The 16th Herrenhäuser Gespräche, initiated by the VolkswagenStiftung and the radio station NDR Kultur, picked out ‚Islam today – a religion in transition‘ as a central theme. The small-sized studio of the NDR broadcasting centre located at the Rudolf-von-Benningsen-Ufer is packed. Presumably, a factor not only due to the Finger-Food-Buffet in connection with the discussion. It becomes obvious real soon
So it happened that last week was stamped by some cinematic events which gave me food for thought. In retrospect all movies had things in common: They were about culture. They were about money. They were about power. They were about ‘walking in somebody else’s shoes’ and about understanding. First of all there was “The pig from Gaza”. What the
Having a visitor is generally known as the best reason to get to know one’s own place better and to discover (so far) hidden action. That’s what happened last weekend, when I had a visitor from Westphalia. The sightseeing-tour starte in the city of Brunswieck, lead then to (old) Wolfsburg, went through an extensive Elm-Tour incl. a visit to the
Shortly, I had the chance to pass an extended weekend in Southern Bavaria with a side trip to Austria. From the place of departure “Rott am Inn” we undertook four wonderful and amazing hillwalkings, which can also be managed by “city dwellers” like me. We undertook the following trips: the first day we climbed the Brecherspitze. The second day we
From April 19th to July 29th, 2012 one could gaze at a little bit of “Ancient Egypt in Brunswieck”. Set up by the Brunswieck Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum a small but nice special exhibition could be marvelled at displayed at the bower of the Dankwarderode castle with almost 120 mostly small formated ancient egyptian objects. The statue of Pharao Philippos III.
Last year I reported from Fashon-Mekka Munich, by detecting shopaholic Arabs coming obviously from the rich Gulf-states. In the meantime it seems that the caravan moved on – to nearby Austria. Tom y absolute surprise I spotted them now in swanky Zell am See and Salzburg as well as at the Krimmler Waterfalls. On the way I noticed the expression
Stereotypes are often made within public discourse and are even more often intensified in it. Witnessed just yesterday in the cinema. The movie Salmon fishing in Jemen is a classical example for this argumentation. Even though the film is quite diverting and the plot definitely charming, the contents is full of clichés. What can be gathered out of it, seems
With the drama “The Promise” director Kominsky produced an unbelievable compact, differentiated and brave movie. Obviously, Kominsky puts the spectator in the role of a self reflective attitude towards the decribed events, which excluds an one-sided perspective onto the action and the characters by putting the audience in the place and the constraints of the protagonists, trying to make them
The Ruhr Valley (the so called Ruhrpott) is a region in Nordrhein-Westfalen (western part of Germany), which is packed with big cities. It is actually the most densely populated area of Germany. In the 20th century the area was most of all know for its coals mines and industrial sites. At the end of the 20th century the coal mines
“Formerly the notability von pulled in coming from the Gelsenkirchener Straße and were welcomed in the Court of Honor to visit the ‘cathedral of the heavy industry’”, with such words or the like our experienced tour guide starts our way through mine XII of the “Zeche Zollverein” in the city of Essen. Surely, the simple worker never caught sight of