# Berlin Commute *long*



## majura (Apr 21, 2007)

Thought I'd take a few pics of my commute to my German language school and share 'em. It's a 6km commute and takes me about 15-20min, from Mitte to Tiergarten. Since I'm always 'late' in the mornings, I took a nice relaxed ride on the way back since I diddn't have to work yesterday....









There are many Volkhochchulen (VHS) where you can learn anything from German to How to cook Vietnamese. They're located all over the city and are great value... this one is mine in Turmstraße.









On Alt. Moabit is Berlin's prison. You can often see the prisoners looking out of their windows.









Bike lanes a plenty in Berlin, all denoted by this red colour.









The lanes often move on and off the road for sometimes no apparent reason. The footpath bikelanes are normally a pain: bumpy and in busier areas pedestrians/tourists use them meaning a bell is essential.









I eventually hit the Spree River - which conveniently splits Berlin in two. The buildings on the left is where Angela Merkel works the the building furthest right is a Theatre known as the 'Oyster'. Also plenty of toursit boats which is a great way to see the city.









Aside from socks and sandals, Germans love deck chairs and pretending to be on a beach  The triangle shaped building in the distance to the left is the Sony Centre at Postdamer Platz- the 'new' Berlin. Although Sony just sold the building as not they weren't making enough money from it.









The TV Tower (ball on a stick) is where I'm headed. I live about 500m from it.









Even though cycle lanes are plentyful, Berlin is actually one of the least cycle-friendly cities in Germany. Hence why some people opt for the foot path.









If I look back at the end of the bridge, you get a great view of Hauptbahnhof- Berlin's train hub for all trains. A few years ago there was a huge storm that swept across Germany in which one of the large external I-beams was torn off the building, luckily no one was hurt.









Looking to the Reichstag and the Bradenburg Gate.









Throughout Berlin you can see a thin line of cobbles on the road and paths showing where the Wall once stood.









Turning away from the river and toward Freidrichstraße. Nothing like getting caught up behind a garbage truck, the smell is truly decadent  









There are still plenty of buildings in Berlin with scars from the WW2. This one in particular has always interested me -since it looks like it was used for the army/government - but I've never stopped to take a closer look...next time.









A beautifully restored old building. Between being raised to the ground and being split in two, Berlin has very few old buildings.









Arriving at Friedrichstraße, in this case the Friedrichstadt Palast: for all you musical/theatrical needs. 









Closer up you can see the cool Art Deco windows.









Threads like "How Many People do you See on Your Commute" would have me completely incapable of riding since I probably see a few hundred commuters. Very few wear helmets and quite happily ride along with the traffic and tram tracks.


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## majura (Apr 21, 2007)

Friedrichstraße Bahnhof (train station)... that's the bridge where MATT DAAAAMON was hiding in the Bourne Supremacy.


















Even in such a popular and pricey area, Berlin is a poor city. Plenty of vacant lots on prime real estate. Grafitti here is also big (literally) and plentiful.









Anyone for a Wilde reading?









Plenty of Trams in Berlin. Even more Tram tracks; the city is so in debt that they only remove unused tracks if the road needs resealing. 









Typical Berlin: You can have a modern piece of architecture right next to an old and run down building.









On the final stretch on Linien Straße which literally translates to "Line Street," it stretches from Berlin Mitte all the way to Friedrichstraße. The sign means it has been designated as a 'bike street', only residents are allowed to drive there. You still have to be careful with being doored, but generally bikes have right of way.









"Whose that doggy in the window..."


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

Germany, hmmmmm......

Have you ever ridden in Frankfurt?


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

Great pictures. Thanks for posting them.


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## majura (Apr 21, 2007)

My bike is a Schwinn Madison. I had 4 people come up to me saying it looked beautiful just when I was riding it back home after picking it up from the shop: which is great except for that Berlin has a high rate of bike theft. Hence the black electrical tape, but I still love the way it rides and looks.









Ever perplexing cuisine exists in Berlin. Unlike the US, flying flags isn't normal. It's just because the Euro Cup is on, football (soccer) is everything here.









Typical new Amsterdam bike. People here hand on to their Brooks for quite a while moving them to each new bike.


















Finally home and a little self portrait.

Cheers.


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## mohair_chair (Oct 3, 2002)

That looks really different from the Berlin I remember. I was there in 1988, when the wall was still standing. Being an island of freedom made it an incredibly fascinating place, and the sense of freedom made it seem like you could get and do anything you wanted to.

Going through the wall to East Berlin was a real trip, because it was so incredibly different. It was a very cold Sunday in April, and the streets were practically deserted, like in a post-apocalyptic movie. I was also fascinated by the u-bahn, which ran underneath the eastern zone, but it didn't stop at any stations except for Friedrichstraße. There it intersected with another line that ran into the eastern zone. It was strange to be standing underground, in the eastern zone, with East German guards patrolling, but the only thing you were allowed to do is get on the next train. Very surreal. I'll never forget my trip to Berlin.

Your pictures show that things have changed, a lot.


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

Gotta love how few big honkin sport utility vehicles and pick-up trucks are driving around.


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

thinkcooper said:


> Gotta love how few big honkin sport utility vehicles and pick-up trucks are driving around.


Right?

Always nice to see a new city represented here. Thanks for posting.


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## Kolossal (Feb 12, 2007)

Great pics. I miss Berlin.


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## abiciriderback (Jun 8, 2005)

Its so cool seeing pictures of other countries. The people seem to look a lot more at ease and carefree than here in the states. Thanks for posting the pictures.

Ray Still


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## majura (Apr 21, 2007)

I just realised I made a tonne of spelling/grammatic mistakes in the post. German scentence structures and spelling tend to bleed into the way I speak and write English now. People keep telling me it will get better once I'm more fluent though.

MB1: Only visited Frankfurt, never been around there by bike.


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## Pscyclepath (May 22, 2008)

thinkcooper said:


> Gotta love how few big honkin sport utility vehicles and pick-up trucks are driving around.


Insurance rates and gas prices pretty well take care of that... Just about the only ones you see are around some of the old USAREUR posts, and belong to American GIs serving there.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

Great photos, thanks for posting!

The WWII building is an air raid shelter built in 1943. Last I heard, the bunker houses a private art collection, with the collector living in the penthouse on top.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

Great pics. I guess Berlin still hasn't completely recovered economically? Or is it just a lasting effect from when it was under Soviet control?


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## pimpbot (Jan 22, 2004)

*Beautiful!*

I love Berlin. We hosted an exchange student for a year from Berlin. We kept in touch, and vitised with him and his family a couple of times. The last time was a couple years ago. 

Yeah, by European standards, Berlin is a fairly dirty city, but still way cleaner than where I live in Oakland, CA.


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