bike-tastic

One thing that I have learned in Berlin is that they like their bikes. There are special lanes, on sidewalks and on streets. They have their own red, yellow and green lights. People even listen to the bell. This is a city made for biking.



So today I rented a bike (a pink one, to be specific) and explored the city, it's streets, and it's very essence. At first I was timid, not quite sure of the rules of the road. Do I have to signal here? Should I be on this side? But soon I gained confidence and began having fun. Should I take a left, a right, or go 'gerade' (straight)? Those were the big decisions of my day.

Somehow and very much uninentionally, these random decision led me into the Festival der Kulturen (Festival of Cultures) with it's aclectic music, millions of booths filled with a wide variety of food, ranging from pakoras to crepes and of course some german beer stands in between. I listened to music while sitting on my bike, I people watched, and I bought a scarf. It was very much a fabulous 'happen-chance' encounter with Berlin and it's cultures.



But then I was off again. This time I knew a general end point: Schloss Charlottenburg. So I made my way through the city streets, and then the Tier garden, and eventually happened upon a Flea Market (I recently learned that the name comes from the fact that they used to have monkeys who would pick the fleas out of peoples hair. Interesting eh? Europe is teaching me quite a lot...) that I had read about on the web but had forgotten when and where it was held. It was delightful! And my bank account can take a sigh of relief as I do not live in Berlin (tragically so) and that I had limited space in the bag that was strapped to my bike. But I did come away with a 'pearl' necklace. And if you're wondering, of course they're real...



So I spent a day on a bike, wizzing up and down streets, in the rain and out of it. I eventually made it back to my hostel, drenched but with a smile on my face because this city makes me feel alive.