BERLIN BY BIKE



Street corner in Kreuzberg

We seem to be expert at busmen's holidays, and this was no different.  On our way on the train from the airport, a wet mother and child plus bike got on at the next stop. Over the next 4 days one or other of us could be heard uttering "Lots of cyclists!", "Look what happens when this cycle lane meets a road", "Quite a few are wearing helmets but by no means all", "Look at how people just leave their bike chained in the street - looks like there isn't room for them indoors in the flat", "What a crappy old bike!", "What a machine!", "God, he's old!", "How many bikes can we count on platforms, in trains or trams in a day?", "She's young to be cycling on her own," "Hey, that postie's bike has a double-stabilised parking stand", "How can they just lock the bike to itself, unsecured to any railing or tree?"




Aaaaah, Mummy bike and baby bike



A tram - unlike in Manchester you can take your bike on it

A tram that welcomes bikes




Ready for Fat Tire Bike tour at Alexanderplatz

Beer garden in the Tiergarten

The Wall - we expected it to be much higher

Reichstag building - fab night visit walking up the endless ramp

It's hardly original, travelling round Berlin on a bike, but as it was our first visit to the city, it was a no-brainer to organise a pedal-powered sightseeing tour with Fat Tire Bikes. Five stars and a 20 Euro tip to our guide, Neil for an entertaining, informed, varied trawl through the sights of yesteryear. He explained the tough stuff - Hitler's bunker, remnants of The Wall - , revered the lost - Kristallnacht, book burning - , chuckled at the ridiculous - identical Protestant and Catholic cathedrals at either end of a square -, pointed us to the essentials - a fistful of lager in the beer garden of the Tiergarten (yes, that is supposed to rhyme). He even got down on his hands and knees just before Checkpoint Charlie and sketched out on the pavement with coloured chalks the whole Cold War history of Europe. Since Berlin was essentially apile of rubble in 1945 most of the buildings have been re-built in the last 50 years, although what was left is ravaged by bulletholes.


Holocaust memorial

There's much more to say on the subject of Berlin and how it deals with its violent, divided history with dignity and without schmaltz. But that is not the remit of a cycling blog.
As in other European cities like Amsterdam, there was a chilled-out feel to the streets: people cycled slowly along wide roads (not all with segregated cycle lanes) in their everyday clothes, just going about their business. At times the road was up for repairs - a common sight as the underground and tram routes are being upgraded and extended - so riders ambled along the pavements for a hundred metres, gently tinging their bell from time to time, without anyone batting an eyelid. 

There were loads of bikes for hire, not just one scheme, and the official DB Cycle Hire scheme was much less distinctive than Velib in Paris.


Remnant of The Wall suitably decorated

It made us think about bike snobs in the UK - including us.  It's not all about faster, lighter, slicker. The young guy riding a bike with a basket wasn't ashamed, he was just going somewhere with his friend.

Everything felt very safe. Cars seemed to slow down for cyclists; I think the law on the continent is opposite from Britain - it's automatically the driver's fault in a collision unless they prove otherwise.










The climate doesn't seem to put people off.  During the 2 days of drizzle that accompanied our visit, people got togged up in cagoules, stashed their bags in Ortlieb carriers, and carried on. I doubt, however, that people ride during the harsh winter months of sub-zero temperatures.  


Streeet corner cafe

Definitely worth another visit to cycle round and get to know the city.