Journey to Berlin

 

Berlin doesn't go in for hibernation! Whether it's the traditional Christmas markets, a highly acclaimed Picasso exhibition or the popular special concert of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra on 30 and 31 December, Berlin can boast a glittering programme for visitors at the turn of the year. What's more, gourmets on the Spree will also have an opportunity for complete and utter indulgence. During the Davidoff Gourmet Festivals (19 to 25 November, cf. also 3.2.), guests will be lavishly pampered in the nine participating hotels and restaurants. A gourmet safari right across the metropolis is on the agenda as is, for instance, a culinary boat trip.

 

Anyone who would prefer to use the runup to Christmas for shopping has an excellent opportunity: for the second time the 7 Shopping-Weekends (cf. also 2.2.) are to be staged from 3 November. Longer opening hours at the 7 weekends before Christmas combined with an interesting programme will make a visit to Berlin particularly attractive at the end of the year.

 

We would like to express our sincere thanks at this point for completing the questionnaire enclosed with the last media service and for many helpful tips. All the responses will be evaluated between now and the end of the year. Journey to Berlin will - if you so requested in the questionnaire - from then on be sent to you by email. Until then, you can, if necessary, download our current media service from the Internet. The Internet presentation of BTM encompasses as of now an extended information offering. Reservations can also be made online. See for yourself on our web site: www.berlin-tourism.de

 

Sincerely yours

 

Natascha Kompatzki

 

Table of Contents

 

                                                            Page

Editorial

 

1.    News from Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH (BTM)

 

1.1.  New BTM publications                                                                          3

1.2.  Berlin on the Internet: reservations now possible online, too                      5

 

2.    Berlin Tourism

 

5.1. Christmas markets and a big New Year’s Eve party make Berlin an          6

interesting travel destination at the end of the year

5.2. (Christmas) Shopping in Berlin – because it’s fun!                                    7

5.3. Tourism News: Keith Haring’s sculptures up for auction – 50 years          9

Liberty Bell -  Destination of the year 2001 – An island for children

 

3.    Events in Berlin

 

3.1.  From Picasso to jazz: Highlights in winter                                              12

3.2.  Davidoff Gourmet Festival: Berlin chefs extend an invitation                              14

3.3.  Current events November to December                                            17

3.4.  Preview of events January to February                                           18

 

4.    Hotels and Restaurants

 

4.1.  Winter in the Berlin Hotels: Advent Tea Time, delicious delights                                19

        and loads of colourful New Year’s Eve fireworks

4.2.  In brief: The Forum Hotel celebrates an anniversary                                      22

 

5.    Topics for the Trade Press

 

5.1.   With BTM into the tourism year 2001                                              23

 

 

1. News from Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH (BTM)

 

1.1. New BTM Publications

It has been common knowledge for some time now: Christmas and New Year on the Spree are tantamount to an incredible choice of events ranging from a contemplative concert to a mad mega party. At just the right moment, the onset of the dark season, Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH (BTM) has issued its publication “Berlin – Between the Years 2000/2001”.  This makes it easier for guests who want to plan ahead to make their selection from amongst the best celebrations already now.  On 18 pages the practical overview of events offers all sorts of tips on Christmas and the first New Year in the new millennium for the period from 18 December 2000 to 2 January 2001.  The romantic Christmas markets in the city are listed here as are the festive New Year’s Eve balls, for instance in the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. 

 

The fact that the city of Berlin merits its description as a cultural metropolis particularly in the most contemplative season of the year is proven in the numerous exhibitions, operas, theatre performances and concerts which are not missing from the overview either (cf. also 3.1.).  Moreover, many hotels in the city are putting on a special pamper programme at Christmas which is not reserved for hotel guests.  The offerings range from Advent brunch over a Christmas menu to a New Year’s Eve buffet.  They are listed in the BTM brochure along with the respective prices and reservation telephone numbers (cf. also 4.1.). 

 

And anyone who feels the need for some physical exercise following the indulgent holiday feasting, will find in the column “Sport” for instance details on the traditional Berlin New Year’s Eve and New Year races.  A service section rounds off the event overview; in addition to the data on accessing the BTM hotline, it also gives the opening hours of the Tourist Info Centers during the holidays.“Berlin – Between the Years” is available now in the BTM Tourist Info Centers in the Europa-Center and at the Brandenburg Gate (southern wing).  It costs DM 2.  On request, the German language brochure will be included in the Berlin Info Package which can be ordered on 0190 / 75 40 40 (domestic / DM 2.42 per  minute) or on ++49 / 1805 / 75 40 40 (international).

 

The 28-page event overview “Berlin Events 2000/2001” has just been published.  The two-language brochure (German/English), in handy pocket format, presents the Berlin highlights from October 2000 up to the end of 2001.  Using a tried-and-tested concept, the various types of event are depicted with colour pictograms which make it easier to find a certain type of event.  Trade fairs and exhibitions are listed separately.  Furthermore, in the column “Berlin Special 2001” a special chapter is dedicated to two special themes of next year: under the  motto “Verdi 2001 – Tutto nel mondo è burla (“Everything is fun on earth”) details are given about the Verdi programmes of the three opera houses to mark the 100^th anniversary of the death of the musician (27 January).  Besides that the flyer draws attention to the 100^th anniversary of the birth of Marlene Dietrich which will be celebrated next year in the city on the River Spree.  For instance, the newly opened Filmmuseum on Potsdamer Platz will display Marlene Dietrich’s estate for the first time in a permanent exhibition.

 

“Berlin Events 2002/2001” is available free of charge in BTM’s 347 partner hotels.  Furthermore, the brochure is included in the Berlin Info Package which can be ordered by telephone on 0190 / 75 40 40 (domestic DM 2.42 per minute) or on ++49 / 1805 75 40 40 (international).

 

The new image brochure “Berlin” is tailored to the special needs of the professional partners of the travel industry.  BTM will be distributing it mainly at trade fairs and workshops.  In nine opulently illustrated theme sections the most exciting sides to the city are presented.  Architecture, history, palaces and museums, theatres and classical music, variety and cabaret, restaurants and nightlife, shopping, trade fairs and congresses as well as events are the different columns to which a double page is devoted.  The image brochure is available in eight different languages (German, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese and Polish).

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1.2. Berlin on the Internet: reservations now possible online, too

Just a few clicks of the mouse to book accommodation in Berlin – this is possible thanks to the new Online reservation service of Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH (BTM). On the Web sites “www.berlin-tourism.de” the visitor has direct access under the heading „accommodation“ to almost 350 hotels, boarding houses, apartment houses and youth hostels in Berlin. The range of accommodation described there represents 90% of the total beds available in the city.

With comprehensive descriptions of the Berlin urban districts and step-by-step online assistance, Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH makes it really easy for guests to Berlin to select and make a reservation. A search inquiry takes the visitor straight to the hotel of his choice where he will find a photo, an outline of the fittings and location as well as a short description.  Sophisticated encryption (128 Bits) and a secure server guarantee confidentiality during the transfer of sensitive personal data like credit card number.

Besides this new online reservation facility for Berlin hotels and boarding houses, BTM now provides an extended two-language (German / English) information service on the Internet: In the new column “Discover Berlin“ BTM provides target group oriented information for young people, the disabled, senior citizens, children and families, gays and lesbians or Jewish travellers along with selected addresses and tips for a stay in the capital.  The major transport routes and extensive round trip offerings by land, water and air can be immediately accessed in the column ”See Berlin“. “Berlin images” give a foretaste of the most important attractions.

For Berlin enthusiasts who don’t want to wait until their next trip to the Spree but would like to order a souvenir right now, BTM has set up a special service: the Online Souvenir Shop. The customer can easily navigate through the extensive range of teddy bears, posters, trinkets, videos, CDs and reading material about Berlin and immediately place his order with a simple click of the mouse. Another innovation: The structure of the table of contents of all BTM pages has been improved which means it is now child’s play for the „visitor“ to find his way around www.berlin-tourism.de (2.372 signs)

 

2. Berlin Tourism

 

2.1. Christmas Markets and a big New Year’s Eve party make Berlin an interesting travel destination at the end of the year

Whilst the 7 Shopping Weekends (cf. 2.2.) attract visitors for some serious shopping in Berlin’s glittering shopping malls, the popular Berlin Christmas markets will once again create the traditional pre-Christmas mood from 27 November onwards with the traditional wooden stalls, aromatic mulled wine and biscuits.

At the largest Christmas Market in Germany in the old town centre of Spandau visitors will find everything they could possibly want at the 500 stalls: from crafts items to toys, from Christmas decorations to freshly baked ginger bread.  During the week the choice is somewhat less varied although there is more room to browse.

Nostalgia is on the agenda at the Nostalgic Christmas Market at the Opernpalais Unter den Linden where the offerings include beautiful jewellery, glass craft items and ceramic design all set against a historic backdrop. The Christmas Market around the Memorial Church (Gedächtniskirche) focuses on the sweet pleasures of the Christmas celebrations in addition to pretty gift ideas.  By contrast, the Christmas Market on Alexanderplatz offers, besides the Christmas stalls, merry-go-rounds and other rides. On the first Advent weekend the Domäne Dahlem will be extending an invitation to a rustic Christmas market.  The traditional Rixdorf Christmas market on Richardplatz in Neukölln – for many the most beautiful in Berlin – will only be open on the 2nd Advent weekend.

At the latest since the spectacular party heralding in the new millennium, New Year has taken on a new dimension in Berlin: around two million visitors from around the globe celebrated the New Year along side Berliners in the Berlin city centre.  This year the huge street festival is to be staged on the west side of the Brandenburg Gate, on the Straße des 17. Juni. Anyone who prefers to welcome in the New Year indoors is spoilt for choice.  There is scarcely any hotel which is not combining a gala dinner with an exhilarating ball.

What has proven particularly popular is starting the evening with a cultural programme. The offerings range from the spirited dance spectacle „Fire of Dance“ in the ICC to the traditional New Year’s Eve concert of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Claudio Abbado.  It will open the celebrations of Verdi Year 2001 with a festive opera soirée. The Staatsoper Unter den Linden is combining cultural enjoyment with a New Year’s Eve ball.

As tradition would have it, Daniel Barenboim will be conducting Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. The concert in the Staatskapelle Berlin will be followed by a magnificent dinner created by the Grand Hotel Esplanade before Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin open the ball to the sounds of waltz music. The Film Orchestra Babelsberg will also be inviting guests to dance the night away.  Or what about „setting sail“ on a boat and experiencing New Year’s Eve on "La Paloma".  Berlin’s "floating ballroom" will cast off from Wannsee, sail over the Havel and reach Potsdam in time for the magnificent fireworks.  A five course menu, fine wines and champagne will round off the programme (River Line Schiffahrtsgesellschaft mbH , Tel. ++49 / 30 / 20 27 40 54)

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2.2. (Christmas) Shopping in Berlin – because it’s fun!

For the second year running the focus in Berlin will be on Christmas shopping on all seven weekends in the run up to Christmas. Under the slogan „Shopping in Berlin – because it’s fun“ it is not just the prospect of a pre-Christmas shopping spree – with longer opening hours on all Saturdays – which will attract visitors to the German capital.  Numerous events on themes like „Shopping & Fashion/Design“, „Shopping & Theatre“ or also „Shopping & Gourmet“ will turn the city in the pre-Christmas weeks into an interesting destination for any shopping fan.

 

On the weekend of 3 to 5 November, which is completely under the motto „Shopping & Fashion/Design“, Berlin’s designers will throw open their doors and present their fashion trends. On that Saturday there will be a prestigious fashion ball with designs by the shrill fashion duo „Pompöös“ in the Hotel InterContinental. Decor and interior design workshops will also be on the agenda.

 

One new addition this year is the weekend „Shopping & Gourmet“ which can boast  from 17 to 19 November not only the Davidoff Gourmet Festival (cf. 3.2.) but also special offerings from Berlin restaurants. There will be oyster weeks in Galeries Lafayette and many of the Berlin restaurants will offer seven course menus at a cost of DM 77.77.

 

For the first time the weekend from 8 to 10 December will be under the motto „Shopping & Music“.  In addition to the renowned concerts of the Berlin Symphonic Orchestra and the opera houses of the city it will also offer a musical history city tour.  Other foci during the 7 Shopping-Weekends are theatre (10-12.11.), culture (24-26.11.), sport (1-3.12.) and Christmas (15-17.12.).

 

Numerous Berlin hotels will offer special activities for children on all 7 Shopping Weekends. Each weekend will offer a customised program for the little ones.  For instance, the Gemäldegalerie (Portrait Gallery) will be staging creative art activities, there will be children’s theatre and children’s cinema for all age groups. Thought has also been given to the easy transport of the Berlin shopping visitors: on all long shopping Saturdays there will be free-of-charge bus shuttles every 30 to 45 minutes from 10h30 to 18h30 between the shopping paradises Europa-Center, Potsdamer Platz Arkaden, Friedrichstadt-Passagen (Galeries Lafayette, Quartier 205), Galeria Kaufhof, Berlin Carré, Stilwerk and Ku’damm Karree.

 

Cheap flights to Berlin (Lufthansa will be offering domestic flights from DM 187 upwards – plus taxes and levies – on the 7 Shopping Weekends to the Spree) and cheap train fares from Deutsche Bahn AG (Good Evening ticket from DM 59) will make a pre-Christmas trip particularly attractive. Hotel reservations for the 7 Shopping Weekends can be made on the BTM hotline (Domestic: 030 / 25 00 25, International: ++49 / 1805 / 75 40 40).

 

A detailed overview of all dates and events on the 7 Shopping-Weekends can be found in the journals of the Initiative 7 Shopping-Weekends^© e.V., which can be ordered together with other Berlin information on the info hotline:  0190 - 75 40 40 (DM 2.42/min) or from abroad on tel.: ++49 / 1805 / 75 40 40 or by fax:

++ 49/ 30 / 26 47 48 66. Further information is also available on the Internet under „www.7shopping-weekends.de“. (3.391 signs)

 

2.3. Tourism News: Keith Haring’s sculptures up for auction - 50 years Liberty Bell – Destination of the year 2001 – An island for children

Keith Haring’s sculptures up for auction

Since 6 September eight conspicuous, colourful, comic-like steel sculptures measuring up to nine metres high of the US artist, Keith Haring, have been adorning the green strips and pavements on Kurfürstendamm between Tauentzien and Joachimstaler Straße. After San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York these sculptures which look like matchstick figures are being exhibited for the first time on the European continent.  It is no coincidence that this is happening in Berlin.  During his lifetime Keith Haring was attracted to the metropolis on the River Spree.  In 1986 he was in charge of his large graffiti project in Berlin. At that time, Haring fashioned around 90 metres of wall at Checkpoint Charlie and his hundreds of brightly coloured matchstick figures danced away even then on the grey concrete.

The figures in the exhibition "Stahl(h)art" will be on display up to 25 November on Berlin’s elegant boulevard and can even be auctioned.  The price varies, depending on the sculpture, between US$ 35,000 and US$ 350,000. The proceeds will go to Aids research and children’s projects. (1.089 signs)

 

50 years Liberty Bell

It rang out on the first time on 24 October 1950: the Freedom Bell in the Schöneberg Town Hall. Since then it has rung every lunchtime and on Christmas Eve, New Year and on special occasions – like the ceremony to commemorate the American President John F. Kennedy in 1963 or in the night preceding 3 October 1990 – the day of German Unification.

 

The bell, a copy of the „Liberty Bell“ in Philadelphia, was presented to the Berliners 50 years ago as a gift from the American people.  They financed it from donations. From the very outset it has taken on a special meaning for the city: it was deemed to be a symbol for the fight for freedom during the blockade.  During the preparations for its 50th anniversary a crack was found in July of this year.  It was immediately silenced so as to prevent it from splitting.  On 24 October 2000 – its 50th anniversary – the bell weighing in at almost ten tonnes will ring for one last time.  It will still be on display during the anniversary celebrations before being repaired in January 2001.

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Destination of the year 2001

A major tourist highlight in 2001 is the Federal Horticultural Show in Potsdam (BUGA) which is sure to attract numerous visitors to the capital between 21 April and 7 October 2001. Even before the show opened its doors, it has already received its first award.  It has been selected as the Destination of the Year 2001. The BUGA received this prestigious award from the coach travel industry at the RDA Workshop in Cologne, outstripping its 40 competitors.  The prize donated by the publishing house Heinrich Vogel (with the two journals „Omnibusrevue“ and „Bus Aktuell“) was awarded for the second time.

 

Further information on the Federal Horticultural Show (BUGA) is available on the Internet: www.bugapotsdam2001.de or on tel.: ++49 / 331 / 2001- 0. The contact person for the press is Dr. Sigrid Sommer, tel.: ++49 / 331 / 2001 – 151.

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An island for children

What’s the solution when you visit Berlin with your child and you have to attend a conference? What happens when a child has no wish to accompany its parents on a long shopping excursion? A new Berlin service provider can help. „Kinderinsel“ (Children’s Island) is the name of the company specialising in the creative, mobile care of children. 25 employees – all state registered educators, certified teachers, freelance artists with an educational training are on hand to look after children aged between four and twelve. 

 

Whether trips lasting between three and six hours (for instance to a children’s museum, swimming pool or the zoo) or on-the-spot care in the hotel - „Kinderinsel“ has lots to offer.  The children are picked up by the carers, who of course speak several languages, in a London taxi.

 

Group care costs DM 25 per hours and child, a tour lasting six hours DM 130 DM per child (plus VAT). Further information available on: www.kinderinsel.de or from Kinderinsel GmbH on tel.: ++49 / 30 / 41 71 69 28.

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3. Events in Berlin

3.1. From Picasso to Jazz: Highlights in winter

Picasso, Cézanne, Helmut Newton: Famous names populate the exhibition programme over the next few months in Berlin. „Picasso. The Embrace“ (up to 10 December) is the name of a show in the Neue Nationalgalerie which focuses on the subject of physical proximity and encounter in the work of Pablo Picasso. The exhibition has emerged from the independent and intimate knowledge of Picasso’s son Claude Ruiz-Picasso in cooperation with the Spanish Pavilion at EXPO Hanover. Additional works by Paul Cézanne are a new attraction in the Berggruen Collection which is dedicated to painting of the classical modern age.

Helmut Newton is the subject of a major retrospective simply entitled „Work“ to mark his 80th birthday, also in the Neue Nationalgalerie. There are 350 exhibits created between 1960 and 2000. They include his erotic nudes, just as fashion photography, portraits, commissioned work and personal snapshots. The exhibition is organised by the „Deutsches Centrum für Photographie“ (German Centre for Photography).  This is currently being established and is to have its own museum in Berlin.

Further exhibitions make a trip to Berlin even more worthwhile. „After The Wall. Art and culture in post-Communist Europe“ demonstrates at two exhibition venues – Hamburger Bahnhof, Museum für Gegenwart Berlin and the Max Liebermann Haus am Pariser Platz – how young artists deal with the changes in the last ten years. More than 140 artists from 22 former eastern bloc countries are involved. Their media are photography, installations, video, performance, painting and sculpture.

In the Martin-Gropius-Bau the „Theatrum naturae et artis“ will open on 9 December.  This is a large-scale exhibition covering 300 years of the sciences in Berlin. There will be exhibits on „Nature“ and „Art“ in the crossfire of science from the mainly forgotten treasure troves of the collections of the Humboldt University.  The Staatsbibliothek takes up this theme and pays tribute to “100 years of quantum theory” with its reconstruction of the radiometric laboratory from 1895. Netd@ys Berlin-Forum in the ufa factory is a contemporary development.  Under the motto „Discover the world of the Internet via high speed data networks“ it offers discussion fora, workshops and information events for young people, adults, senior citizens, teachers and school groups.

For anyone with a penchant for historical subjects: a special show in the Märkisches Museum documents up to 30 December „50 Years since the Blasting of the Palace – Searching for clues“. For the first time outside Russia „Master works from the legendary amber room“ will be on display in Britz Palace. The highlights are two objets d’art which had been lost for 52 years and then suddenly reappeared: a chest of drawers with valuable inlaid woodwork and a Florentine mosaic made of semi-precious stones and different types of  marble.

Jazz friends traditionally reserve the first week of November for Berlin when the renowned international JazzFestBerlin is staged in the Haus der Kulturen der Welt. It will open with the WDR Big Band and a tribute to „Louis Armstrong on his 100th“ and close with the NDR Big Band and „The Theatre of Kurt Weill“. Between the two there is lots of scope for discoveries including Jazz Poetry. There will be a completely different sound at the 6th Berlin Military Music Festival to be staged for its loyal supporters in the Max-Schmeling Hall.

The second festival in November will be the Jewish Cultural Festival.   This year the programme is on the tracks of Jews in Italy, one of the oldest Jewish communities in Europe, in music, literature, theatre, exhibitions and popular ballroom concerts. A Peggy Guggenheim Night will be devoted to the „Patroness of the Avantgarde“ on 18 November. Besides other top-class artistic encounters, synagogue hymns and Klezmer music one titbit will be the Jewish-Italian food event (19.11. 14h00-20h00) at which „carciofi alla giudea“ will be on the menu. Joan Rundo (Italy) and chefs from the Brillat-Savarin School of Cooking will prepare, cook and savour these specialities together with their guests.

In December there will be plenty of music to put people in the festive spirit when churches and concert rooms ring out with baroque wind music and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio.  The opera houses will host a number of premieres. At the same time, they will provide a foretaste of the Verdi weeks in January. The new production of Giuseppe Verdi’s „Luisa Miller“ will premiere in the Deutsche Oper on 11 November.  It will be followed one week later in the Staatsoper Unter den Linden by Verdi’s „Macbeth“. The Deutsche Oper has another premiere in its programme, „The Egyptian Helena“ by Richard Strauss (13 December). Ballet enthusiasts will be served up classical fare at Christmas. On St Nicholas’ Day in the Staatsoper Unter den Linden there will be the premiere of Adolphe Adam’s famous ballet „Giselle“. A new production of the immortal „Swan Lake“ will be presented by the Komische Oper on 12 December.

The events with an original and curious background certainly include the 10th International Tattoo Convention, at which the best tattooists from around the world will come together in the Columbiahalle from 8th to 10th December to demonstrate their skills.  At the same time, „Treff 2000: Berlin’s largest school class meeting“ is to be staged. There, divided up according to year of birth and school, former Berlin pupils can get together and enjoy a colourful show (Schenk Events , tel:. ++49 / 30 / 499 97 00)

Horse riders will take over the field when the traditional International Horse Show and Show Jumping Competition, C.H.I. Berlin 2000, is staged in the Velodrom. In Berlin, the stronghold of marathon runners, the sportsmen and women won’t be giving themselves a winter break.  On Boxing Day they will be issuing an invitation to the „Goose Digestion Run“ whereas „The Doughnut Run“ will be staged on New Year’s Day

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3.2. Davidoff Gourmet Festival: Berlin chefs extend an invitation

„Attracting gourmets to Berlin” is the declared intention of the initiators and hotels taking part in the second Berlin Davidoff Gourmet Festival from 19 to 25 November 2000. Like last year this upmarket event will again offer gourmets from around the world an opportunity this autumn to completely indulge themselves.  From 19 November guests will have an opportunity to savour the specialities of international guest chefs for seven whole days in the star-studded restaurants and at the related events.

 

“Culinaria” on 20 November begins at 18h00 with the first event: the “AUDI Gourmet Safari”. 20 A8 limousines will convey around 80 gourmets from the “amuse-gueules”  to the dessert. A stop will be made at all nine participating hotels where one of the nine courses will be served along with the appropriate wines in the starred restaurants. It is then on for a “digestif” to „Harry’s New York Bar” in the Grand Hotel Esplanade. The all-inclusive price is DM 320 per person (information on tel.: ++49 / 30 / 82 09 94 60).

 

By contrast, on 21 November "comedy" is on the agenda. The party begins at 19h00 in the Hotel Bristol Kempinski. Reservations can be made on tel.: ++49 / 30 / 88 43 40 and the price for the menu is DM 295 (not including beverages). The cuisine will reflect the influence of „Austria”. The guest chef in the Kempinski Grill is Rudolf Grabner, Hotel Schloß Fuschl.

 

On its „California Night” the MS Esplanade will be casting off on 22 November at 19h30 from its landing stage.  There will be room for about 75 guests. Tickets for the trip cost DM 295 (information on tel.: ++49 / 30 / 254 78 86 17). A guest team from the hotel „Casa Del Mar“, Santa Monica (USA), headed up by Andrew Degroot, will conjure up Californian specialities.  Parallel to this there will be a „Kitchen Party” in the Hotel Palace starting at 19h30.  Anyone who ever wanted to peek into the saucepans of renowned chefs will now have an opportunity.  Reservations can be made for tickets costing DM 280 per person on tel.: ++49 / 30 / 250 20 „Eckart Witzigmann”. The star chef from the Bavarian metropolis, Munich, will be cooking with the brigade from the  „First Floor”.

 

„Swiss Wine & Dine” is the motto of the Steigenberger Parkrestaurant on 23 November. At a cost of DM 195 per person specialities from the Grisons region  can be savoured starting at 19h30.  Reservations can be made on tel.: ++49 / 30 / 21 27 06. Gotthold Seifried from St. Moritz will be cooking with the Steigenberger team.

 

Anyone who loves „DAVIDOFF” and would like to experience the ambience in the first Ritz Carlton Hotel in Germany will enjoy the „Smokers Night” during the festival. This special event can be booked on tel.: ++49 / 30 / 89 58 40 and costs DM 265 per person. The motto of the cuisine is fiery and Mexican. José Mejia from Cancun (Mexico) will create interesting compositions together with the team from the restaurant Vivaldi. Start: 19h30.

 

Again on the 23rd the Grand Hyatt Hotel will be extending an invitation on  Potsdamer Platz. For DM 290 per person “Food & Fashion” can be booked on tel.: ++49 / 30 / 255 30. The cuisine: Australian! The gastronomic star comes from Sydney and his name is David Thompson. He will be cooking for one week in the Restaurant VOX with the Hyatt team. The event begins at 19h30.

 

The night of „Pommery Champagne” will be staged on 24 November starting at 19h30 in the Adlon Hotel Berlin. With a splendid view of the Brandenburg Gate, guests can let themselves be pampered for DM 380 per person with French „haute cuisine”. The 3-star chef Haeberlin from the gourmet restaurant „Auberge de l’Ill" will put his stamp on the Adlon cuisine.  Reservations can be made on tel.: ++49 / 30 / 226 10.

 

The Hotel Inter-Continental Berlin will be staging the „Grand Finale” on 25 November at 19h30. Like last year all the kitchen teams will jointly prepare the final meal of the festival.  Nine hotels, nine teams, nine courses – surprise yourself.  Reservations can be made on tel.: ++49 / 30 / 260 20 for a price of DM 390 per person.  The „Hugenotte Cusine” during the festival will be under traditional French influence.  Jean-Marie Gautier from Biarritz will launch the offering.

 

The only restaurant to take part in the gourmet festival is again this year „VAU”. Martin dal Sass from the restaurant “Santabbondio”, Sorengo/Switzerland will be the guest chef there for seven days.  Tables can be booked on tel.: ++39 / 30 / 202 97 30. (4.623 signs)

3.3. Current events November to December

 

FROM	TO		EVENT		ORGANISER
Up to	10.12.00	Picasso. The Embrace. Exhibition with 120 works (Portraits, drawings, graphic art and sculptures) Venue: Neue Nationalgalerie		Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (030) 20 90 55 55
Up to	17.12.00	Masters of German Poster Art. Exhibition in the Brücke-Museum		Brücke-Museum (030) 831 20 29
Up to	30.12.00	50 Years since the Demolition of the Palace – Searching for Clues. Exhibition in the Märkisches Museum		Stiftung Stadtmuseum (030) 24002-162
Up to	13.01.01	JEFF KOONS. Exhibition		Deutsche Guggenheim Berlin (030) 20 20 93 11
Up to	14.01.01	CÉZANNE in Berlin. Venue: Berggruen Collection		Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (030) 20 90 55 55
Up to	04.02.01	AFTER THE WALL. Art of the 1990s: From Berlin to Baku, from Tallinn to Tirana. Photos, installations, video, performance, painting and sculpture. Exhibition in the Hamburger Bahnhof - Museum für Gegenwart.		Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (030) 20 90 55 55
Up to	25.02.01	"Die Brücke". Master works from the collection of the Brücke-Museum.		Brücke-Museum (030) 831 20 29
31.10.00	06.01.01	Helmut Newton. Photography. Exhibition in the Neue Nationalgalerie.		Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (030) 20 90 55 55
03.11.00	17.12.00	7 Shopping Weekends 2000. Shopping and more on 7 weekends before Christmas		7 Shopping-Weekends (030) 315 95 042
27.11.00	26.12.00	Christmas Market City on Breitscheidplatz		Schausteller-Verband e.V. (030) 213 32 90
27.11.00	26.12.00	Nostalgic Christmas Market at the Opernpalais Unter den Linden		Operncafé Unter den Linden GmbH (030) 20 26 83
28.11.00	23.12.00	Spandau Christmas Market		AG Altstadt Spandau (030) 333 83 77
03.12.00	04.02.01	Christmas Mangers from Europe. Exhibition		Ethnologisches Museum (030) 8301 231
05.12.00	30.01.01	NATURE PHOTOS OF THE YEAR 2000 organised by the BBC Wildlife Magazine amongst others		Museum für Naturkunde (030) 20 93-85 91
08.12.00	10.12.00