Nicholas is an evil companions. And Starry Nights the german photographer captures beautiful images of the night sky. Around europe cities and towns are lit up with lovely lights during christmas time now im also been in lee all the city in south eastern france hosts and i knew a festival of lights starting on the sixth of december we begin todays show with the fed saloon yeah which lasts for four days and tracks up to four million visitors from far and wide its a spectacle that we couldnt let you miss. Experience the. An explosion of color over eighty light installations of turned the french city into an open air theater the designs music and dance interact with each other in brand new ways the citys residents are proud of their fet the lumiere light festival. There are more and more people are coming to it its getting more international its always fun to be here. This most times out i like a lot its cool that the light installations are placed at such symbolic places in the city. That i live in leon and i go to the festival every year its magical like revisiting your childhood. And leonsis sturrock city of rough logic from bomb watches over a spectacular three d. Laser installation dubbed. The first time east taking part. I wanted to create something people could walk through which is why the effects come from every direction from all sides so in all we have about one hundred different laser sources like the. A lot of visitors are eager to get into the courtyard where the display takes place. As in a little a little overwhelmed its just thursday the first day of the shown. Me to raining really hard and yet every show is more or less packed theyre applauding couldnt be better its not. The fact the lumiere has religious origins in the seventeenth century the unveiled to build a statue to the virgin mary if she saves the citys residents from the plague. They were spared the statue erected and people still light candles in celebration of this event. The river song and ron join in leon sort of water also provides a reflective surface for the rich play of colors. If you want big with our modern techniques we repeat what the citizens of leon did with fireworks one hundred fifty years ago. Its both good we pay homage to our city. And also to the virgin mary and the spiritual power that makes its presence felt here to speak its role to folks it is all to. Spark to let a door visitors enter a fairytale world the ground is strewn with golden balls and videos of dancers provide a sense of joy and levity but this world is also a fragile one. Was. Something thats the message take care of your planet because its beautiful enjoy it its just some words of warning here at the park. In the garden of the Fine Arts Museum visitors can create their own light show. Just by playing the piano light is projected onto the surrounding wall statues and trees. Other end of the colors on the wall change according to how high or low the note song. And the call is people playing. One of the most impressive light shows is projected on somebody on cathedral portugese art studio a cool bow created abstract paintings by the fusing pigments inks and flowers and water. Being done to the buildings facade they produce fascinating kaleidoscope like effects. So we go from green to blue to yellow to multi color and we end with a rose which is very known in the in the hose than the all so it kind of to do color in new york. Every year the french city is a stage for innovative lights arts which attracts admirers both young and old. Now lets get up to date with the goings on across the continent and express first up we travel to the smallest state in the world. In the vatican a giant nativity scene was finished on friday this year it was made from seven hundred twenty tons of sand brought especially for that purpose from years along a seaside resort town on the outskirts of venice renowned for its extra fine sand. American sculptor rich ferraro was in charge of the sixteen metre wide five and a half metre high project on st peters square. Tentative of the scene will remain in place until january thirteenth. The Africa Museum of the belgium city of tehran reopens on december ninth after being renovated from the ground up the concept behind the execution founded in one thousand. Theres also undergone a thorough revision in particular to cast a much more critical belgians colonial past still once in sixty two the countrys colonies in africa included todays democratic republic of congo in rwanda the museums renovations took ten years to complete. German author cornelia from could turn sixty on monday the bestselling braccia is known for her fantasy novels for young adults that popular works including in cost c h i x and the dragon ride a series of his books have been translated into over fifty languages and have sold twenty six million copies worldwide several have also been adapted for the big screen the author has lived in the us since two thousand and five. There are plenty of gifts to go around for kids in the Christmas Season on the sixth of december children in many European Countries get treats and small presents to celebrate st nicholas day but in southern germany austria and northern italy another character joined st nicholas on that day the krampus horned figure described as half goat demon who during the Christmas Season punishes children who have misbehaved all reports are axel prima vaizey traveled south dong the traditional scary cost him to do his best krampus impression. That crumpets is are on the loose in the austrian village of sunk johann in pungo the wild untamed figures are spurred on by st nicholas and his angels and right in the midst our reporter axel primitive. Early in the day and some two hundred here around sixty kilometers south of the tradition of the compost is still going strong its popular throughout the whole region and always cook heads one of the local compost groups. He founded it back in the one nine hundred eighty s. Its made up of a Saint Nicholas angels a basket carrier and more than a dozen compositions. Hes played the figure since he was a boy. And sort of moving from age twelve on youre running along in various villages and at some point you say hey lets have our own group. So i talked a couple of friends into it and in the beginning there was just nine of us. Now we have an eighteen krampus is sent nicholas angels and basket carriers because were going to cooperate so artful so i took time to show you how it all works thats going to change so we can get started on book of growth. We have a costume for you. Thats it time to move over you have to take off your pants. Over the way the middle. No one saw me i had to get undressed you know for a partner going. Theres a good reason why you have to strip even though its below freezing outside the sheepskin costume keeps you so warm that its pointless to wear anything under it a custom like this can be used for about five years before the leather wears out. Next theres the belt which the compas is used to make a racket and finally the mask all in all the costume weighs about thirty kilograms. Of head or heart its really hot inside here and the mask is very tight i can barely speak i see next to nothing just a little through the eye in the mouth slits i have no idea how im going to survive this day. Theres no time for though it says things are getting serious now st nicholas with his angels and the basket carrier are leading the procession. To group visits the farm on the outskirts of santa. I think greetings to all in this house and nicholas speaks to man and mouse. Because there are only well behaved children here everyone will receive a gift the compas the stay back a little the sheer number of scary masks is enough to make an impression. After the presents have been distributed the nice part of the visit begins the family treats the cook passed group tour around the local shops. I feel good to see it is the article this day is a highlight of the advent season it really makes you look forward to christmas and the francis is a part of our tradition human. Rights according but its off and highlight this for the kids its a wonderful experience to see the compas is and of course st nicholas and the angels every year they love it as the. Time to head off for the next performance fittingly the compas is are packed into cattle cars for the trip theyll appear four times in all today on other days the group can even put in twice that many performances. At one of the stops the house is toasty warm. To warm the reporter is dripping with sweat under the sheep skin and the tight mask makes it hard to breathe hes about to give up. But after countless president s have been distributed and the last carolus song the job is done. Really enjoy a box set of. Facts. With the best german crackers weve ever had theyre called. But theyre still not quite finished the people have sunk yohan expect the group to take part in the krampus run where more than a dozen local groups present themselves. As she. Encounters i did its i dont totally beats seven hours and this full body sheepskin has given the phrase stewing in your own juices a whole new meaning anyway what i like most is that the group accepted me right off as if i were one of the road. And ive definitely gained an experience or two and im the richer for us. Well done axel that looked pretty tough now we stay in the alps for our ongoing cullen every series youre max caught today we dine at an altitude of two thousand four hundred ten meters to enjoy a hearty meal in beautiful surroundings bacon dumplings are on the menu at a mountain chalet restaurant high up in the dollar mights own and head chef marcus primo it shows us how to make this time really and speciality. Some two thousand four hundred meters above Sea Level Rise theres a fee hotel surrounded by the peaks of atomics its a Perfect Place to take a break. During the winter the shah is only accessible on skis Winter Sports enthusiasts love its italian flag and excellent for owner Marcus Benoit took over the chalet from his parents in two thousand and three. Was surrounded by the mountains i thought whats special about this place is that we have the sun from airlie morning until the evening our guests like coming here because the ski piece goes right past so theres always a lot of activity. Everything the restaurant needs is delivered to the mountain top by cable car each morning is the first scares hit the slopes markers play not fetches the bread vegetables meat and fish on his snowmobile. The menu changes with the seasons but rustic speciality is like bacon dumplings and schnooks cops on the local variety of ravioli are year round favorites. They call facing today are making south terrilyn bacon dumplings a traditional dish from the delegates this is my mothers recipe we need said cheerily and bacon milk eggs onions. Are mens and butter are finally sliced bread salt pepper and a bit of some flour oil. This is how its made chopped but they can an onion. As well as the style of bread. Finally chop the childs. So take the onion in melted butter. Add the bacon to the bread crumbs. Combine the eggs with a. At that mixture to the bread crumbs and bacon. That. Had enough milk to soften the bread stirring a childs sauteed onions salt and pepper mix well by hand i bit of flour and some flour oil. Now will mix of. The dough has to rest for thirty minutes so the eggs and milk get absorbed by the bread and it becomes a really nice smooth dough with the finest might be got by the form eight to ten dumplings from the dough and center from around fifteen minutes. Today im serving the dumplings on cabbage salad. Ice i like but you can also serve them as a side dish for a good be foolish or simply with butter and parmesan. No matter which of the speciality is you order they all taste even better the spectacular view the snow of sun and crisp mountain at some casts even the lights are the end of visitors so feel heard a shot of. Time some desert now in todays final installment of our series sweet delights we meet food blogger marc coma the Graphic Designer has a passion for pastry and his creations dont just taste delicious but also look good as famous blog bake to the roots as perfect proof we met him in berlin to get a taste of his artistic creations. Is a Graphic Design and he spends all his spare time banking and blogging about it hes back to the roots blog has won many accolades in germany it features delectable calorie rich recipes fix everything from lemon time task to tiramisu cup. Cakes and blueberry cheesecake one look is enough to make your mouth water but before a recipe goes online chroma tests it for himself today hes making a trendy hybrid creation. Things are delicious theyre a cross between a cross and a muffin and not as fatty but just as tasty maybe even more so. Than all the loons who. Chroma has been writing his blog for more than four years and says at some point he just took on a life of its own. Over thirty five thousand people now follow him on instagram. His recipes are typically german theres a reason for that is. My lived and worked in the us for a while and i really fell in love with cupcakes there and at the time we didnt have them in germany so i started making them myself. But i often had trouble with the recipes because i couldnt get some of the ingredients here and i had to replace them so that some point i thought maybe others are having the same problems so i started writing everything down and posting the recipes online. The crofton dont needs to rise for a while in the meantime mark works on his blog each week he spends up to sixteen hours on it and posts three new recipes but only if they pass his personal taste test what does he do with the leftovers my feed them to my colleagues now all the crap and is ready it gets rolled out and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar then its rolled back up again and pressed into a muffin tin its baked for twenty five minutes at two hundred degrees celsius crime is always curious to see how things turn out as even the best chef can mess up. I once tried to make flour less cookers and i was just awful. Just crumble to pieces never again when i bake without flour and the thing that is new no one ever for this time everythings going according to plan and when the craft come out the aroma of yeast and fills the kitchen craftsmans are best served. To take peaches if for he can tuck in the blog is hard work but mark still has plenty of ideas in store. As my next recipe is children accounts with ice cream maybe you know jurors from spain and only then longer in shame but id make comes out of them which can be filled with ice cream. Chrome as creations look and taste great try them feel yourself they worth every calorie. Alongside this week series we wanted you to take part in our audience competition we asked you what your favorite sweet snack is lots of you got in touch including liliana. Whos guilty pleasure is a traditional german christmas treat a sweet fruitcake called kissed stalin she remembers it from the time living in dresden congratulations well be sending you your prize the euro max wristwatch now in our final report we look up to the stars beyond push old is a german photographer who loves taking pictures of the night sky for his latest book he traveled all over europe from scandinavia all the way down to the Canary Islands to capture lovely celestial images. Behrendt approach old reaches for the stars. Without ever leaving the ground somewhere in germany. You know home for me its really about using my pictures to ask questions about how the world was created and to raise issues like are we alone in the universe. For more than fifteen years proceeded has traveled the world to photograph landscapes under starry skies. Not be fast in your interview its so fascinating how incredibly tiny this world is in comparison to the vast universe. That is the time a speck were living in just a fraction of a second compared to the time that came before us and that will come after us it shrinks us to something as meaningless as an unrecognizable grain of sand and can come. To get a really clear view of the stars the photographer from cologne has to leave the cities with their Light Pollution far behind. Light pollution increases by the year its a growing problem worldwide. Crucial its a new book dan in himmel or a destination starry sky takes us to europes darkest places like the i phone National Park in north rhinewestphalia certified as germanys First International dark sky park it aims to become a star reserve with strict Light Pollution regulations. Taking pictures of the night sky is a challenge you need the light of the moon but otherwise absolute darkness you also need just the right exposure and a good sense of timing. And a more please dont call it the life specified when the moon sinks into the rise and. Then you need to be in the right place at the right time. Mining in the is not on this isnt my idea is always to portray earth as an alien planets of a good photo is a photo that makes you ask what kind of planet is that from planet. Russia doesnt have to travel to the ends of the earth to capture spectacular celestial sights he finds many close to home in germany. Like on the island of aruba in the baltic sea. Or in the half a line district of brandenburg. He has captured breathtaking light phenomena all across europe. And gran canaria in spains Canary Islands. Over the dollar might seem to tell you no. End in northern sweden. I dont know if i can pin down the most emotional moments to any specific phenomenon. Its more like a mood that you experience human and like when its so still that you can hardly hear a sound. Maybe in a snowy landscape that absorbs any remaining natural sounds and under stress the twinkling stars above you those are the moments that move me lessons or moment of. The im. When he looks into the night sky it inspires bad personel to question the meaning of life and the universe where do we come from where are we heading. To turn all mysteries that resound in his images. The heavens and the earth. Im not so old we have time for today were back tomorrow with the highlights of the week and you can also catch up with all our reports on shows online dot com slash large style or visit us on our Facebook Page your remarks are from the. Next time on your own thats the highlights of the week making news cookies and one of europes most popular traditional christmas trains. The creation process behind the twenty two nineteen calendar. And an extraordinary performance one made in bringing back and next time on the right next highlights. European stars deliver a rousing performance of. Planes hopes the games in most if not the many jaramillo. Months. From irish thing on imelda may. Be doubly. Whats coming up on the going to sleep so Much Movement in the money get this. Mental. Health its much psychobabble that means for the type of place. The going to sleep every weekend here on g. W. You know this is you know five minutes more minutes. Has a power and beauty combines has it all. Fits in the pantheon of the great tenors certainly his one for the ages of ten or for the ages starts december twenty second on g. W. Natural richardson. Precious resources. And a rewarding investment in. A foreign land has been called ethiopia is calling. The country has enough funding supply and leases it to international giants. Government to hike export revenues to the calibration its high profit margin. But not everyone benefits from the booming business. Of giving when i saw the bulldozers clearing the land i was devastated getting up with how could they bulldoze the land without my permission and what they knew would belong to me one. Extra appreciation environmental destruction starvation. The price of government and corporate. The selling out of the country. Dead donkey fear no idea. Starts december twenty ninth on t. W. The. Love and fear on a given come cousin about what has been elected a new year uter of germanys governing conservative christian democrats she fended off a close challenge by the way of matts cousin by what is a close ally of chancellor on the america a victory puts her in a strong position to succeed america as chancellor. U. S. Federal prosecutors have recommended substantial jail time for president Donald Trumps foreman lawyer michael cohen