Deutsch
illustrations: Sophia Halamoda
After how many years can you say that you are a real Berliner? Five? Maybe ten? Or maybe 20? Some people even say that only the people who were born here have the right to be called “real“ Berliners. But what about if you were born in Berlin but left at the age of 10 and never came back? Would you be a real Berliner then?
I would like this nonsense about real Berliners and not real Berliners to stop once and for all. Most of the people now living in Berlin came from elsewhere and might even leave and go somewhere else after a couple of years. The Berliner-DNA is not defined by your birth certificate, your current Geo-Tag or the length of time you have spent in this city. As kitschy as its sounds, being a Berliner is a matter of your heart.
But sometimes listening to your heart is not as easy as it sounds on paper. To give you some help in discovering the (not so) secret essence of this lovable city, we joined forces with our favorite cartoon artist Sophia Halamoda. As a creative contribution of the #LiveThere exhibition by Airbnb we created a semi-serious guide to how to become a real Berliner. Go and discover after the jump.
UPDATE (Nov 2019): If you love the illustrations and sense of humor by Sophia you will love the new book Like A Berliner that we made in collaboration with her that will get you even further into the Berliners’ way of life.
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This guide is a collaboration between Sophia Halamoda and iHeartBerlin for Airbnb.
Diesen Artikel auf deutsch lesen.
by Claudio
on July 13th, 2016
updated on December 16th, 2020
in Stories
klunker kranich <3
Der eigentliche Berliner ist zugezogen
Über einen kurzen oder einen weiten Bogen
Irgendwann in diese Stadt gezogen
Hat durchgeatmet und darauf gewartet
Dass von diesem Punkt das individuelle Glück startet
(Keimzeit, “Berlin”)
Best stay in Berlin ever at least the Circus hostel Danke schon H
I think “transport furniture in the subway” should be included.
when you understand the special sense of humor which lives in the local (let’s call it) “politeness” is the point of no return. then you’re one with the town.
Territorialer Bullshit. Bin zwar auch zugezogen, kenne aber ein paar Berliner und “komischerweise” verhalten sie sich alle ganz unterschiedlich. Bleibt authentisch meine Freunde!
… und nich verjessen, Berlin war die meiste Zeit Frontstadt. Eine belagerte Stadt entwickelt eine sonderbare Mischung aus Misstrauen und Solidarität. Und da wir auch “Fluchtgebiet” für Kriegsdienstverweigerer waren, eine Prise Kalifornien.
dear iheartberlin,
i am a fan of your website, but could you guys please post less generic articles about stereotyping Berlin and more productive, insider views and stories about the city?
You guys have been posting too much disposable content lately…
sorry, we can’t always be “productive” and “insider”, sometimes we just wanna have fun…
I’ve done them all. Love that gemischtes Salat Namens Berlin.