illustrations: Berk Karaoglu
The iHeartBerlin team has always been an international cluster of fellows, so we do relate a lot to any struggles you might be having with the German language. I for one can still clearly recall the time that everything I attempted to say in this glorious language was met with a very confused and sometimes almost apologetic ”Wie bitte?”. But still – your Berlin experience gets even more holistic once you’ve mastered German, so we’re trying to encourage you as best as we can. After we’ve explained some of the most common examples of ”casual” German and enabled you to make lots of new friends with some exquisite German insults, the time has come now to present you with 10 words relating to the feeling of happiness that have no ample equivalents in English.
by Michalina | Stories
photos: Min Kyung Choi
Dearest Berlin, let us dance!
Already wearing your prettiest summer-dress and smiling your brightest smile!
Finally your days are long, your nights short. Melt into each other. Have no beginning and no end.
The melancholic spirit of winter seems long past and is forgiven.
Dark November blues melt simultaneously with my frozen lemon popsicles.
The sky painted in radiant blue. This is why I fell in love with you, Berlin.
Everything is blooming and the city is raging with life. Listening to street musicians while bathing in the sun.
Watching shimmering shadows dancing in the moonlight.
Dreams seem to come true during summer.
Read on…
by Guest Author | Photos, Stories
Berlin winter is hard on all of us, grey skies, grey facades, rain and that icy cold. We turn into thousands of grumpy cats grunting at each other in the subway. A deep depression slowly sets in, melancholy, self doubt: Why did we decide to stay in this city in the first place? At some point at the end of February after listening to that gloomy ‘Bon Iver’ record for the two-thousandth time we are actually that close to throwing in the towel. “That’s it! I quit! I am moving to Sevilla!”
But then, it happens: The sun and warm temperatures find their way back to Berlin. And its inhabitants react with some quirky behavior…
Read on…
by Andy | 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.
Read on…
by Yasmin | Stories
photos: blnlove
Looking back in time it feels like ages since I moved to Berlin. Yet, it has barely been over a year. I keep trying to get my head around it, but I simply cannot explain it; especially since I have lived in other big cities, such as Barcelona and Athens, for a much longer period of time; maybe it is the fact that the life I have lived in Berlin has been so fulfilling; maybe it is the fact that I have experienced here so many things for the first time . In an attempt to express with gratitude what this city has so generously given me, here is what comes to my mind first:
Read on…
by Nikos | Stories
Just a couple of days ago I had an interesting conversation with one of my co-writers about the current mood in the city and it was pretty surprising how contradicting our individual impressions were. It really got me thinking about my views of the city that I have kept for a long time. Of course it is pretty much a given fact that the place you live in becomes a conduit for your personal moods. But I had this idea about Berlin that – beside the obvious spikes up and down – it somehow averaged in a state I would describe as a bit grey, a bit dirty and a bit grumpy. I remember I often thought that the people in the subway had the corners of their mouths turned a little more downwards than any other city in the world. And the perception of my co-writer that she currently had of Berlin pretty much confirmed this notion, even though her view was even a bit more gloomy than that.
I reacted almost perplexed. My perspective was completely different. I was away from Berlin for the past 6 months and after I returned recently the city has greeted me with such a good mood. The city seemed so cheerful, so many people in the streets smiled and me and looked so carefree and happy. I saw such a colorful, vibrant and relaxed world around me. So clean and so green. I felt and still feel like in some kind of paradise, every day that I leave the house. It was really curious, because I absolutely didn’t remember the city like that. Of course now in the summer the mood of the city and the people is generally on an upwards trend. But this was more than usual.
Read on…
by Frank | Stories
photo: Francesca Camilla
In Berlin, you’re never too old or too young to rave. This is pretty much the message of this joyful new video starring Berlin’s hippest senior Günther Krabbenhöft, who you can see dancing and partying around town, with young and old. I love how this video shows the diverse side of the city: people with different backgrounds, even kids, just having a laugh and a good time together. It can be so simple and so sweet: that moment when you realize that we can all coexist peacefully together, with no racism, ageism, sexism and other bad “isms” and phobias. Berlin is a place where we can all be together and be who we really are without other people judging us. Let this feeling become even stronger in Berlin, because we have a few more things to overcome. But for now, let’s dance through the streets a bit like Günther here…
Read on…
by Frank | Music, Party, Videos
photo: Sascha Kohlmann
A few weeks ago I was spontaneously invited to be part of a video shoot by Huawei for their new #humantouch campaign. The video is all about sending people some positive messages, touch their hearts and give them a smile. It’s a very minimalist concept, yet it’s emotionally loaded.
Seeing the finished video now got me thinking. I like the spirit of it, taking one moment of our busy lives and write something sweet or funny to a stranger to give them a piece of happiness. We need this, especially in the cold and dark season we are in right now, especially here in Berlin were everyone is grumpy and complains. We need a bit of light-heartedness and optimism here right now. So I wondered about what could give the Berliners a smile, even if it’s just a small one, or maybe even a laugh?
After the jump I prepared some positive messages for Berlin. Let them brighten your day a bit 😉
Read on…
by Frank | Stories
And so do Blue&Joy two creatures thought up by an Italien team of street artists who recently had an exhibition here in Berlin at MK Gallery. More of their joyful giant street art pieces after the jump. Enjoy!
Read on…
by Frank | Art
