Inside Berlin(er): Culture, Freedom and Passion

00:00:05: Super healthy matcha drinking yoga person.

00:00:08: Talk about sex as if it's part of everyday life because it is.

00:00:12: There's just me naked in front of a hundred and fifty people with a microphone being like, okay everybody, form this ship, you know.

00:00:18: Hi, I'm Johnny Ternan, Editor-in-Chief of the Berliner magazine.

00:00:34: We are Berlin's English language cultural magazine.

00:00:36: If you want to know what's going on in Berlin in any capacity, we are the place to go to for that.

00:00:41: You can find us in news agents all across the city.

00:00:44: You can find us at our website, The-Berliner.com.

00:00:47: And as always, follow us on Instagram at TheBerlinerMag.

00:00:53: Johnny, it's so nice to have you here.

00:00:55: Can you tell me a little bit more about the magazine?

00:00:58: Like, how do you work?

00:00:59: What kind of topics do you have in every edition?

00:01:02: And why do you like to do what you do?

00:01:05: Yeah, so we've been around for, I think it's twenty three years now.

00:01:09: So it's been around for a long time.

00:01:10: It is like the foremost source of information about Berlin in English, I would say.

00:01:15: And we cover.

00:01:16: We're primarily a cultural magazine.

00:01:17: That's like at the core.

00:01:19: So we cover all of the cultural aspects of Berlin.

00:01:22: So music, film, art, stage, books, clubs.

00:01:27: I mean, this, for me, this, this culture is what is the core of the city.

00:01:30: It's what so many people, I guess, move here for.

00:01:34: It's what I moved to Berlin for and was attracted by.

00:01:37: It's what keeps a lot of people in the city, the culture of the city.

00:01:40: It is.

00:01:42: unique, it's vibrant, it's what it's built on.

00:01:44: So that's kind of what the magazine is built on as well.

00:01:47: But we don't just cover culture, that's kind of like the backbone.

00:01:50: We also have, you know, cover other parts of city life in Berlin.

00:01:54: So food, for example, we always like talk about when new restaurants are happening.

00:01:58: We also cover other like sex positive content.

00:02:00: In the magazine we have the, and the history of Berlin is very important.

00:02:04: And then we have other standalone features.

00:02:07: Yeah, where we're looking at like more in-depth looks at various topics.

00:02:10: We also cover the politics of the city too.

00:02:12: Yeah, so basically anything that touches on people's life and Berliners lives in Berlin, like we are there involved and reporting on it.

00:02:20: Johnny, you are from Northern Ireland and you like music.

00:02:24: So where are you going in Berlin to listen to good music?

00:02:27: I mean, these days, like, I mean, this is the thing about Berlin as well.

00:02:31: that I always espouse is that whatever you're into.

00:02:34: there is something here for you like whatever little niche whatever subgenre whatever it is.

00:02:39: you know if you're into dub techno there's a dub techno night.

00:02:43: if you're into experimental ambient there's an experimental ambient night.

00:02:46: if you're into classical music there's classical music jazz hip-hop like whatever you're into.

00:02:52: there's something there for you in the city and I mean I'm like a voracious music consumer.

00:02:58: so I'm really happy here, yeah?

00:03:01: At the weekend, I was at the Young Euro Classic opening concert with the Romanian Youth Orchestra.

00:03:06: That was amazing and fantastic.

00:03:08: You know, and then, you know, now coming up later this month, we've got Brillent Atronal, which is top of my list.

00:03:14: It's one of my favourite festivals of the year.

00:03:17: It's like the most boundary-pushing, experimental festivals, I'd say, in the world.

00:03:22: Yeah, and then I also like going to Chocolaten for small indie punk rock gigs.

00:03:27: We also have big festival gigs as well.

00:03:30: Yeah, there's just everything here.

00:03:34: Whatever you want, you can find it, I think.

00:03:37: Is there any kind of secret place you really recommend to everyone?

00:03:41: So what is a hidden thing you want to tell our audience just today?

00:03:46: Am I allowed to talk about this one?

00:03:48: I mean, that's a question.

00:03:49: There is a small underground secret venue that is around Silesia's tour.

00:03:55: There's a venue called Lux.

00:03:56: And in behind there, there's another secret underground venue that do these very cool, independent gigs, often with punk rock bands.

00:04:07: If you're into underground, secret, brilliant places that are not necessarily secret, but that you would not really find in other places, Like the Kopi, the squat venue, if you're brave enough to go and enjoy some hanging out with the punk rockers in the hardcore, then Kopi, the squat on Kupenikashtvaza, they do special events there.

00:04:27: That's another place I'd like to recommend.

00:04:31: Not music-related, but if you're looking for another insider underground tip, and they also do music, there's Villa Curiosum.

00:04:37: Ninety Mill is a venue that I really recommend.

00:04:39: It's on... Holtzmarksterase, it is due to end this year.

00:04:44: It's a temporary space.

00:04:44: They always knew it was only going to be around for a few years.

00:04:47: But I'd say ninety mil are probably doing some of the coolest stuff.

00:04:51: And it feels like what people imagine Berlin is like or used to be like.

00:04:55: is this, you know, this kind of rough and ready, also doing lots of stuff, which is boundary pushing, a lot of DIY, do what you want kind of vibe.

00:05:04: So ninety mil, that's probably my best recommendation if you're looking to go out and find what people would, you know, like if you have a stereotypical image in your mind of what you think Berlin might be.

00:05:15: I think that's as close to it as you can get these days.

00:05:17: So what kind of boundaries did you push already since you are in Berlin?

00:05:22: That's an interesting question.

00:05:23: I mean, culturally speaking, I think that it's not that I pushed my own boundaries, but I definitely experienced a lot more culture and different types of culture here that you couldn't experience in other places.

00:05:35: maybe expanded the field of what I might like.

00:05:38: I mean, obviously, you can tell I love music and that's been something that I've, you know, my whole life I've been in touch with.

00:05:43: But now I'm open and engaging with all different kinds of art.

00:05:47: I mean, something that I've grown to love here is this sort of like audiovisual experimental art that combines, you know, lights and signs and kinetics together.

00:05:56: So you'll see this, Christopher Bouter, the light-signed artist and kinetic.

00:06:01: artist.

00:06:02: He is the guy behind Dark Matter and they do Scholar there.

00:06:05: But I saw his installations for the first time in Kraftwerk.

00:06:08: They did one called Scholar.

00:06:10: And it really blew my mind.

00:06:11: I just didn't know this was something that could exist in the world.

00:06:14: And being in Kraftwerk, it's hard to describe.

00:06:16: It's like something like ninety moving discs that are like moving at the same time with these lasers, you know, interacting with it.

00:06:25: And when you're in Kraftwerk, this giant former power plant, it's just like this is such a different space.

00:06:30: I'd never seen this kind of art before and it felt like, I always say it felt like aliens had taken over the person's consciousness and they're recreating the art of their homeland through this person.

00:06:41: because I was like, it just feels so, with the noises and the, you know, the visuals, it felt so alien and it really blew my mind.

00:06:48: and then I've begun to discover there's more and more of this kind of thing.

00:06:52: And the people behind, they do the dark rooms vertical and Himmel under Berlin, these curators Sven and Clara Zawa, they do this kind of art as well.

00:07:00: They have, they do these installations where they take over abandoned buildings or buildings that are going to be torn down in Berlin.

00:07:05: And they do these multi-roomed exhibitions with these, yeah, with artists that also do this kinetic visual art.

00:07:12: And it's something I hadn't seen before and now it's becoming much more popular.

00:07:15: And it feels like a very Berlin kind of art.

00:07:18: It feels like a very you know, brilliant, it wouldn't happen anywhere else.

00:07:21: And now it is expanding beyond here.

00:07:24: But I feel like it really started here in that kind of, yeah, I say that push the boundary of what I would have thought that I would be into.

00:07:31: But it's the most typical thing you discovered in Berlin, what people say or do.

00:07:36: So when you describe someone like the typical Berliner, how do they behave?

00:07:41: Is there something you could like find one sentence, like an essence of Berlin?

00:07:46: I would say that no because for me what makes Berlin Berlin to a degree is you can really do whatever you want here.

00:07:52: you know if you want to be a super healthy matcha drinking yoga person that meditates and revolves your whole life around wellness and becoming healing and whole you can do that here and you'll never get bored.

00:08:04: you know if you want to be someone that goes out partying from Thursday to Wednesday you know you can do that here too.

00:08:11: you know there's a club open every night.

00:08:13: if you want to be that person you can be that person.

00:08:15: If you want to be into punk rock and express yourself that way, you know, whatever you're into, like you can do it here.

00:08:22: So I think there is no, there is no single Berliner.

00:08:25: I think that the stereotypical image people have of a Berliner, maybe if they're outside of here, is like, oh, a bergain going, wear black clothes, wearing, you know, certain type of tattoos and so on.

00:08:36: And yeah, that exists.

00:08:37: But I'm like, that's just like a trend, you know, and at some point in time.

00:08:41: in ten years it will be a different trend and I don't think those people, they might represent the stereotype of Berlin but they don't represent Berlin.

00:08:49: People come here to express themselves, to find themselves, to see what they want to do and you can take whatever path you want to do that and I think that's what makes the city great.

00:08:57: can you give me some insights?

00:08:58: how do you work when you come together for the next magazine?

00:09:02: so how do you find good ideas?

00:09:04: how do you discuss it with your colleagues with your other journalists?

00:09:08: so how do you find the topics and the themes of the magazine.

00:09:12: Yeah i mean it's a mixture of having the ideas generated from our internal team.

00:09:17: so we have a you know we have an internal team of editors that work in heist and they're working on this day in day out so know the city well and then.

00:09:24: always on the lookout for new stories, always on the lookout for new ideas, seeing what's out there and having your ear to the ground.

00:09:30: And that's how a lot of the ideas are generated.

00:09:33: Yeah, by our editors, you know, our team.

00:09:35: We also have people that have this approach as we're open to pitches and we're always open to new ideas.

00:09:39: So people can email other writers, journalists, even other people, they can shout out and be like, Hey, you know, I have a story, you know, would you be interested in covering it?

00:09:48: Or so we get approached.

00:09:50: in that way.

00:09:51: But it's kind of like it's a mixture of our internal team being really in tune and on the ground and know what's going on.

00:09:57: And other people approaching us.

00:09:59: And Johnny, when you have to grab some food, maybe with your colleagues, where are you going when you're very hungry after a long working day, for example?

00:10:08: So like I am super guilty of not leaving my kids so much and having my favorite places.

00:10:13: You know, I live on in Wrangel Keats, so there's lots of good stuff in the area.

00:10:19: And there was one day I found this, like, Vietnamese restaurant.

00:10:23: Just by a pure fluke, I walked over the bridge at Oberbandrika, looking for somewhere to eat.

00:10:29: And I found this little Vietnamese restaurant.

00:10:30: It was then called Buddha's Kitchen.

00:10:32: And I just really loved it.

00:10:33: And I love the vibe.

00:10:34: It's on Falkenstein.

00:10:35: So when you're sitting there on the outside tables, you know, you've got the ice cream parlor across the street.

00:10:39: There's people mingling around it, coming from Belfast, where we don't really have an outdoor eating culture because it rains.

00:10:45: It was the first time I'd experienced this vibe and you can see everybody walking back and forward and like that whole vibe of this that the Keats is.

00:10:53: you know it's very like it's.

00:10:54: stereotypically it's like a melting pot.

00:10:55: it's what you know if you really thought about Berlin.

00:10:57: that's why kind of you think you know you see everybody mingling with each other and rubbing up against each other and I loved it.

00:11:02: so then every time I came back to Berlin I'd go to the same place.

00:11:04: I mean I really love Wooner.

00:11:06: you know the vegan Wooner kebab place.

00:11:08: When I first moved here, that was something that blew my mind.

00:11:10: I was living around the corner, and the idea that you can have vegan donor meat on the same kind of rotating spit that you have as a regular donor kebab, and they shave it off.

00:11:20: For me, coming from Belfast, where there wasn't a single vegetarian restaurant in the whole country, basically, to go somewhere where they're shaving vegan meat off like a regular kebab.

00:11:30: I was like, this is crazy.

00:11:33: What is this?

00:11:34: So green.

00:11:35: I'm like, oh my god.

00:11:37: go into like vegan sushi bars, vegan fine dining.

00:11:40: I love cookies cream.

00:11:42: You know, the fact that there's vegan fine dining, I used to go to cookies cream.

00:11:45: I used to go there more before I lived here because it was just now, it's like this thing, you know, when something's on your doorstep, right?

00:11:50: You really take it for granted and you think like, ah, I can go there anytime so you go there less.

00:11:55: But when you've only got a limited amount of time, you go more often.

00:11:57: Also, Hapa, Sophia Hoffman's vegan restaurant is just around the corner for me.

00:12:01: I went there for the first time recently.

00:12:03: Love that as well.

00:12:05: Yeah, Secret Garden, the vegan sushi place.

00:12:08: I kind of love that too.

00:12:09: Yeah, anything vegetarian and vegan tends to work for me.

00:12:13: Also on my street Annalise for breakfast, they do amazing scrambled eggs on sardo toast with kimchi.

00:12:18: It's awesome and great pancakes.

00:12:21: What is also very prominent here is the sex positive scene.

00:12:26: So you also cover it in your magazine.

00:12:28: So you have food, you have culture, but you also have very interesting articles about sex positive life in the city.

00:12:35: What is interesting about sex positivity in Berlin?

00:12:39: I think

00:12:39: that the goal with a magazine and covering the sex positive scene in the magazine has always been to do it in a way that normalizes people's sex life in a way that isn't sensationalizing it.

00:12:50: It's to talk about sex as if it's part of everyday life because it is.

00:12:54: And most people, I mean, a lot of people think of sex as something scandalous and they don't like to talk about it as much.

00:13:01: And it's a private thing and you keep it behind closed doors.

00:13:03: And it's not so much like that in Berlin, of course, which was something that makes the city different.

00:13:08: And then that's something that we want to engage in is engaging these conversations and to normalize aspects around sex and to talk about them and to make people more comfortable thinking about them.

00:13:17: And because sex is a massive part of everyone's life.

00:13:21: That's kind of like our goal is to normalize these topics.

00:13:25: I mean, for example, we did this article about this feature about period sex and having, you know, in clubs.

00:13:30: And I think it was really important for us to have that conversation and to think about this topic.

00:13:35: It affects, you know, half of the population, but it doesn't get as much like oxygen as it should and doesn't get thought about as much.

00:13:43: And I think it was really important to have that.

00:13:45: that conversation in the magazine as well.

00:13:47: Is there a big article or a nice thing you will cover soon?

00:13:51: So what is there to be happy that you will write about it in the next magazines?

00:13:57: Yeah, I mean, in the next issue, we have an interview with the first female astronaut from Germany to go to space.

00:14:04: That's going to be cool.

00:14:06: We'll be having an interview with Parcells, the Australian band that moved to Berlin after six months.

00:14:10: And then they, that was ten years ago, they all lived together in the same bedside.

00:14:14: the same apartment.

00:14:16: Yeah, neither an internationally famous touring band.

00:14:19: That's another cool story.

00:14:21: We're going to be doing a feature on the topic of abortion in Berlin.

00:14:24: That's the next sex, the carnal knowledge section, which is the sex positive section that we have.

00:14:28: Yeah, the next feature there is going to be on abortion in Berlin, which is an incredibly important topic.

00:14:33: So Johnny, are there some favorite stories or big interviews you had in the magazine?

00:14:39: I think one of the favorite stories that we did was the one on Berlin's naked scene.

00:14:44: where we looked at different aspects of nudity and nakedness in Berlin, which was everything from like the naked tea party where people are going and it's like literally it's a tea party, but everyone's naked.

00:14:54: And then the Alfred Koch, they're the naked sports institute where everybody, you know, goes and does all kinds of different sports naked and naked karaoke.

00:15:01: I mean, this was really, this sticks out for me for a few reasons.

00:15:06: One was.

00:15:06: we were thinking about how we were to represent this in the cover.

00:15:10: We're like, ah, wouldn't it be great to get a lot of people together to pose naked on the cover for a group photograph?

00:15:16: And on it was like a Thursday, we thought, let's just put a call on Instagram and see how many people would be interested in getting naked for the cover shoot of a magazine, thinking maybe like, twenty people would be up for it.

00:15:26: And, wow, when we put it out there, there was such a response.

00:15:29: Like, so many people were liking and commenting on Insta and I thought, OK, this is, I think this is going to be big.

00:15:35: So then yeah when we did the shoot in Hassanheide at first in just opposite the FKK area on like a Sunday morning and a hundred and fifty people turned maybe or more roughly a hundred and fifty people turned up to get naked for a group photo on Hassanheide.

00:15:49: so and it was yeah so that was really funny.

00:15:51: so then I was of course like well I mean I felt like I should get involved and also be naked in the shoot you know and not just be the one directing it.

00:15:59: it's not really fair for me to ask like okay everybody come and get naked.

00:16:03: so yeah i got involved and it's really funny.

00:16:06: there's this photograph of me like with our little microphone you know running everybody up.

00:16:10: there's just me naked in front of a hundred and fifty people with the microphone being like okay everybody form this ship you know.

00:16:18: And it was brilliant.

00:16:18: and then so and then someone had the idea and the cry was like why don't we get everybody to run towards the camera.

00:16:26: You know, and have the photographer, Mac, who's on, he's on a step ladder, taking a shot and they got the, so we did that.

00:16:31: So this is great shot of everybody like running towards the camera and naked.

00:16:35: It's brilliant.

00:16:36: And then there's another one.

00:16:36: It's like a school photograph where we're all posing, but you know, if everyone was naked at school.

00:16:41: And then we went from there, we went to Temple Hof to the strip to get a photograph.

00:16:44: I was like, wouldn't it be funny to strip on the strip?

00:16:47: So we, so then everybody followed me.

00:16:49: It was like the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

00:16:51: You know, everybody following from Hassanada to Tempelhof.

00:16:55: So then we got the Tempelhof and then everybody stripped on the strip and we got the photographs there and that's what ended up being used for the cover.

00:17:03: So that was really memorable.

00:17:06: But outside of that, in the creation of the story, like I tried some of the things, you know, I went and did Naked Karaoke.

00:17:13: Which is really funny.

00:17:15: and then went and played naked ping pong.

00:17:17: and for me what it actually.

00:17:19: it was a story that changed my attitude towards nudity and nakedness.

00:17:23: before this I mean before I came to Berlin.

00:17:25: I coming from Belfast getting naked around people is not something you really did, you know.

00:17:30: And then I started going to f caca beaches and becoming more comfortable.

00:17:33: I used to go on my own, you know, I wouldn't go with friends or anything like that You know to take.

00:17:37: and I became more and more comfortable.

00:17:38: and to the point where it's like, oh no Here I am playing ping pong with a bunch of strangers in the mood and it really normalized it and it made me feel that actually it's weirder that we have this.

00:17:50: we treat the naked body as a sexual thing every time.

00:17:53: I find that weirder than actually just being naked and doing karaoke or playing ping pong.

00:17:59: I think you know it's the other way around and it really sort of changed my.

00:18:02: it's something that did change my attitudes towards Yeah, towards nudity and the naked human body.

00:18:09: It sounds so nice.

00:18:10: I am very sad that I missed this kind of photo shoot.

00:18:13: Yeah, I thought about we should do it annually every year in the summer and just do like, let's see how many people we can get to pose naked in Hasselheider for our poster, like see if we can get it bigger every year.

00:18:22: Maybe we should just do it for fun.

00:18:24: Yeah, I think it's a good idea.

00:18:26: Yeah.

00:18:27: Thank you so much.

00:18:29: Thanks to the Berliner for partnering with us.

00:18:32: If you enjoyed sexy Berlin, make sure to subscribe, leave a review and tell your friends about us.

00:18:38: Listen to us next time and remember, love is everywhere.

00:18:41: You're sneaky.