, Gärtnerplatz 3, 80469 Munich
Time: April 21, 7:30pm, April 25, 7:30pm; May 5, 7:30pm; May 11, 7:30pm
More Information: Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz Website
Ballet
Ballet Festival Week 2011
A celebration of the art in all its forms, the Bavarian State Ballet’s Festival Week opens the season with a selection of eight special performances. This spring’s line-up will include John Neumeier's highly-anticipated interpretation of classical ballet staple Illusions - like Swan lake, followed by Nacho Duato’s Diversity - Forms of Silence and Emptiness, which has quickly reached cult status among audiences. Also on the festival bill is John Cranko's The Taming of the Shrew and Mein Ravel, which has been described as a return to contemporary ballet choreography.
Price: (various)
Location: Nationaltheater, 2 Max-Joseph-Platz, 80539 Munich
Time: (various)
More Information: Bavarian State Ballet Website
Sport
BMW Open
The BMW Open, or the 96th International Tennis Championships of Bavaria, promises an exciting nine days of competition. This high-profile tournament has yielded winners such as Mikhail Youzhny - ranked among the top ten players in the world since September 2010 - and Lleyton Hewitt, former world number one player, having defeated Roger Federer at the Gerry Weber Open 2010 in Halle.
Price: €20-72
Location: Tennisstadion MTTC Iphitos, Freimann, Aumeisterweg 10, 80805 Munich
Time: April 23 - May 1, 11am - 6pm
More Information: BMW Open Website
STUTTGART
Festival
Stuttgart Spring Festival
A celebration of Swabian proportions, the 73rd annual Stuttgart Spring Festival boasts 240 vendors, plus loads of exciting rides and other forms of family entertainment. New this year is an Après Ski Party as well as a whitewater roller coaster ride - and don’t miss the three party pavilions housing a number of beer gardens for the adults. Best of all, this lively gathering at Stuttgart’s Cannstatter Wasen is free of charge.
Price: Free
Location: Cannstatter Wasen
Time: April 23 - May 15, Mon-Fri 5pm-11pm, Sat & Sun 12pm-11pm
More Information: Stuttgart Spring Festival Website
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