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I Research Text Berlin, Cycling Metropolis Exploring the German Capital by Bicycle Berlin, March 2016 Berlin rolls on two wheels: The capital is rapidly becoming a city for cyclists. The bicycle has become a real alternative to cars and public transport and is an integral part of the typical Berliner’s lifestyle. Sightseeing on two wheels has also become commonplace among the city’s visitors. Bicycle couriers, rental bicycles, and bicycle taxis are all now integral to the city’s streetscape. The proportion of cycling traffic has continued to grow in recent years and now represents 15 per cent of those on the go. This means that some 500,000 people ride their bikes every day in Berlin. This can be attributed especially to the steadily increasing attractiveness of Berlin’s extensive network of cycling trails. Two upcoming events are the perfect opportunity to find out more about cycling and modern urban mobility. The Berlin Bike Show at Station Berlin as part of Berlin Bicycle Week is a unique mix of a trade show and sporting event. It will showcase everything from trendy bicycles and functional cycling fashions to biking accessories over 15,000 m2. VELOBerlin, the leading international trade fair open to the public, presents the latest trends and innovations from the bicycle industry at Messe Berlin. The event is a collaboration of EUROBIKE, the world’s leading trade fair, velo:konzept (Berlin’s cycling competence centre), ZIV (the German bicycle industry association), and the Berlin Senate. berlinerfahrradschau.de/de/, berlinbicycleweek.com/de/, www.veloberlin.com Many new ideas for a future even more friendly to bicycles have been presented recently in Berlin. The former rail line that connected Potsdamer Platz and Potsdam via Schöneberg and Zehlendorf until the Second World War could be restored as a cycling trail. Without intersections and traffic lights, it would take just 30 minutes to ride from the Mitte district to Zehlendorf. This “bicycle freeway” could be a pilot project for other express trails on the city’s disused railway lines. Another proposal is “Radbahn Berlin”, where a cycling trail would be built underneath the elevated tracks of U-Bahn lines 1 and 2. This would create a nine kilometre route between Charlottenburg and Friedrichshain which is mostly unused today. Only parking spaces and stairs would need to be rebuilt, say those who have initiated this proposal. www.radbahn.berlin Bicycle stands are also being optimised: Cyclists can now park their bikes at Pankow S- Bahn station in double-deck stands. The special construction with two levels offers room for more than 300 bicycles without disposing of more public space. The startup velo easy has lately put up ten bicycle boxes at Lichtenberg station, shielding the bikes from weather and theft at the same time. Booking and payment works via an app; further locations are planned. In addition, Berlin’s Senate is planning two bike parks: one with 90 visitBerlin / Berlin Tourismus & Kongress GmbH Press Contact Press Office [email protected] Am Karlsbad 11 Tel.: +49 (0)30 26 47 48 – 956 D-10785 Berlin Fax: +49 (0)30 26 47 48 – 968 visitBerlin.com press.visitBerlin.com facebook.com/Berlin blog.visitBerlin.com facebook.com/visitBerlin twitter.com/BerlinTourism I Research Text spaces at Zehlendorf S-Bahn station, another with 40 at Gesundbrunnen station. www.velo-easy.de Cycling for Berlin Visitors Even visitors to Berlin are joining in on the action by taking their sightseeing tours under their own power on two wheels. It’s actually quite easy to cover longer distances, such as between the Brandenburg Gate and Alexanderplatz, with the convenience of a rental bike and avoid the fatigue that comes from walking too long on brick pavements. Even sprint tours through the Tiergarten or a jaunt to one of the many lakes in the city have their own appeal. Numerous bicycle rental stations are available across the city, with most of them clustered in Mitte (such as near Friedrichstraße station), Kreuzberg, Friedrichshain, or near the Zoologischer Garten station. The rental fee is around €10 a day, depending on whether you choose a simple three-speed bike or a sporty mountain bike for your explorations. And if you don’t want to tread the pedals yourself, but still don’t want to miss out on the leisurely pace of an eco-friendly bike ride, just take a velotaxi, bicycle-powered rickshaws that take you safely to wherever you’re headed. They can be found along different routes across Berlin daily from March to October, but, like other taxis, they can also be booked for individual journeys. www.velotaxi.de Cycling Routes Across Berlin Cyclists can choose from around 1,000 kilometres of cycling trails and bicycle lanes currently offered across the city. Meanwhile, Berlin is hard at work, developing new bike routes to connect the main parts of the city in a safe and attractive manner. Starting from Schlossplatz in the city centre, twelve major cycling routes radiate out towards the city’s outer districts. The result is an extensive network of bike routes with kilometre markings to take cyclists across the city on side streets. For example, you can ride from Rotes Rathaus via Alexanderplatz and Karl-Marx-Allee with its spectacular architecture all the way to Lichtenberg and Marzahn, or you can take the “students’ route” from the Free University in idyllic Dahlem all the way to Kreuzberg. The colourful Kreuzberg neighbourhood is also perfect for exploring by bike with its many shops, pubs and cafés around Bergmannstraße, Chamissoplatz, and Südstern. There are also seven long- distance cycling trails that cross the city, including the popular Berlin-Usedom route or the Berlin-Leipzig route that passes through the new Park at Gleisdreieck. www.berlin- usedom-radweginfo.de, www.radweg-berlin-leipzig.de The Berlin section of European Route R1 also offers 68 kilometres of beautiful landscapes and interesting sights. Over a distance of 3,500 kilometres, R1 connects Calais, France to St Petersburg, Russia. Another long-distance cycle path will take you to Copenhagen. Sports enthusiasts can now ride the 650 kilometres from Berlin through visitBerlin / Berlin Tourismus & Kongress GmbH Press Contact Press Office [email protected] Am Karlsbad 11 Tel.: +49 (0)30 26 47 48 – 956 D-10785 Berlin Fax: +49 (0)30 26 47 48 – 968 visitBerlin.com press.visitBerlin.com facebook.com/Berlin blog.visitBerlin.com facebook.com/visitBerlin twitter.com/BerlinTourism I Research Text the German states of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern to the Danish capital. www.euroroute-r1.de, www.bike-berlin-copenhagen.com If you’re interested in exploring Berlin’s neighbourhoods on two wheels, the visitBerlin website at visitBerlin.com offers a number of exciting tour suggestions and not just to the usual sights on everyone’s list, but also to insider tips in districts such as Schöneberg, Mitte, Friedrichshain, and Pankow that are ideal for a short afternoon outing. You can plan your own extensive tours of the Germany capital with the more than 50 detailed tour suggestions including maps. The new visitBerlin cycling brochure presents the top 12 neighbourhood tours, i.e. one per district, clearly marked out on a map of the city. Meanwhile, you can also check out all of our suggested tours at bike.visitBerlin.com. ADFC Berlin (the German Bicycle Club Berlin) has published a special cyclist’s map for inner-city Berlin. The ADFC map of Berlin is particularly helpful for the way it marks roads and trails in terms of their cycling friendliness. It also offers suggested tours to those visiting the German capital. www.adfc-berlin.de Bike Tours – Tracing the Path of the Wall A particularly interesting bike tour takes riders along the former course of the Berlin Wall. The mostly paved former border patrol road is still largely intact and is well suited for cycling. In the city centre, the route of the Wall is marked partly with a double row of special bricks in the pavement. Cyclists can follow the traces of the Wall on quiet side streets. The historic route through the centre of Berlin takes you past important attractions and memorials such as the Oberbaumbrücke, the Brandenburg Gate, and the Berlin Wall Memorial between Wedding and Mitte. www.visitBerlin.de/en/article/tour- 01-wall-tour An exciting guide book for all who wish to trace the city’s recent past on two wheels is “Berliner Mauer Radweg” by Michael Cramer (Esterbauer Verlag). The book presents 19 tours along the former course of the Berlin Wall: It includes short routes from Potsdamer Platz via Kreuzberg and the Oberbaumbrücke to Warschauer Straße (7 km), but also longer routes, for example from Staaken to Hennigsdorf (approx. 20 km) , each starting and ending at S-Bahn stations. The spiral-bound book provides insightful descriptions of the most interesting places and buildings along the 160 kilometre route, including Neukölln’s Sonnenallee, the street made famous by Thomas Brussig’s novel and Leander Haussmann’s film. Guided Bicycle Tours in German and English A number of operators now offers guided cycling tours of the city, including some in English, Spanish and Dutch, which are becoming increasingly popular. “We have discovered so many things that we weren’t able to see from the tour bus,” one participant has commented. The fact is that no double-decker sightseeing bus is going to make it into the former Jewish quarter in Spandauer Vorstadt between Oranienburger Tor and Alexanderplatz. There are many things to discover in the city, especially in its visitBerlin / Berlin Tourismus & Kongress GmbH Press Contact Press Office [email protected] Am Karlsbad 11 Tel.: +49 (0)30 26 47 48 – 956 D-10785 Berlin Fax: +49 (0)30 26 47 48 – 968 visitBerlin.com press.visitBerlin.com facebook.com/Berlin blog.visitBerlin.com facebook.com/visitBerlin twitter.com/BerlinTourism I Research Text side streets: an old Jewish cemetery here, a historic building there, and one of many small galleries across the way.