Have you ever been to Gatow? How about Altglienicke or maybe Neu-Hohenschönhausen? Berlin has 97 neighbourhoods, but most remain a mystery to the typical city-centre-dweller. Native Berliner Mora B wants to change that – or at least, for you to consider straying a little further afield. In his video series, the university-student-turned-content-creator has been visiting every single Ortsteil in Berlin.
The number one thing that I realised is that Berlin really is so big. I can’t get my head around it.
Behind the brainrot editing (think: voice effects, incongruous explosions) lies a genuine interest in showcasing the areas Mora views as “the backbone of the city” and challenging people’s perceptions about what Berlin actually is. We caught up with the comedic cartographer – now working on his 88th neighbourhood – to find out what goes on behind the scenes.
Making content on all 97 Berlin neighborhoods is a big undertaking. What inspired you to start the project?
It began during lockdown. I used to take my bike out in the middle of the night in winter and I had this very eye-opening moment when I rode my bike from Märkisches Viertel into Rosenthal, which are right next to each other. You’re in a place where there are tall buildings and it’s notorious for crime, and then you ride like 500 metres into Rosenthal and suddenly it’s an absolute village. It’s like day and night. I decided I would try to ride through every district in Berlin.
Your account is called ‘moabitiseverywhere’, but you actually grew up in Spandau. What’s the origin story there?
I originally used [Moabit] as a gamer tag when I played video games online. Back then, I used to watch this trash TV series called Berlin Tag und Nacht and there was this one throwaway character whose name was Moabit, and I thought this was so funny. I thought, okay, I’m just going to use this as a throwaway gamer tag, it’s not going to have any meaning. And here we are. Also Moabit is one of the few areas in Berlin which has its own standalone name, without having -dorf or -burg or anything like that attached.
What’s the weirdest local landmark that you’ve come across on your travels?
This is a silly one, but in Neu-Hohenschönhausen, I found this fountain that looked just like that fat caterpillar from A Bug’s Life.
Is there an underrated Ortsteil that you’d recommend our readers check out?
When people ask me this, I always say go to Malchow because it’s the place in Berlin where the least people live; there’s like 600 people living there. People just get caught up in those discussions, you know, “Berlin is so dangerous, Berlin is all about partying, etc., etc.,” but if you just go a little bit beyond the Ring, you will see that there’s a much different side. If you want to be really niche, you could go to Friedrichshagen; there’s a nice street where there are lots of cafes where you can sit down and get a cake or ice cream.
And Tegel – oh my god, I forgot about Tegel. I love Tegel so much because Tegel just has almost everything – not really a party thing going on – but such beautiful nature. To be honest, I’m always afraid to recommend stuff to other people because to me, it might be exciting – when I’m filming, I’m always excited about everything, the look of the buildings, the small things – and I realise not a lot of people would care about that so much.
Your account features lots of your original music – the ‘Berlin is so big’ theme song and that Marzahn ‘Funkytown’ spoof. Do you have a musical background?
I’ve played guitar almost all my life and was always interested in music. So I’m always looking for opportunities to incorporate this into my content.
I also composed a theme for every district, which you hear in the background of my videos, kind of like Pokémon route music. The soundtracks got more and more unhinged as time went by. It was very important to me to try to make as much original music [for the videos] as possible. I think it was just like the best thing I could have done. I also plan on releasing music on Spotify this year.
You’ve done well on TikTok. Why do you think it’s resonated?
I think because I’m representing Berlin in a way that it has not been represented before on social media. Most things you see about Berlin on social media are either crime-related or happening within certain districts, like Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg. I have people in my comments saying “Suddenly I’m seeing the place where I live on TikTok.” For them, it’s such an important thing.
What are some of the challenges of creating content on social media?
TikTok rewards more effortless content. I noticed when I do a little fun video and put no effort in, it gets so many views. Meanwhile, for the Westend episode, I decided to do something crazy. In Westend there’s the Funkturm, which looks like the Eiffel Tower, so I decided to go to Paris. I went in the morning, I spent the day, I made the title shot for the Westend video in front of the Eiffel Tower and I came back in the evening and posted it. And no one noticed! I was like, ‘Oh, damn, I went to Paris for this joke and nobody got it.’
Do you see your videos as comedy, educational, or something else entirely?
At first, I wanted to have a bigger focus on educational stuff. As the series got more and more advanced, I realised there’s sometimes not enough time to really talk about the details. But when there was some kind of important historical event, I think I have a responsibility to make space for it. When I went to Oranienburg, I had to incorporate the concentration camp [memorial site] somehow.
@moabitiseverywhere Berlin trees are so weak fr like how do they always fall when there’s a little bit more wind smh 😤🙄 #berlin #travel #sbahn #storm #unwetter ♬ Hello – OMFG
There’s also the Afrikanisches Viertel where all the streets are named after the colonies that Germany had. I think it is very important that I also take a stance once in a while, you know? It’s hard to be political as a content creator, because as soon as you make some kind of political stance that could be considered controversial, you’re going to have a harder time getting brand deals. But there’s just some things that I have to talk about.
Has your perception of Berlin changed since you started this project?
100%, especially in East Berlin. And the number one thing that I realised is that Berlin really is so big. I can’t get my head around it. Also there’s so many green areas, so many parks and so many churches. It’s absolutely crazy.
What’s next for you after you’ve been to all 97 neighbourhoods?
I don’t really want to be the Berlin guy. I think Berlin is always going to be the centre of my content, but I really want to expand on what I can do. I definitely want to focus on creating more music, because at the end of the day that is my biggest passion, but I also want to see as many places as I can as well. I want to see how far away from Berlin I can go! I’d like to do every capital of Europe or every capital in the different states of Germany
