bloodlines usa is all its way to bring you more conservation playground only makes it is greener how can we protect habitats to make a difference global mining goes fundamental series of games mostly 1000 on g.w. that long line. it's impossible to overlook the holiday season is in full swing there are sparkling lights all over berlin but that's about the only thing that's just like years past

in the run up to christmas and times of covert 90. there are hardly any tourists sent to the grand bowl of ours may be merry and bright but there are a few people around to enjoy them. plenty of christmas trees though like this one in front of the brandenburg gate. the difference this year is especially apparent on john diamond one of the most beautiful squares in the city this place is usually hopping in december it's the site of a popular christmas market but due to the pandemic it was of course cancelled this year. and spite of it all i'm on the hunt for a berlin's christmas spirit are people in

a festive mood at all where does the city shine brightest and with christmas markets cancelled where do i get my annual fix of gingerbread boy let's find out. we're going to pay a visit to $1.00 of berlin's most elegant hotels the outline. will also make a stop at the historic kinds of them had a memorial church. and we'll catch up with globe trotters steve heinous and the portuguese capital lisbon. traditional christmas markets were called off even before the most recent shutdown was announced but individual booths like these are still permanent. side of it how

do you feel about christmas markets being canceled it's sad yes really a shame this. one i'm a big fan of christmas markets for now we'll have to make do with what we've got and hope things will be better next year for. all couldn't get an alternative set up like this substitute for the real thing. no of course not this is just a compromise it's better than nothing but it's nothing like a traditional christmas market have been fresh and it's really sad that we don't have the regular holiday markets this year. but under the circumstances to protect our health and safety i think it is absolutely acceptable. on so are you doing anything special to try and get into the spirit of things do you have any tips for us let's not be alone be the target of everything if we just moved into an apartment together. and we've decided to put up decorations and stuff like that to add a little christmas cheer and

a bad rustam i'm sorry. we need an advent calendar things like that to get into the spirit on the 1st sunday of advent we had waffles coffee and cake just like always we're sticking to our usual traditions i used to give. the difference in many spots around town a striking it's so quiet potsdamer platz normally bustling with crowds it's almost deserted usually you'd find a colorful christmas market here too complete with ice skating rink and sled run. the major traditional christmas markets and might not take place this year but when it comes to the festive season people in germany can get quite inventive here's a look at some socially distanced alternatives to germany's time honored christmas

favorites. snow christmas lights was a chestnut this may look like a typical christmas market but there's at least one major difference in the varying town of launching this year to traditional christmas market is a drive through on. what. i think we just had to christmas is our favorite holiday and we want to make the most of it this one might be right we're looking forward to christmas and want to get into the spirit of the season and we're hungry. whether they come for a traditional treat or to just soak up the atmosphere it's been a huge hit patrick smith had the idea to close in this restaurant to take over restrictions. and everyone is so happy birthday ring to us even when they have to wait no one seems to mind that some actually like waiting it gives them a chance to hang a road and enjoy themselves 10 or 15 minutes longer for the meeting

a good reason going to. visitors can pick up traditional brought worse cotton candy and a lot of other treats without leaving the walk in safety of their own vehicles there's even more why didn't thermos flask on offer for those who want behind the we'll of course some travel quite a distance for the pleasure of a trip to the drive and market. we want to support this market and there's not much else around going to come for dinner and some mulled wine well not for me the driver we're here to give our kids a. of christmas get them in the holiday spirit. their restrictions to curb the spread of the corona virus have gravely affected the

tourism sector hotels are among the businesses hit the hardest at berlin's luxury hotel adlon there are more employees than guest these days but that didn't stop them from decking the halls. in these empty chairs there are usually people from all over the world enjoying afternoon tea. i have an appointment with a hotel manager that. has a right it's old beautiful you decorated but for home do you have any guests at the moment. that's if you do have guests as many normally had this time of year that's about 20 rooms are booked that's a 6 percent occupancy rate. to create christmas yet in this year for the guests and staff to spread a little joy. among the guests of the so very few guests how do you sustain

a hotel of this size during a crisis financially. we're not breaking even of course but a hotel like this would also cost a lot of money to operate even if you close temporarily but decided to make a statement of sorts to make it clear that the open all guests that are still able to come and want to send to our regular customers business travelers. that we are there for them and we will provide them our usual service and you came up with a very special thank you for the pandemics frontline heroes tell me more than once it's been hard on us sure but the. take a moment to think about the people who are really making the difference in these difficult times it is clearly those working in our health care system people who work day and night to save other people's lives and nursed them back to health. so we thought what can we do to shore appreciation and to give something back the answer was obvious as

a hotel we could offer them complementary stays but that's what we did on the how was the response enormous overwhelming within 34 days the 1000 overnights days you offered were all booked and a waiting list was started half of just days have already been redeemed more than half of our health care heroes have come to stay here in our hotel that everything because to ensure they enjoyed themselves it's been incredible this one against one of the things like the pandemic and the restrictions that followed the tourism and berlin on hold but that's not entirely true in the midst of the 2nd lockdown the long awaited new berlin airport opened its doors to the world and you can also now visit the reconstructed berlin palace my colleagues look at stake i went and checked out. my 1st stop the so-called b.t.r.

berlin's major airport it is only been in operation since october 31st. so touristic when speaking this is the very latest berlin has to offer. this is the terminal building and i got to say it's neither beautiful nor ugly it's just an airport and it's not particularly big if you consider that the whole thing was designed for around 46000000 passengers a year. however as you can see. it is of little use at the moment there are only a handful of travelers clete the pandemic hit the airport hard in addition it was opened with an unbelievable 9 years dealing with league play. and on the runway

hardly any movement. it's. as you can see there is hardly anything going on here so let's see if it's different in the city center. plane. people people in the local people playing and that's the new old palace the so-called homeboy form to me it kind of looks like a film set a little bit unreal. 3 ceasars of the palace where once prussian rulers resided or built in a struggle to start only one side is very modern. i like this trickle facades

better but many people have a completely different opinion. so the reconstruction is controversial mainly because of the reproduction of the historical facade for i am permitted to enter the courtyard the head of the opening the once completely destroyed palace has been rebuilt since 2012 there are only a few scaffolding left who vote for room or limb palace what is it actually as a basic it is primarily a center for culture and science there are exhibitions will hold events and have a culture education program will consequently top. world cultures it's the homo level it's our questions we're leaving to democracy and the environment there's an exhibition on how berlin and the world are interconnected another about the fascinating history of this site over the course of 700 years it's 4 different buildings including the whole forum is located at this site of the 1st dominican

monastery in the whole solar palace in this east germany's parliament and now the humble foreign home which is now almost part of this history there what's the biggest attraction for tourists here what is there to see and to give the here you come on as i say no if the president of iraq should launch a courtyard reconstructed on 3 sides is a brand new part of berlin just waiting to be discovered then there's the north south passageway and the palace itself so. allegedly the homeward form will open soon and that's a glimmer of hope jury was locked out. until mid december stores in germany were still open for christmas shopping. always making sure to keep that distance between mass shoppers and i'm encouraged it be probably berlin's most famous department store. it 1st opened its doors over

a 100 years ago. on the 4th floor it's christmas the lower every kind of decoration imaginable everything you could wish for and more. it seems like business as usual to me but this is nothing compared to what they're used to. according to store manager t.-mo favor. i mean how noticeable is the absence of tourists in the store. very bare leaners those from the surrounding areas account for about 50 percent of the revenue the rest is generated by visitors from elsewhere in germany europe and the

rest of the world so we are noticing the difference at the moment we're flying the christmas flag so to speak for billionaires to come here and feel and enjoy a sense of normality. no money normality but only to some degree only 3000 people are allowed in the store at a time how do you keep track digital monitors at the doors count people as they come in that shows us how many are inside at any given time and our team also keep a close watch on things. the well you know right now barbara lin are still coming here to davey or have you noticed a reluctance in people to spend time indoors during the pandemic once inside the pony mustafa's honestly believe no i feel that we're leaders are supporting us standing by us we see plenty of evidence of that it is wonderful but 1st thing in the morning you see someone had 2 words the cheese counter for a little chat because they may spend most of their time at home and have very

little social interaction lives on here the seals deficit cheerful have to engage in conversation and out how they're doing that's what we're here for to. keep in touch talk to people and offer of customers nice things to take home with no evidence of us then what's the biggest challenge for the store in the current situation i think of them i think there are many different kinds of challenges to this the 1st thing is respecting the regulations safety is priority number one and i think we're doing very well at maintaining safety that's been there you can tell that from the feedback we're getting be that from the authorities or getting off to discover foreign lands is not really an option for most people due to the coronavirus pandemic but our globe trotters steve came this just couldn't wait any longer. and then of course our goal is to build the store with the magic of christmas so that the visitors feel good when they're here relaxed and happy. and

headed to portugal and the capital lisbon he wanted to know what people there are doing to get in the mood for christmas. welcome to portugal where i'm spending winter this year due to the pandemic today i am in lisbon in the run up to christmas with my local friend how well i actually met 8 years ago travelling through bolivia and now he's going to show me how the portuguese are celebrating this time of the and that's why we are actually here in front of a church it's usually all the traditional portuguese christmas starts right fortunately still largely very catholic country and so the traditional way to learn to live it is you should fostering today and then you meet with all your family and all the community inside the church for a special service called me and then after the service you can go to your respective family house and have a feast with you your own family's ok to go in and check it out let's go right.

christmas wouldn't be christmas without christmas pastries and why we have the style in germany you have the bowls i will bring whole day is the super traditional christmas red. that's usually been made with crystallise fruits on top so it's very colorful and also as dry truths and rights insights and it was invented right here at the victory in us you know right in the heart of these. are so let's finally try it so let's try.

well. just like all german christmas about. week christmas eve not. just. in germany we have christmas markets do you have anything like this your movement may not in the same sounds but usually what happens is this whole downtown area where it's very much a shopping and curious question here every shop gets decorated and then you can see that's all the special lights and the christmas tree so usually people just to have a waltz and enjoy the christmas episode. let's talk about christmas dinner some might say the most important part about the whole christmas eve when we actually came to

a more traditional restaurant here in this bend to try something you would actually have for christmas dinner but not in a restaurant i would i would say read never in the restaurant you always have christmas dinner with your own family but still this is it would be exactly what you have called fish we just some vegetables around chick peas potatoes some cabbage sometimes. very down to earth and very typical and this was all chili in the past somewhat expensive cut so families would really save up. so they could afford but they go for the christmas you know you can so it's not christmas eve i would say let's enjoy it that's against. drunkeness whole christmas experience we have a tradition no. writer can see cherry leaker call this using our young fans so that not all fish.

thank you. for many people around the world the christmas season is a time of contemplation and celebration of their faith. and friend of the kind of the home the morial church star shaped ornaments with personal wishes written on them remind us how quickly the ordinary can become something extraordinary this person wishes they could spend christmas with their grandparents.

for many going to church is an air of both people element of christmas but will services be possible in the midst of a pandemic. gamma has been the memorial church's pastor for 15 years as one of our none of us has ever experienced a christmas season quite like this one how is it been for you. fortunately we are allowed to worship together and that's what will take us to on christmas eve a lot of it will be our only service is mid day and sunday at night and something we have already been doing for during the advent season has been said on weekdays we hold mid-day prayer services there are fewer people in attendance the usual police can tell that those who come on are really appreciative that's the view that means a lot to them and we think it will be the same on chris. first thing we have done

also is on the economy what service like in times of the coronavirus what care and what can't be done. from what i met on does it was 1st of all we maintain want to have meter distance between chairs no one to sit side by side of as your only good but that's a certain quality of it's own you focus more on yourself and perceive those around you differently with the thought of we're not allowed to sing so instead we have the organ sing for us if you will the and then we can either sing along in our heads or i read the words aloud to the music order. this interesting this gives us a new sense of the text which can be very positive of course and for the 3rd i know i get the volume of my the thanks currently our service is a shorter than usual because we leave things out that would normally be part of the services but that in turn helps us focus more intently aprile for those who were on board the come on our thought of what was quite simply on this count among all this

can you even get in the mood for christmas or is there something missing. it does pretty well i'm curious to see how things develop from my experience as a pastor i can see that true christmas spirit emerges when we really began to celebrate it before that we're busy organizing the preparing everything and that's not the same as the christmas celebration itself i think we reach christmas eve and christmas day we will find ourselves in a festive mood and then hopefully we can leave the hustle and bustle in a few of our troubles behind and focus on what christmas is really about is important to remember that some christmas god became man born as a child in the manger works in a makeshift shelter cooper begun considering that of things here is still pretty home on this it all began under normal circumstances well that's what's nice about it what does the through now. most of them providing already way back when happy

holidays thank you too i just. need. 'd 'd one brunch at platts right next to the church some scattered stalls are doing their best to spread a little christmas cheer. merry inscrutable over and again i think what mulled wine please. and at least some things haven't changed. after all that 2020 has put us through i almost didn't believe it possible but my little stroll through berlin who really didn't get me in the mood for christmas there's something comforting about all those shimmering lights although of course

the cheerful crowds are missing hopefully next year we can all get back to how things used to be happy holidays and they say wherever you maybe.

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daughter. went missing on event on was just 3 years old the mother was kidnapped in argentina and since then her mind has been consumed with searching in full public feeling. about the county alabama and doesn't want to be just the daughter of an abducted me anymore. to 30 minutes on d w. how does a virus spread. why do we panic and when will all this and trying to just through the topics covered and we could read your part the show is called spectrum if you would like any information on the coronavirus or any other science topic you should

really check out our podcast you can get it wherever you get your podcast you can also find us at d.f.w. dot com and slash science. in the far north. beyond the inhabitable world it's lonely berent. and breathtakingly beautiful the arctic our full expanse of bitter cold. and the sound of global warming. we took a journey around the north pole meet profiteers and talk with people experiencing a changing environment the ice disappears earlier and it keeps retreating it k. here's the last years have been smelling rough. makes it hard let's face it.

our future depends on what happens here in one of the most fragile ecosystems on earth. northern lights place within the arctic circle starts december 21st w. this is d w news and these are our top stories british prime minister boris johnson has announced tighter restrictions on millions of people amid a surge in the number of corona virus cases london and southeastern england will be placed in a new tier 4 warning level non-essential retailers will close and people will be required to stay home except for essential reasons such as work and grocery shopping. israeli prime minister binyamin netanyahu has become the most high ranked.