The City On Wheels
- May 14, 2017
- 2 min read
The first full day of our class trip in Berlin was spent on two wheels, biking around the city. The entire tour lasted around six hours, allowing us to stop for photos and food along the way. I must say that a bike tour is a good way to not only make an easy outline of the city, but also convinces your mind it's okay to stuff your face with German food for the rest of the trip because you burnt off so many calories. Despite it being one of the more dreary days of the trip with spots of rain throughout the rain, the rain here is not like Florida's it's more comparable to New York's; the rain is more of a mist than full droplets, and sets the mood of the city for the full day instead of just a thirty-minute downpour.
The most memorable part of the day for me was biking through Tempelhof, which is actually an abandoned airport that the Nazi's built back in WWII. Our guide explained that it was actually the largest airport in the world, but they weren't allowed to utilize it to transport weapons there. So they lied and said they weren't, however, they were actually storing tanks and weapons underground and no one knew. Today, the inside of the airport is used as a safe place for Syrian Refugees! Locals and anyone else are able to use the runway area for exercise (as you can see above, we biked it) and and other activities. We saw families with portable grills out there cookies with friends in the grass, too. There is also a community garden towards the end of the runway!
ABOVE: A young boy stood and cried as he looked around for his mother, however she was just sitting on a bench behind the crowd of people (us.)
One part of the German culture that I can't wrap my head around is the immense amount of freedom the children have here! Parents can actually turn their heads away from their children in busy areas and not have to worry about their kids being kidnapped. The community dynamic is so different here. I heard that they don't have guns here, so it's just immediately safer for everyone here.
About halfway through our tour, we stopped in Treptow at a place called Rissani (a spot with some awesome Turkish food.) They gave us each so much food, I don't think anyone finished their place. I also tried Baklava for the first time- delicious. The little area we stopped in neighbored an indoor swimming pool.
On the tour, we also walked around Baf Ala. The area has everything from rock climbing to clubs. Their outdoor bar was closed for the day because of the rainy weather, but a few people in the group explored the karaoke booth.
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