Yasmin | iHeartBerlin.de

Berlin is Blooming: Spring Re-Openings 2019

photo: Klunkerkranich.

Hurrah! Spring has sprung! And you know what this means: Outdoor locations are becoming a thing again!

No more standing under heating lamps, clutching to your thick coats. The last fluff of your scarves is scaling off your necks and many heads turn to other people again. With rising degrees, the core areas of the capital shift from the inside to the outside.

Berlin awakens in Spring. And along with it the people, the cafes, restaurants, urban parks, and festivals are returning from their winter hideout. How we’ve missed the many opportunities to enjoy life under the clear sky. With Spring, all these possibilities are back!

And even better, we compiled a list of activities and locations that are back from winter hiatus and open again for you to enjoy. See them right after the jump.

When Berlin Smiles back at you

by Yasmin | Stories

Look up into the sky, draw a circle of trust – the city is coming out of the dust. You can feel the air getting warm around you, building up contentment inside you. Let it culminate, come out of you – burst into laughter, come through.

Berlin is back, was never gone, we know that winter’s beautiful on its own. But no one can deny this side, the city’s warmer, happier smile. With all the gloom and seriousness, how bright can your smile really get? Pretty bright and very wide – just try to laugh about, smile! From ear to ear your teeth should show, how life is getting you to glow!

So laugh away the darker things, smile right into your little wings and fly away into the blue – the city is smiling and so should you.

The Most Unusual Places for Classical Concerts in Berlin

by Yasmin | Music

Heimathafen Neukölln, photo: Verena Eidel / CC

A classical concert in a non-classical setting is just about the right kind of Wow-effect for your brain. The old and the new merge perfectly, creating something that is new. Gone are the times where classical music seemed old, a bit stiff and hard to understand for anyone who is used to the very different scales of, let’s say, mainstream pop. Nowadays, classical music seems to make an Ancora or – dare I say this: was never gone.

The thing that is changing about it though is the setting in which the music vibrates. What other place than progressive Berlin would provide the right kind of locations that frame these melodies from another century in a way that only this century could. See five of the most unusual places to enjoy a classical music concert right after the jump. read more…

Raving Iran – The Movie Premiere in Berlin

by Yasmin | Movies

photos: Raving Iran / Susanne Regina Meures

A bass, darkness, strobing light. Waving arms, dancing people, glimpses of the night, a techno beat. We are not in Berghain or any other dark place in Berlin. We are in the Iranian desert with Anoosh and Arash. The two friends and musicians are having a – not only illegal – but highly dangerous party with some friends in the outback of the desert. If they get caught, they will go to jail at least. Just one of the many inconveniences they have to endure to be young and a little bit free in Iran. The documentary Raving Iran by Susanne Regina Meures is telling a little piece of their story. It just premiered in Berlin at Volksbühne. Find out more and see the trailer after the jump. read more…

Exploring Berlin: A Guide to Weißensee

by Yasmin | Cafés, Galleries, Shops, Weißensee

photo: Miguel Silva Rodrigues / CC

Weißensee – ever heard of it? If you haven’t, don’t blame yourself. There are some districts in Berlin that kind of fall under the radar concerning public attention. Lichtenberg is one of them, or Reinickendorf, Marzahn. And so is Weißensee, it seems to be also one of the hidden gems. Even though there is quite a lot going on, the clocks are ticking a little slower here. This might not be the version of the Berlin you know. But maybe you should.

Weißensee is a part of Pankow and used to be like many other districts a little village, back in the 13th century. Named after the big lake, the then-village Weißensee has more to offer than meets the eye. With the help of the new aber hallo, Weißensee map we selected some of the most interesting places that will make your visit worth while.

The Scent Of Berlin

by Yasmin | Stories

photos: Jeisson Martin

I still remember the streets of Istanbul. More so, the scent of them. When I think of the city, I think of the dust, flying around, mixing with the different smells of food from the streets. Carrying the life of the people through the alleys, being baked in the sun and cooled down at night. I remember the flavor of apple tea floating through the city, I remember the sea. When I think of Berlin I smell an evening, a sundown, some concrete. I think of the possibilities that dance through the streets, the lights and the music. A smell can predict danger, a scent can mean home, a fragrance can make a promise.

The scent of a city is sort of its emotional fingerprint. The identity and announcement of events. How warm the smells surround you, how cold the night could be. How harsh a certain district smells and how soft the sea. Kreuzberg smells different than Zehlendorf, Mitte has a different perfume than Neukölln. Not to get all Grenouille, but scents to me are the texture that memories are made of.

Komet Bernhard – A Berlin Original

by Yasmin | Party, People, Videos

photo: freshmilk

White hair, a long beard shaking to the beat. Attached to it: A man dancing to techno music, making bubbles, glowing with good energy. This is Komet Bernhard, a living legend in Berlin. If you’ve been out and about the last years in Berlin, you must have heard of him or seen him by now. Like a nightlife mascot (and I mean this in the best way possible) Bernhard is always there, where you wouldn’t expect him, dancing amidst youngsters, having the time of his life. Often, in the gloom of nighttime party banter, it’s not possible to get to know the person behind a glimpse of what you might grasp.

Which is why the makers of freshmilk decided to get to know the raving legend a bit better: In a 25 min documentary. Starting in his apartment of 13 years, the filmmakers follow Bernhard through one of his many wanderings through Berlin by night. And get to know him more with every step.

You can tell: The world is a big wonder for the 67 year old, who seems to have kept a youthful mind and big eyes: “I am dancing for my life – If I wouldn’t dance, I wouldn’t be here anymore” says Komet Bernhard. And in this documentary you might just find out why.

Berlin – A City of Contrasts

by Yasmin | Videos

photo: Bianca Vola / CC

It must have been a billion eyes by now that have seen Berlin. Every day, millions of people experience the city in a completely different way. The uniqueness in commonality is distinguished, a city like Berlin holds up millions of different heads and hearts that pretty much want the same thing from life in a different form. They all come together in the capital, and flow like a stream up into the night, down in the morning.

For the many visitors coming to Berlin, the city must paint a completely different picture than for the locals. And also the visitor, each and every one them, is taking to the city what he previously experienced, merging it with the city and everyone in it.

Berlin’s Nightlife & Music Scene of the 1920s

by Yasmin | Books, Music, Party

photos: Berlin – Sounds of an Era

“The city had a jewel-like sparkle, especially at night, that didn’t exist in Paris”

Josephine Baker

Berlin in the 20’s: With the Jazz emerging and the dresses shortening, a new feeling of life entered the city, invigorating its nightlife. The time frame of the Weimar Republic might have set the tone for the capital’s later years, up until the now – including wild dancing, loud music and free spirit.

The city was in a blaze of glory – with the horror’s of the war and the cultural scene ever-changing – and it has some amazing contemporary witnesses and their music that are testaments for this unique period.

Life Through Berlin’s Windows

by Yasmin | Stories

photo: Franz Becker

From a bird’s-eye view you’re watching, wondering what life might bring
The city’s sleeping in a cloud – summer came by and got right out
What are they dreaming, these sleeping heads, lying in their tiny beds?
Is that a smile upon their face, looking forward to another day?

From the rooftop you see the couple brushing their teeth
The older lady with a cat and a book on her knees
The manager about to work, the party people still up with a smirk
The student studying for an exam, the musician playing a joyful jam
They all are living in this house, this backyard, this street
And somewhere you can still hear a beat…

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