The recent opening of a COS store on Cologne's Ehrenstrasse is just one more nail in this infamous shopping mile's coffin.


COS or Collection of Style is part of the H&M group. And of course, H&M also has a huge store on Ehrenstrasse -- just like Esprit, Zara, Body Shop, fcuk, Tommy Hilfiger, American Apparel, Adidas and don't forget the omnipresent Starbuck's -- just to name a few.


Ehrenstrasse used to be where you shopped in Cologne if you wanted something different and not the mainstream fashion you find in the city center.


It was the place to go for individualists with out-of-the-ordinary taste.


But you could also go to a real old-fashioned leather shop and buy a wallet, or have your suitcase's zipper repaired. Or there was a housewares shop "Haushaltswaren Rosie", where you could get a pepper mill with a 25-year guarantee. Studio 59 was the place to go for Brit fashion -- it closed its doors in March of this year. Crocs is taking over the space.


Ehrenstrasse has become interchangeable with any other major shopping area in any European city. The big problem is that major fashion groups have the necessary funds to pay exorbitant rents. And the landlords know this. Rents have skyrocketed. Local media report that the rents have reached 80 to 100 Euros per square meter. It is now the third most expensive retail street in Cologne.


So those small boutiques with the unusual wares have been forced out. The result: shopping boredom.


Now, the place to go if you want more unusual funky fashion is the Belgian Quarter. But more on that another time...

The annual international women's film festival is on this week in Cologne. The country focus this year is China, which should be interesting considering the current international debate about China's control of Tibet.


















































The Chinese film industry has developed rapidly, just like other sectors of China. But while censors have become relatively more tolerant, not all of the films made in China can be seen in China. Many of the women directors whose films have seen worldwide success have not been allowed to show their works in their home country.

"Lost in Beijing," for example, the most recent film by well-known Beijing director Li Yu, was a festival hit in Europe. It was then eventually screened in Chinese cinemas, but in a censored version. Now, media report that it has been banned again -- allegedly due to "pornographic" sequences which were excerpted from the film and used for advertising.

Katharina Schneider-Roos, an Austrian filmmaker who lives in Beijing and is one of the curators behind the China Country Focus, says Chinese women's films are about worlds colliding with one another.

"The rapid pace of transformation and the constant new beginnings are frequently highlighted in these highly expressive films," Schneider-Roos says. "Apart from showing the hypermodern fast-paced China in the midst of an economic boom, the films -- in a quiet and committed way -- often tell the story of ordinary people."

More info: http://www.frauenfilmfestival.eu/

Europe's press is having a field day with German chancellor Angela Merkel's attire at the opening of the Oslo opera in Norway last Saturday.

The big question is: can you be chancellor of Europe's most powerful country and at the same time, show some cleavage?

Of course, Angie is not know for her glamourous sense of style. Dark pantsuits are more her trademark (although her hairdo has improved dramatically since her early days in politics) -- although she has gotten compliments from fashion icons.

Gwen Stefani said last year that pantsuits suited the chancellor well and that she made the best of herself. And Paris Hilton told the German edition of Vanity Fair when she was in Berlin in December: "I find that Angela Merkel is an especially attractive woman. But in my opinion her hair could use a few blond highlights."

Even German designer Wolfgang Joop designed a collection inspired by Merkel. He calls her style "strong and fearless."

On Saturday evening in Oslo, the 53-year-old chose a black evening gown with a plunging neckline complemented by a deep blue stole and string of pearls. Papers from all over Europe reported on her attire.

The chancellor herself is taking the shocked reactions in stride. Her spokesman told the press on Monday that Merkel will continue to choose her own attire freely.

Art Cologne, the international fair for modern and contemporary art, is on from Wednesday through Sunday. http://www.artcologne.com/

Once considered Germany's prestige art fair, Art Cologne has been marked by decreasing interest over the past few years. Its attempts to top Switzerland's Art Basel or Britain's Frieze Art Fair as a forum for contemporary art have remained fairly unsuccessful.

Koelnmesse, which runs the fair, pretty much fired Art Cologne's director Gerard Goodrow in January.

But now, the management vacuum has been filled: Los Angeles-based gallery owner Daniel Hug takes over on May 1st. He says he hopes to win back a lot of galleries that have cancelled their participation in the fair.

This year is also the first year Art Cologne is being held in the spring instead of in November -- just a month before Art Basel Miami takes place. Plus, Art Cologne also had to compete with many other European art fairs in the fall: Frieze in London, Fiac in Paris and Art Forum in Berlin.

I find what's often more interesting, though, than Art Cologne itself is Open Space, which was launched in 2005 and is embedded in the fair. http://www.openspace-cologne.com/

Open Space showcases a variety of exhibits from selected galleries in an open space at Art Cologne --  so an alternative to the traditional booth presentation.

The tourist strongholds of the Canary Islands are marked - and marred - by huge holiday developments. Massive building in the past decades has destroyed the beautiful coastlines of these Atlantic islands off the coast of Morocco. Not Lanzarote, though. The fact that Lanzarote has not reached the dimensions of other Spanish locations can be ascribed to the island's most famous native son: the artist Cesar Manrique. Already in the 1970s, Manrique recognized the dangers tourism would bring to Lanzarote's fragile environment.

Not only did Manrique ensure that the coasts aren't paved with ugly hotels, his work as an artist is also evident all over the island. My personal favorite is Jameos del Agua.

 

Manrique turned this lava tunnel into a piece of art in 1968, with a lake, rich tropical plants, a pool and art exhibitions. There's also a really unusual underground concert hall.

For a spectacular view, I always visit Mirador del Rio, that Manrique built in 1973. It's so well-integrated into the landscape, you don't even see it until you're practically at the door. And the decor is very cool.

 

But Manrique died in 1992 and the influence of his followers is waning. I hope Lanzarote can keep its unique perspective.

The cold weather is dragging on in Germany and lots of people here head to the Canary Islands during the winter. Located off the coast of northern Africa, they're called the islands of eternal spring for their mild climate all year round.

My personal favorite is Lanzarote. It's definitely a matter of taste, but I think it's the most unusual and bizarre of the islands. There are no forests, few trees and it's very black, due to hundreds of years of volcanic eruptions. It's like being on the moon. But the beaches are beautiful, like Playa de Famara. 

Famara is a mecca for the island's surfers. There are lots of waves -- Lanzarote is often called "Europe's Hawaii." But when the wind is right, Playa de la Garita is also great.

Not only that, Lanzarote also has fantastic cultural highlights.