Travel
The Europe Traveler's top picks for the weekend of Feb. 4-5, 2017.
Stars and Stripes
January 27, 2017
Time to plan some weekend fun. Here are the Europe Traveler's recommendations for the weekend of Feb. 4-5 and beyond.
Air + Style Festival Location: Olympia World, Innsbruck, Austria
Date: Feb. 3-4 (snowboarding qualifications 4:30 p.m.-10 p.m. Feb. 3; snowboarding main competition 12:30 p.m.-10 p.m. Feb. 4)
Freestyle snowboarding and live music combine for an action-packed weekend. A gigantic ramp ensures viewers miss none of the action. The live acts across two stages include Biffy Clyro, Bilderbuch, The Naked and Famous and many others. A family zone includes a snowboard ramp where would-be boarders can get a taste for the sport. Food trucks provide revellers with the energy to go another round.
Admission: Entry 69 euros adults; five euros ages 6-13 (max. two children per adult).
Pateekesweek (Pastry Week)Location: Antwerp, Belgium
Dates: Feb. 3-12
The word “pateeke” means pastry in the local dialect. During a full 10 days, guests can get to know the city through its pastry shops, coffee houses and tea rooms both big and fancy and those that are locals’ best-kept secrets. This year’s theme is that of innovation.
Admission: Tasting is done by means of purchase of a “pateekespas” at a cost of 10 euros. The pass contains 10 vouchers redeemable at the participating shops. The retail value of the goodies purchased separately exceeds the cost of the pass.
Website: antwerpenkoekenstad.be/pateekesweek/
Vinterjazz 2017 (Winter Jazz)Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Dates: Feb. 3-26
The first major jazz festival of the calendar year offers about 600 concerts at more than 125 venues not only in the capital city but across Denmark. The festival traditionally kick-starts the season for the venues, performers and listening public alike. Performers hailing from the U.S. include Jonatha Brooke, The Jeff “Tain” Watts Trio, Kurt Rosenwinkel Bandit 65, Nick Waterhouse, Melissa Stylianou, and Baritone Blow Up featuring Gary Smulyan.
Admission: Concerts priced individually; for example, The Jeff “Tain” Watts trio concert on at the DR Koncerthuset Feb. 10 costs 150 Danish Krone ($21.70) plus fees.
Website: http://jazz.dk/en/vinterjazz-2017/frontpage
Birmingham Big Brum Record FairLocation: Birmingham South and City College, High Street, Digbeth, Birmingham
Date: From 10 a.m. Feb. 4
Buyers from throughout the U.K., Europe, Japan, the U.S. and beyond converge upon this fair known for its wide selection of CDs, vinyl records and musical memorabilia from books to posters or autographs, running the gamut of contemporary musical tastes from soul to glam rock. The fair is organized by VIP Record Fairs. Birmingham is just one of several cities in which fairs take place; look for upcoming events in London Feb. 11, Norwich Feb. 18; and Manchester Feb. 26.
Admission: Three pounds ($3.80).
Website: vip-24.com
transmedialeLocation: John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10, 10557 Berlin, Germany
Date: Feb. 2-5
Transmediale is a three-day festival and year-round project examining the connections between art, culture, and technology. One of its aims is to foster an understanding of contemporary culture and politics as saturated by media technologies. Transmediale’s 30-year anniversary edition is organized under the theme of “ever elusive” and reframes the question of the role of media in a world where technology operates ever more independently of humans. The festival program consists of a conference, workshops and performances including installations, sound and video, showcasing the search for new forms of expression. The exhibition “Alien Matter” running Feb. 2-March 5 at the same venue examines the creeping reach of technology into our everyday lives around four thematic focal points: Artificial intelligence, plastics, infrastructure, and the Internet of Things.
Tickets: Festival passes 75 euros; day tickets 27 euros; exhibition only 6 euros.
Website: https://2017.transmediale.de
Biddy’s DayLocation: Killorglin, Ireland
Date: Feb. 4
Killorglin’s Celtic festival is new on the docket but harks back to an important Celtic festival known as Imbolg. In the mid-Kerry region, Biddy groups visit rural houses and public houses to ensure evil spirits are kept away from humans and animals alike over the coming year. Killorglin celebrates with workshops, dramatic performances, stand-up comedy, traditional music, historical talks and more. A 15-minute torchlit parade departs from The Fishery at 7 p.m.
Admission: Events are mostly free.
Website: biddysday.com
MAM Mostra a Milano Arte e AntiquariatoLocation: Fieramilanocity, Milan, Italy
Dates: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily through Feb. 5.
Antiques meet design at this newly launched show in Milan. Ancient works of art, antiques, home decor and more come together in an event uniting antique dealers and gallery owners from Italy and beyond. The fair is geared toward collectors, interior designers, architects and all others interested in design, particularly younger audiences.
Admission: 20 euros adult entry.
Website: mammilano.com
House Dance ForeverParadiso, Weteringschans 6-8, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Dates: Feb. 4, 2017 (registration 3 p.m.-4 p.m.; battle starts 5 p.m.)
Anyone aged 12 years or older can participate in a battle in which top international dancers take on three judges from France, Germany and the U.S.A. The judges first observe, then battle it out against the contestants.
Admission: Tickets 15 euros, ages eight and under enter free.