Germany's Top Five

Looking inward at Germany's terrorists. The RAF, Germany's notorious leftist guerrilla movement came to prominence during the fattest years of the West German economic miracle in the late 1960s. Its top members, Gudrun Ensslin, Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof are practically household names, and the grisly story of their suicide a standard part of German history classes. Contemporary international and German artists working in various mediums offer perspectives on the group and its legacy. The show takes place at KW in Berlin, one of the capital's best-known contemporary art locations. Opening Jan. 30, it runs until May 16.

The princes take the throne once more. Germany's most successful rock band, Die Prinzen, play in Staatstheater Stuttgart on Jan. 27. The East German band tasted success for the first time in 1991 and hasn't looked back. One of the best-selling, and intentionally funny, rock bands in the country for more than a decade, the seven members of Die Prinzen hit Stuttgart as the second stop in their 2005 Germany tour.

Dresden marks bombing anniversary. In this year of WWII anniversaries -- the firebombing of Dresden on Feb. 13, 1945 by allied aircraft remains a controversial moment in the dark history of the time. In recent years, German filmmakers and authors have begun addressing what some consider the brutality of the decision by Allied air forces to completely destroy the city, killing up to 500,000 people within a 14-hour period. Sixty years later, the city is hosting dozens of events, from readings to documentaries to concerts, to observe the anniversary. The exhibition "Trümmerstädte 1945" (City ruins 1945), featuring images of destroyed German cities taken by Hitler's photographer Walter Frentz, is sure to be a highlight. The show is in Dresden's Technische Sammlung, from Feb. 9 to March 28.

The "Flying Dutchman" enters German territory. Dreamboat Dutch violinist André Rieu sets hearts ablaze in Oberhausen on Jan. 29. The award-winning soloist sparked a waltz mania of sorts in Germany in recent years with his Johann Strauss Orchestra. Some of the songs even made it into the pop charts. The performer says he tried from the very beginning to remove the stiff structures that typically dictate classical performances. He chats and flirts with audience members during his shows in an attempt to bring traditional music over in a fresher, more relaxed atmosphere. He winds up his Germany tour in Oberhausen, near Düsseldorf, before moving on to Austria.

Berlin gets a taste of New York soul. Native New Yorker and indie pop sensation Adam Green gives a concert at a former post office train station in Berlin on Feb. 11. Green, whose third solo album "Gemstones" has earned rave reviews from the critics, is taking his soulful lyrics and shaggy coif on a two-week tour through Germany and Austria. Berlin is his second stop after Hanover. Get the tickets early, because Green's music has come over well here, and his lyrics have been celebrated as poetry in the country's culture pages.