Guest Author | iHeartBerlin.de

Bye Bye Winter Everyday Life – Berlin Escapism in South Tyrol

by Guest Author | Accommodation, City Guide, Places, Travel, Wellness

Photo: Hotel Plan Murin

Berliners unfortunately, spent most of the winter either with firmly cemented gray clouds in the sky or with abstruse squalls. The meteorological situation was honestly more desolate than usual. And after two years of lockdown, we felt the desire for a Berlin escapism even more. But where to? So where do you actually have snow, fresh air and almost always good weather? In the Dolomites!

Visit Südtirol invited us to explore the skiing and hiking region, and we have summarized our main highlights for you.

Look Over Here, Look Over There, Lesbians Are Everywhere!

by Guest Author | Events, Stories

Just the other week, on July 22nd, we celebrated the Dyke* March in Berlin.

Yes, the parade is the ultimate paradise for lesbians but it’s also a demonstration to show the world that we exist and that we are here proudly celebrating who we are and the community that we have been building for decades from the shadow. “Look over here, look over there, lesbians are everywhere!”

Escaping Narrow-Mindedness: A Tribute to Art

by Guest Author | Art

Labyrinth of Lies, artwork: Sven Sauer.

A small mind always remains trapped in its subjective views. Trapped in a world that it believes to be reality. It relies on its own personal experiences and opinions. But paradoxically, one’s own opinion is often merely an eager repetition of seemingly good opinions of seemingly good people. The fewest of them actually defend their own viewpoint. Not to mention that they rarely critically assess said viewpoint or perhaps admit an error in reasoning.

“The thinking man changes his opinion,” Friedrich Nietzsche said.

But this occurs extremely rarely, in fact. Instead, someone’s own thinking is continuously confirmed and reinforced by others with similar thoughts.

The Most Beautiful Form of Expression: A Tribute to Fashion

by Guest Author | Fashion

from Catalogue of Disguise at Trauma.

Clothing; the second skin of mankind. Without a single word, we communicate through the fashion we wear. We express how we look at ourselves, what values we stand for, and even reveal details, such as what kind of music we listen to, what profession we practice, what community we feel part of, and whether the Zeitgeist of today or that of another era accompanies us.

Fashion stands for liberalism, individualism, and open culture. It is an expression of one’s personality and a symbol of freedom.

Some dismiss fashion as superficial, and it suggests that those with this attitude have never given serious thought to the history and symbolism of wardrobe.

An Exploration of Twins: An Exhibition by Chris Phillips

by Guest Author | Art

photos: Chris Phillips.

Some might know Chris Phillips as the co-founder of the art collective Pornceptual and co-founder of the queer festival WHOLE. But in addition to leading these groundbreaking projects, this Brazilian ex-pat is a prolific artist himself. Starting on February 22nd, you can see his newest photography work at The Ballery.

The exhibition, simply entitled “Twins”, is curated by Chris together with his twin brother Eric. The collected artwork aims to answer the question: How do twins view twinship?

Seeing Berlin with Fresh Eyes

by Guest Author | Stories

On my first visit to Berlin, a man spat at my feet. His eyes were the eyes of a soldier at war. Precise, alert, and distrusting. And he had just spotted a body he considered the enemy. That body was queer, stout, and black. We were sitting across from each other on a train headed towards the direction of Alexanderplatz. A few moments before, I had just described Berlin to my mother as the embrace of a dearly loved one. Warm, soft, and safe. As I was peeling my phone from my ears, the spitter looked me in the face, coughed out the whiteish foam which he splashed across my feet. The act of spitting at my feet wasn’t a cleansing and or a fortification ritual done to welcome my feet to new and uncharted terrain. That was disgust, anger, and a kind of aggression that sent shivers down my spine. He was sending a clear message. One that was unmistakably meat to say; you are not welcome here. His message had three clear intentions; to warn me, put me in my place, and remind me I did not belong. He needed me to know that. It resonated. I didn’t even say a word. I took the message, got off the train one stop before my intended exit location. There, I waited for the next train in a stooping position. With a sigh and a paper napkin, I wiped my feet clean again.

How It Feels to Live in a City Where the Extraordinary Are the Majority

by Guest Author | People, Stories

photos: Andrea Hansen.

Hidden amongst other notes hanging from a lamppost, not far from my apartment in Friedrichshain, something caught my eye.

Berlin – the city whose residents communicate via notes:

Apartment-hunters, declarations of love, Weltschmerz, lost teddy bears, the announcement of a party, sometimes also the announcement of a natural home birth and accompanied by a request not to call the police due to the resulting noise. There is nothing that cannot be said in Berlin using this form of communication.

The note that caught my eye was asking for help on an indie movie set.

How to be More Sustainable in Berlin

by Guest Author | Charlottenburg, Kreuzberg, Neukölln, Prenzlauer Berg, Schöneberg, Shops

As far as sustainability goes, we’re super lucky to be living in Berlin. I’m reminded of this every time I speak to friends and family back home. Often marketed as trendy, time-consuming, and expensive, a lot of people assume you have to completely overhaul your lifestyle to be more sustainable…but that’s simply not true. Being more sustainable is about figuring out what you use the most, and then finding a way to get those same products in a way that doesn’t have such a negative impact on our planet.

There are some fantastic unpackaged stores to choose from in Berlin that not only enable us to support local businesses and encourage innovation but also give us the power to refuse — to send a clear message that we don’t want our products wrapped in plastic. And because we live in Berlin, we can achieve this without too much extra effort on our part, and without breaking the bank.

Assimilation – Wilfully Forgetting to Remember Who You Are

by Guest Author | Stories

In trying to get back to a sense of normalcy again, we must all agree that a lot has happened. People have lost their lives. Children have whisked themselves away from family responsibilities into distant places to ensure their parent’s safety. Plans have been shifted, changed, and postponed. Jobs, relationships, and several other opportunities have evaporated into thin air. Universities, Shops, and Restaurants have turned down services. Schools and other institutions have closed their doors and turned towards the digital. And we are now learning new ways of treating ourselves and each other as we find better alternatives to our lives. In the spirit of wanting to take a new leave, I did something I haven’t done in a long time. I forced myself to remember. I reflected on my past. I traveled through certain corners of my mind I had completely cut off for reasons I cannot say out loud without risking putting myself in an uncomfortable position.

The Fate of Berlin’s Very Own Mysterious Monolith

by Guest Author | Art

As if this year wasn’t already like a Kubrick film, mysterious monoliths like the one in 2001: Space Odyssey started appearing around the world. And I bet you didn’t know that Berlin had its own.

The first monolith, found in Utah’s Red Rock Country by some biologists surveying bighorn sheep from a helicopter, was placed there sometime in 2016.

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