brandlyyours:

Kit, I might add that you are new Berliner, as you adopted the new spelling reform. As an old school German lover, I’ll say Tschüss or Tschüß. :)

Anyways, have fun in Germany and take lots of pictures!

ovidiu:

Are you a plain one or one with jelly filling?

zuza:

Dearest, don’t say, just like Kennedy did before you, that you are a doughnut :P You have to say “Ich bin Berliner!”

But anyway, doughnut or inhabitant of Germany’s capital city, have fun and scan&share the pics when you return :) and hope you’ll have better weather than Berlin’s usual routine..

Kit:

BrandlyYours, my German is as rusty as a sunken battleship. I’ll correct my weirdo Tschüs to a flawless Tschüß. Much obliged.

Ovidiu, Zuza, I’ll quote the Wikipedia entry on the subject matter:

The legend stems from a play on words with Berliner, the name of a doughnut variant filled with jam or plum sauce that is thought to have originated in Berlin.

In fact, Kennedy’s statement is both grammatically correct and perfectly idiomatic, and cannot be misunderstood in context. The urban legend is prevalent only in English-speaking countries but largely unknown in Germany, where Kennedy’s speech is considered a landmark in the country’s postwar history. The indefinite article ein can be and often is omitted when speaking of an individual’s profession or residence but is necessary when speaking in a figurative sense as Kennedy did. Since the president was not literally from Berlin but only declaring his solidarity with its citizens, “Ich bin Berliner” would not have been correct.

Yeah!

Cold weather—it was the coldest Easter for more than 40 years around here, it seems. At least it’s sunny.

ovidiu:

Oh well, I agree with Wikipedia. Still, it also means “I am a doughnut” in any context.