New York City

My novels are partly set in New York City.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PezYKRuQgjw
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA3OuEd4e1c

Petra from Germany appear in  the U.S. District Court in Lower Manhattan.
www.panoramio.com/photo/19809656
She visits this Barnes & Noble book store, but for different reasons
www.visit5thavenue.com/barnes-and-noble/
and visit the Empire States Building to view the city.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dqvb1SoOZQ

The life of Petra changes after shopping in Macy's and finding magical sunglasses.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DS2FJZIzV8Y
She and her high school friends make unfriendly visits to banks.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-uhRZVciFM

Petra spends time in Central Park
www.youtube.com/watch?v=V49_5JZrQxU
and Bryant Park.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIKf7UX6Arw
She writes her blogs from here
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXtATRFhw3w
and she visits the MOMA.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZLbaZiKw4M

Famous songs about New York are by Frank Sinatra and Alicia Keys
www.youtube.com/watch?v=btFfXgUdIzY
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX17BOqEWK

Baden-Baden and Dresden

After finding the last clue in Vienna, Helga is going to Baden-Baden to find the Capsule that will connect her to our heroine, Petra. Welcome to Baden-Baden in southwest Germany.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baden-Baden
www.baden-baden.de/en/
 www.youtube.com/watch?v=rANmUqhdIGw

Baden-Baden is famous for many years for its spas and natural hot springs.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3QiZOdV4P8
 www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnSBWClGN04
 www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-_MTGoRmsk
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWy2r9AqC1w

It's also famous for its Casino.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mokuyZYZHZ0

On her way home to Jena, she stops at Ulm with the tallest church in the world and where Albert Einstein was born
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxjyCynUrzQ
And where the German alternative metal band Die Happy is located.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCoGeZ2fid8

Helga visits Dresden to meet a man who offers her to work for his company from her home in Jena. That company will help her to locate Petra in New York City. Welcome to Dresden in central east Germany.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dresden
www.dresden.de/index_en.php
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAKikj55XIk
www.youtube.com/watch?v=upY9mK7zeSo

Dresden is famous for its Semper Opera.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZwa3H12z0M
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOGmdd9dVow
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VPIip-sbuo
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kphUBWjZ05Q

A famous rock band from a town near Dresden is Silbermond.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6Zttyedlp4
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sfknBJlmoo
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOlq8roR6Tg

And more nice songs from Germany.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJavLHODspI
and Juli
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad8ukI7Z-b8
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ft8DwXUxaB8
 
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrYYg_atdtk
www.youtube.com/watch?v=llxt1iLUK6c

Some classic rock songs from the DDR.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uheb1zVHLr4
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsJGA-H9qNc
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DOwDQ4q5i0
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP0vn9PZ3kU
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJNRkLn5xc8



And Clueso  who, just like Helga, was born in the state of Thuringen during the DDR (the former East Germany).
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dR4tNS7ox4

Beijing

Liang gets a job in construction for the Beijing 2008 Olympic, so Shui Ying travels with him  to Beijing, the capital and political center of China.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkLWWnKcW28
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsg4cxrGWys
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp2IToV4f4c

Liang builds the Olympic Stadium called Bird's Nest.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0ZiJrcfrAo

They visit China's national library.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkTN5vdn4pM

They join a dance in a Beijing Park
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysFyVNl8_zw

To the music of this song.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MY9bHI9CSM

And Shui Ying gets a little Shin Tzu dog, naming him Bao Bao.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg2HbD6W9Lk

They hang out at Hou Hai Lake.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNFfi1EbWDo

And then they go to Beijing Railway Station to travel back to Shanghai.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fBR4gqD9B0

But they come back to attend the Beijing Olympic.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj8R7bEGK4w
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMsSBBaFlbY
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKe9uMbE-BY 

Living in Beijing is Na Ying
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLkLzYGTd7g
and born in Beijijng is Faye Wong.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYcEsagN6ss

And China's First Lady, Peng Liyuan.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2V3zJVO01k
 www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gMqMFm5YFE

Vienna + Schlager Music

Helga travels to places to find clues about the past of Petra. From Berlin she travels to  Schonhausen to find the third clue which sends her to Vienna, the capital and largest city in Austria.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna
www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-M_A0xNRVs
www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9Khe6SviGk

Some of the famous German composers wrote their music in Vienna. Just like Petra, Brahms was born in Hamburg.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X9LvC9WkkQ
Beethoven composed Erotica in Vienna and is buried there. And some singers born in Germany (Munich) live now in Vienna.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqNX635v6y0

In the streets of Vienna, Helga and her boyfriend dance the Waltz.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1AkeBpyDsY

They take a ride in the red Faxi Taxi.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4idn063YJo

Helga finds the fourth clue in this building
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHFUVtk3rls/
and they take the train back home, to Jena.
 
Petra likes different styles of music including Schlager music, which is popular in Germany and Austria. Her mom likes it too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schlager

From the young generation she likes Yvette and Sarah-Stephanie from Austria and Franziska, Oxana  and Sarah Carina from Germany.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI_gHjIvg00
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJYRSnzcIK4
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6krItuegy8Y
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6B34omO8E0
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFXpJFTyQuw

Popular singers are
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fTA5l6Gpq4
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNPVv0gLwxY
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1a3uxCRmAI
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KJ9xybPhqQ
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeZiZ9DKmfY
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDuiMphUgnw
 
Every year in Hamburg there is the Schlager Music Festival.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RsQRnmwDhw

And there is  a Schlager Radio station in Hamburg.
http://tunein.com/radio/Radio-Schlager-s157002/

More current Schlager songs
www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7swevO37XM  
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNHamTwxJ6Q
www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5fQSIFhlSc
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTF-bq9538Q
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCDsm_dt1cI

Shanghai

The post from May describes Shui Ying growing up in a small village in Sichuan. Following a tragedy in her family, her mother sends her to find a job in Shanghai.  She spends the first night in this hostel.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpMZ8drAnr8

Shui Ying is overwhelmed being in one of the largest cities in the world.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq_sgo9aBQ0
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQwyGP6jmAY

She spends time at People (Renmin) Square feeding the pigeons. The most important event in the book happens in People Square subway station. Shui Ying leaves the subway and Emily enters and takes her seat.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwg0l2EC0JA
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBu8UiF_AAQ

She walks on the Bund along the Huangpu River looking at Pudong on the other side. She sees the same view when she visits the M on the Bund Restaurant,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvUCR-aWE_I
www.m-restaurantgroup.com/mbund/home.html

When she's reunited with Liang, they go to Oriental Peal TV Tower and view Shanghai,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2D_sc6pGnE
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVx7rOHRF2o

and they eat the Stinky Tofu.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MRHqK3ywWs

They stroll along Nanjing Road and check the book stores in Fuzhou Road.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q82ZvfGhmFU

An old song about Shanghai is by Frances Yip.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sJJNsTzgFM

When Shui Ying disappears, Emily and her friends search for her in the Jade Buddah Temple in Shanghai.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsZTVSY5PdA

When Shui Ying and Emily meet in Shanghai, they go shopping at Nanjing Road. It is the main shopping street in Shanghai and one of the world's busiest shopping streets.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGJoCfl69uA

One of the famous people born in Shanghai is basketball player, Yao Ming. Shui Ying watches him playing in the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1OKwefp1jk

Berlin

While Petra fights to help the people in New York City, Helga looks for clues about Petra's past. She has the first clue before going to Berlin.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHQ7n7Oi5Lo&feature=related
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgqUkS9w7F8&feature=related
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin

Helga finds the second clue in one of the buildings in this video.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydCvVFsgBVk&feature=related

She hugs the blue Berliner bear for good luck before entering the bank.
www.flicker.com/photos/onetakemovie/5725056959/

And walks in Berlin's main shopping street
www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-k5dp71oLo

Petra listens to songs by Annett Louisan who lives in Berlin
www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3ay8YzaXCI
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR0pINsDfGA


and by Lumaraa and Eisblume  who live in Berlin
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPjCRxO0Clc
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcSIoLmotCo
and to Maya Saba who was born in Berlin.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY38R6x0w7I

And to this song by Silly, a popular band formed in the former East Berlin.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWDhS1lZ2lc

A popular punk rock from Brelin is Die Artze
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi5_fSv7qXk

And a popular rapper from Berlin is Sido
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RveIJFR7LV4
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jGmc5--QAY


And the most popular band from Berlin is Rammstein
www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4K6ZxDwi34



Currywurst is the popular fast food that was created in Berlin in 1949.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currywurst
www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0tF52fJ_0c

Petra likes the movie where Franke Potente is running in Berlin
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tIuD5aqc4o&feature=related

And Helga likes the movie about East and West Berlin
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIjSaHUKD5I
and about their favourite car, the Trabi
www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2PNsatxzmk

Marlene Dietrich was born in a suburb of Berlin
www.youtube.com/watch?v=a01ynTZemmQ

and one the great theatres is the Berliner Ensemble
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv2SiBcE9dM

Bonn, Jena + German songs

Petra moves with her family to Bonn, where Beethoven was born.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonn
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pTqMClPF3w

Beethoven's Ode to Joy is the anthem of the European Union
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrexhus-8kw
David Garrett from Germany performing Beethoven
www.youtube.com/watch?v=96NPEKnByCo

and Bushido who was born in Bonn.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJOIR0slR_c

You have a little of Bonn in your city: The Gummi bears candies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gummi_bear

One of novel's main characters is Helga who lives in Jena.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jena
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihFrLlvY5No
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT9nzYa8dAM
www.jena.de/en/97320

She was born in the former East Germany and after the reunification feels nostalgic to the past. Ostalgie is the German term.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostalgie
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbbWIRhJbgc
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yxsrx9jBj_M

She met her boyfriend as a student at one of the oldest universities in Germany, University Jena
www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0cUVYf34js
The philosophers Hegel and Schlling were teaching at this university and Karl Marx earned his doctorate from the University of Jena.

And she used to work here as a gardener.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBMIpwl77UU

She eats the food from her state of Thuringia, like Thuringer Klosse (potato dumplings)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFZ4LSk8ZHc
and Thuringen Rostbratwurst (grilled sausage with herbs).

And drinks her favourite Cola made in her state.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FqjXREB8FA

And she loves her Trabi car
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGHQMEo2KDM

And to listen to songs by Silly and their former singer Tamara Danz who was also born in Thuringia.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Czk8lYmDRQ

And the composer Johann Sebastian Bach was also born in Thuringia
www.youtube.com/watch?v=on1DDSLdDOo

Petra listens to many songs, including Schlager music, popular in Germany and Central and Northern Europe. The songs are sweet ballads with catchy light pop melodies.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9IihYDPjqw
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qnXTjnE0p0