Ins Kino Gehen
Going to the movies.
Back home, going to the movies was one of my favorite things to do. When I was little my mother used to sign us up for the Summer movie specials where they would play a children's movie every week. We would always have popcorn and a soda. My mother still takes us to the movies very often, so it is not hard to understand why it has become one of my favorite things to do.
When I moved to Dresden, I was worried that I would not be able to go to the movies anymore, because Germany dubs all of the films from the U.S. (which also causes their release to be delayed here).
Luckily, Mike and I discovered that the local movie theater, UFA Kristallpalast Dresden has an English movie special.
Every Sunday and Wednesday night at 8pm they play an English film in its original version, and the tickets are only 4 Euros each. Of course, these movies have usually been out in the U.S. and in Germany for a while before they play them in English. But I have still been glad to be able to go occasionally.
At first when we started going to see movies like Rush Hour 3 and Because I Said So (I strongly recommend that you do not see either of these films), we were practically alone in the theater, except for a few people. But the last two times we went to see the Atonement and Elizabeth: The Golden Age, the theaters were packed with German teenagers, who must have realized that the tickets for English films were cheaper than the normal ones. (Atonement was great, Elizabeth was a bit boring).
In the movie theaters here they give you seating assignments, which I really hate. Even when the theater is only half full, you are forced to sit right next to everyone. If you sit in the wrong seat, it is almost guaranteed that someone will show up telling you it is theirs.
Also different, are the concession stands, where they sell alcoholic beverages, sweet or plain popcorn, and chips & salsa which they call "takitos". Most Germans I've met think that the idea of popcorn with butter is disgusting. But I definitely miss it (see my previous post Heimweh).
The next few weeks they are playing movies I am not very interested in seeing (Hitman, Alien vs. Predator). That's the only problem, that there are not any options. The next movie we plan on seeing is Sweeney Todd on April 27th or 30th. I only hope that I am well enough to go, since that is very soon after I get my wisdom teeth pulled.