Berlin

Berliners jog. You notice that right away. They mostly jog in pairs. But they don’t hurry.

Just as I’m thinking perhaps you only need to be overwhelmed by romantic feeling to start jogging, a herd of joggers appears around the corner; about fifteen people. They are running so fast that I only manage to photograph the “tail end” of the jogging herd. Running shows results. It doesn’t look like the global problem of adiposity is really taking hold. It seems that in Berlin, one can do anything at all that the heart desires as long as it doesn’t disturb anyone. I also see more freaks, aging punks and hippies here than anywhere else.

Maybe in these twenty days I will be able to better understand the total democratism of Berlin, which the Berliners call their “multinational identity.” Why do you feel so good in this city? Why is being so light and easy? Of course, I’m still only talking about the elementary impressions that I get on the street. Berlin makes sure that I never feel like a tourist for one moment. Be who you are, if you only know who you are. Maybe that is one reason that the people dress very simply, more precisely, functionally. They dress in order to live and do not live in order to dress. I have the impression that the Berliners expend their energy on other things.




More entries from Undīne Adamaite’s Berlin Journal:

Berlin, 5.1.2013: Neither a False Tourist Nor Truly a Local
Berlin, 6.1.2013: Sunday Rest in the City
Berlin, 8.1.2013: At the Tagesspiegel
Berlin, 9.1.2013: A Monthly Portion of Courtesy
Berlin, 10.1.2013: A Play in a Foreign Language Remains a Façade
Berlin, 12.1.2013: At the Theatre in Knitted Caps
Berlin, 13.1.2013: An Intermediate Summary
Berlin, 16.1.2013: Fired with Premium Fuel
Berlin, 19.1.2013: Blind Date
Berlin, 21.1.2013: Old Fashioned and In Demand
Berlin, 26.1.2013: Čus, Berlin!