The Metropolis and Creative Life
Our theme in August is ‘Urbanism’. Jessica Jungbauer, who founded the online journal Best wishes from Berlin, values big cities as places of liberation from the binding mentality of the small community, thus granting creative individuals more space and freedom to independently define themself.
Berlin’s mentality is a bit special, even for us Germans. Native Berliners are associated with three critical attributes: a ready tongue (Schlagfertigkeit), unkindliness (Unfreundlichkeit), and megalomania** (Größenwahn).
Just one typical example. A boy asks a Gentleman: »Hallo! Jawoll, Ihnen meen ick, Männeken – saren Se mir mal, wie ick hier zum Roseneck komme!« (“Hello, yes, you … manikin. How do I get to the Roseneck?”). The Gentleman: »Couldn’t you ask a little bit more polite, please?« The Boy: »Nee, also da verloof ick mir lieber.« (“Never ever… I prefer to get lost instead.”)
Keeping that attitude in mind, we would never recommend to ask a real Berliner, why he like this city or why so many tourist visit Berlin. The answers would be useless.
For this (and other reasons) Jessica Jungbauer has chosen another approach. She asked creative New-Berliners, why they live and work in this city. This was the start of Best wishes from Berlin, her online magazine.
