i'm trying to reach them but nobody and since the war on myself were two forty three starts december h o n t w. i wrote a welcome to another exciting week of your max i'm your host meghan lee we're gearing up for the christmas season here's a look at what's coming up. cool and colorful ice sculptures and video installations on show in the felton city of group. old and new young musicians i mean that album rocks the harpsichord. spicy and sweet the traditional christmas

market and gingerbread street in the german city of. in the run up to christmas europe is full of wintertime events celebrating the season well in the belgian city of brewers visitors can now admire dozens of ice sculptures in the shapes of dragons lions and various fantasy figures while the creatures are also accompanied by light installation some forty artists from seven countries are taking part and we travel to bruges to get a closer look but anyone who visit should bundle up this festival takes place at a minus ten degrees celsius. fantastical creatures made of ice bronson life with video installations. for the last four weeks forty artists hammered chiseled and filed the ice sculptures in bruges. make a a fatal tough made

a huge monster from this ice block and much faster than you may expect from a big sculpture of a hard choice for example fire for big. reason we would call full fifty feet national guard. the artists reworked a total of five hundred tons of ice which had been previously produced over a period of three months in a nearby factory i sculpting requires a high level of precision and care. doors are very sharp where the chainsaw is pretty dangerous so many. really dangerous ideas are you. so of cause i have good people i am on many many things and a further challenge is the temperature the artists have to work in the freezing hall where air temperatures are well below zero most of them are from russia or ukraine where your focus on your world view don't feel the cold because it's

actually is not so bold the weather just minus there it's not a bit but. still after two hours in the cold it's time to warm up my sculpting is something these artists mainly do in winter in summer they work with sand. this year a huge video installation has been added to the ice sculpture exhibit for the first time. to video artists created a light show using nine hundred fifteen l.e.d. screens. the artist eurisko talent is from belgium. normally he creates light shows for big d.j.'s at music festivals working with a half transparent backdrop like ice is new for him. the main challenge here is that the screen is very wide. over all the whole so yeah it is

a very high resolution it's something new and something i never did before visuals we had ice at first i was sleeping like. this on a bit weird because you really see the spirit in the war but now it's really like a nice let's not give a lot of depth to the good of israel. it's a new digital dimension for this festival which an expanded to man has been organizing for sixteen years. for us it's very exciting because as we used conflicts among the lights and now we have this intelligent system with the let's streams it's a whole new dimension in the world of i spoke to the it's rather spectacular. and it's this magical mixture that attracts the does the tears those who are willing to brave the cold. air from the subway or pat mcgrath or not we are here. we cannot say it never arrived on our wire guys because the first time that i could

think what six thirty eight. said they did experience ace every lives ice we are ice cold. the ice counter making if either tough is happy with the results of his hard work or to miss more mobile focus point because we really love what we do here for everybody flipping. phaedo tough and the other artists cannot spend too much time on winding next week they already have to move on to the next ice sculpture festival in germany visitors can still see the show in bruges until the beginning of january. looks pretty amazing ok we turn our attention now to a quick roundup of other culture news making headlines. on sunday composer ludovico i know he was awarded the twenty eighteen truffle of

the year at the eighty eighth international white truffle fair in the italian city of. the prize is awarded annually for outstanding services to the region surrounding on about. right now to receive the award for his soundtrack for the film nina's story. it's part of a contemporary art project by larry go back to. the music was recorded at a church in. germany rock legend joe linden that has reopened the rock on top use e.-m. in his hometown of cornell the museum in north rhine-westphalia has undergone a yearlong renovation with its new concepts in museums hopes to attract more visitors there's memorabilia from all areas of rock and pop music a multimedia show and new themed areas devoted to topics including touring live on

stage and punk and rebellion. jauntily promoters opera and r.t.c. was staged as part of the baroque days festival at berlin state opera house simon rattle conductor good lyrical tragedy which featured stage design lighting and costumes by acclaimed icelandic danish artist for leo sun the production was directed in choreographed by a letter columns. a tailor forbidden passion is the opera from seventeen thirty three combines elements of greek mythology like jealousy and virtue and in the end love wins out. the woman in our next report is working to revive a long forgotten instrument the harpsichord now it had its heyday during the broke era but that faded with the advent of the piano well now harpsichordist and lena

alba combines music from the seventeenth and twenty first centuries her goal is to break old stereotypes regarding the harpsichord and help give it a new lease on life. does playing an instrument that's been obsolete for the last two hundred years automatically make you old fashioned you know all about dozen things out. she plays the harpsichord a string keyboard instrument that was widely used in by rock music then in the late eighteenth century the piano took center stage and relegated the harpsichord to the history books today it's generally only used to play early music. is really ghana twenty years i'd like to reach

a point where people no longer say that's that's new music let's call it hope classical romantic but instead just say we make music i just happened to pay the harpsichord but it could just as well be something else that i played music that exists that interests me found more than saying i play music written until seven hundred fifty and that saying out. loud the miller club in munich the on some will continuum is warming up founded the group in twenty fifteen they perform an eclectic mix of the rock classical and hip hop on historical instruments. family lives is nearly foreign now smart enough to well you don't see them not enough there is the brain drain life is now still something still change and i used to love again to have the mines and we look for ten years that make the harpsichord sound different and present it in another way than fits the north which always

sounds very similar maybe too similar for guys out of it's so in his but when you take a piece of paper and lay it across the harpsichord you can just. and that's very dry and muted because it's damp and. then it sounds like indicate tempest tempest like this. in our bar counter fellow musicians are all virtual on their historical instruments but they want to break out of the small early music scene without betraying. the daughter of a church music director. started playing the harpsichord when she was five when she

began school she wanted to play the piano but that didn't last long she graduated in early music and was already teaching at a distance college of music by the time she was in her mid twenty's she's traveled the world with half the court. at the camp of continue on sambal experiments with spoken word sounds and music dating from the seventeenth century to the present. using a milk from far on the catona children's toys as percussion instruments and a piece of paper to play a glissando on the harpsichord strings. and use it must fulfill just one criterion it must move the listeners. ideally when you're sitting on stage or alone at home and you start playing time ceases to exist and this being

a month. after that moment you have the feeling that you can take everything into your own hands allison who can stop time or speed it up again for the show. in spite of the wonderful sounds it makes then anyone composed his music from home sick all day stands and you know it's a shame and she ends to change that she believes historical instruments deserve to have a future. time now to take a trip thanks to a request from formosa in argentina that is where our viewer on hello satara nino gomez lives and he would like to know more about the spanish capital drib which has really taken off as a top tourist destination over the last couple of years and this is due in part to

relatively low prices for food and accommodation and a large variety of things to do from culture to sightseeing plus an efficient of public transport system allows tourists to cover lots of ground now i recently traveled to meet up with a local resident and blogger my fellow did not pena who offered us some insider tips on how to best explore the city. madrid a sprawling metropolis with architecture representing several centuries a drive down the main broad view boulevard gives visitors an impression of the energetic vibe of the spanish capital. looking to directly in the center of town the possum by yours madrid's main square it's a popular gathering place filled with cafes public relations manager my fellow do a lot pena was born and raised here in her spare time she writes

a blog giving tourists insider tips. on a good italian have a day i would definitely suggests a bit of a good job one of my visit to one of the three major cities even we have in my dreams like the brad though that i'm just a few out of the distance a i would also suggest a shopping because opposite from the big and the well known as spanish brands that everybody knows we also have in the us a lemon got to stick to really nice shops of spanish brands and the third thing i would suggest medical is i mean. the account of tommy gallo is located just a few meters away from the plus in my yard the structure dates back to nineteen sixteen unlike other spanish markets this is not a place to do ordinary grocery shopping but rather a venue to enjoy and a ray of spanish delicacy.

that doesn't mean he's been a tourist they say and as you can see there are a lot of people on at every hour of the day it was a million like it that they have it and we know they did it and the good thing is that you have a like all the good choices of spanish guests rather especially the a baker house. following marcello's second tip we head to the shopping district of salamanca this is madrid's most exclusive sun. with small boutiques which offer unique items that are hard to find anywhere else. marcello's blog also outlines where tourists can go if they're in search of authentic spanish the sign. my name is very good to push up in a mass. neighborhood for that and you would find like very expensive good takes like this one where they said very fashion leather backs with spanish leather of

course. for tourists interested in taking in some culture the prada museum or the to sin born to me says private collection or the renaissance fia must be put on the list of places to go. to render sophia museum opened in one thousand nine hundred ninety two and houses contemporary art including icon of the twentieth century. kabul picasso's guernica depicting the one thousand nine hundred thirty seven bombing of the town in the basque country. we have five great collection of said that it's probably sad a piece like that he'd like the door but one good piece might have led to. a collection that means it without the sticky issues being sweet because we. wanted to show that the school started coming in so what do we get past but if it has to do with depression. the best way to round off

a day of sightseeing image or it is by heading back to the city center to the well known street of. this is where numerous toughest bars are located the spanish typically eat top of the snack between meals and they are always served with a treat. in the way that does nowadays is very common i learned many people know that the original the word is. because when the only times when you i mean your stores are doing they would serve it with a clover like this in which would be a bit of a tease are nowadays when you ask for stuff that's a make and serve you something like these you know we have a little bit of cheese we have turkey so and we have great steaks. madrid might have a big city feel to it but life here moves at a slow leisurely pace and then there's also with jurors and enjoy when visiting this city. most certainly everyone

knows his or her zodiac sign but i don't find it at night is nearly impossible for the untrained eye so good thing the first harbor for hans engels offers us a bit of help with his images over the skies above southern germany. gemini the twins in the night sky above upper bavaria scorpio over a lake i must say in central europe the constellation is only half visible. this is photographer hunts and goes on olympia barragan munich's olympic park. normally he takes pictures of architecture or the munich philharmonic but stars have always been his passion. he was less interested in star signs until he became an expert in navigating the zodiac. does happen sistine this is to much of system it's like a clock in the sky and one revolution equals one year if you learn to read it you

can say exactly when each zodiac sign will be visible to seen. but often the signs aren't easy to recognize. using digital editing and saying those enhanced them by connecting their stars. can come at how some signs really look like what they represent leo and gemini for instance you can really see the lion and the twins but other constellations are more abstract like aries it's just a bad line. angles captured all twelve signs of the zodiac in the sky above but the area is snapped capricorn standing atop olympia barragan munich's olympic park using the city below as a source of light. playing with exposure time is just one of the tricks of the photographer's sleeve. if the mood of the moon helps the moon needs to be in the

right spot and have the right size moon or full moon and sell it when you can see just enough light in your landscape while still leaving the sky dark enough so you can see the stars. you took on seeing those three years to take good pictures of all twelve zodiac signs. the resulting photos are now available for purchase and dangles already has ideas for where he'd next like to capture his stars. and finally the first christmas markets are starting to open to the public here in germany and one of the best ones is located in the western german city of aachen with the famous cathedral as a backdrop here you'll find a special kind of junior bread known as printing while the recipe dates back centuries and its tradition carries on to this day and that is why we have put it

first on our list of goodies for this week's series. auctions christmas market mys in the heart of the historic old town around the city home more than half the stalls sell christmas decorations and gifts but there are also plenty of cullen area tractions like hearty savory food and mulled wine and punch also sweet gingerbread pastry and often specialty lochner print on as they're called here as a giant gingerbread man i'm the star attraction the roots didn't i was i from up we have to try the spice flavored printer so i know the normal ones from all but the ones with spices are really something special sauce with stone mites darkness i mulled wine and something tasty to eat a snickers for me the essence of some christmas market. this is what the market

looks like during the day in the center city hall built on the foundations of charlemagne's palace. the cut off square and often cathedral are situated south of city hall the unesco listed building is the city's most famous landmark. the nobis bakery operates one of the one hundred fifty stalls it has been producing gingerbread according to the original recipe since eight hundred fifty eight. nowadays they also come with nuts omens chocolate icing or even in the shape of charlemagne. just as the special thing about our going to print is that they have to be made within city limits that has to do with rules which exist in germany linking the product to its geographical origin that means the designation of origin is or. at the back of the stand your a shorter is demonstrating how to make bits and there are no plantain filled with

mars' of. the exact recipe is a carefully guarded secret but the brown dough includes flour and baking powder and three different kinds of sugar syrup icing sugar and rock sugar and spices of course and a seed cloves coriander cinnamon and all spice also known as come into each baker has his or her own special mixture next the dough has to be rolled out. of the traditional normal print came for a long time because they don't include any ingredients that can spoil the eggs cream milk or butter. but. after fourteen minutes in the oven the prints are ready and can be decorated with knots or covered with chocolate what is this called clinton. clinton ok it's nice i think it's got some knots in it. i thought it's a chocolate but it's a mix of

a chocolate and something else it's nice we have to simulate different. sweets like this one and so do i and the how the one in the cinema. so we like it. like two christmas tastes. if the hustle and bustle of the christmas market is too much for you you can visit often cathedral. the finesse i thought that's how they find it really quaint here this will cozy old town and they like the fact that there's no trashy stuff and none of the bustle of a christmas fair. and that's what makes a trip to often during the admin season so popular with visitors they can experience a traditional christmas market and i'm historic city. something

for everyone there and before we go we want to let you in on this week's drop now in light of the beginning christmas season we are highlighting traditions and one we'd like to honor is the song silent night now it's been translated into around three hundred languages and dialects and we would like to hear your version just go to our website to see how to take part and by doing so you can qualify to win a cd and original wooden christmas pyramid and with that we are out of time from me and the rest of the current euro max as always thanks for tuning in and we will see you again tomorrow. next time on your own max delicacies from the north sea island of. your highness king and john from the paramount from the serving hope restaurant has just been named to germany's chefs of the year in the twenty nine team edition of the renowned restaurant guard me ok. chefs use local produce forster's and mussels from

the north sea plants that grow on the arm of authentic christine from missouri next time i'm here i'm just. trying. to. follow for.

the to. cut the move. and to for conflict zone with jim sebastian faulks challenging those in power asking tough questions demanding of some. folks as conflicts intensify i'll be meeting with kid players on the ground in the sensors and. coaching through the rhetoric holding the fossil to account for the conflicts. conflict zones with tim sebastian. on t.w.x. . a continent is reinventing itself.

as africa's tech scene discovers it's true potential. inventors entrepreneurs and high tech professionals talk about their vision successes and day to day business to feel good the feast in everyone's slow food. seems to me our focus from the first i was hooked. digital africa starts december twelfth w. is respect. it's above.

presumably a christmas. the club movie shuffle played. hooky from up above. the bowling glib. long long cold play. respect.

this is news coming to you from. calm as ukraine imposes martial util in a free software drosh give says moscow has entered a new phase of aggression after it sees ukrainian naval ships off the crimean peninsula moscow has rejected a german offer to mediate. coming up.