I have ridden from my house in Falkensee to Berlin city centre a number of times for fun. Each time I try to take slightly different route to see the sights and to familiarise myself with the city.
On Friday night I realised that there were brown leaves on the balcony heralding the beginning of the end of summer. So I checked the weather forecast on my phone, something I haven't done for months during what has been a very nice summer, to find out that it 'should' be sunshine and showers all day. Good enough for me.
On Saturday morning (just) I rode from Falkensee to Spandau. Spandau is on the far West side of the city and some Berliners don't really consider it part of the city. But it is within the city limits as I pass the signs on my way from Falkensee.
I hadn't heard of Spandau before I moved to Germany except of course Spandau Ballet (the band). The band rather grimly took their name from the twitching motions people being hanged at Spandau prison made. I had wondered where the Ballet was housed in Spandau until I discovered this fact. Subsequently of course I wondered where the prison was in Spandau but it was knocked down in 1987 after Nazi war criminal Rudolf Hess committed suicide (by hanging himself) while serving life for his part in the atrocities of World War 2. It was knocked down soon after he died to prevent it becoming a shrine for Neo-Nazis.
As I headed toward Berlin City Centre I passed the huge BMW Mottorad (Motorbikes) Factory. One of BMWs biggest successes of the last few years and many would argue one of the best bikes of all time the BMW 1200 GS are made here. I haven't ever ridden one so I cant comment on what they are actually like but if they are anything like the BMW 1200 RT which I have ridden (the GS' Touring bike brother that it shares an engine with) I would guess they are probably as good as all the hype, or at least some of it.
 |
| BMW Motorrad Factory in Spandau |
Every time I pass this factory I think of the Johnny Cash Song 'One piece at a time'. In the song he gets a job working at a car factory and he comes up with a plan to steal a car, you guessed it, 'one piece at a time' and assemble it at home. Of course as the models change over the years he ends up with a complete mongrel of a car that he is very proud of nonetheless. Its a very funny song and always makes me laugh out loud. Perhaps I should try and get a job there.
After riding along side some fairly busy roads I decided to follow the Spree for a few miles from Charlottenburg to Tiergarden which is a quiet if bumpy ride. The rough pavements and road coupled with the 16 inch wheels of the Brompton have a strange effect which is to sporadically ring the bikes bell. Most embarrassing as seemingly is happens most often when you are following other cyclists. Usually ones that are actually making reasonable progress too. What follows is some huffing, puffing and tutting on the part of the cyclist in front after which I have to pedal like Billy-o to get past them and put some distance between us before I can slow down again and weesingly curse the little bells exuberance. My subsequent efforts to stretch the spring and move the hammer away from the bell only served to make the problem worse. Mental note: get a new bell, get fitter or learn the German for "sorry my bell has got a mind of its own".
 |
| Soviet War Memorial on Strasse des 17 Juni in the Tiergarten |
On the Strasse des 17. Juli I stopped to have a look at the Soviet War Memorial. It was built to commemorate the Russian Soldiers of the Red Army who died during World War 2. It was built very soon after the end of the war while the surrounding area was still decimated. The trees that weren't blown to smithereens by shelling and fighting were chopped down for fire wood during the final months of the war - it must have been a horrendous mess then but is a beautiful part of the city now.
Incidentally it would seem that the Russians painted their tanks the same 'Sage Green' Brompton used for my bike.
After riding through the Brandenburg gate and past the hotel where Michael Jackson dangled his baby out of the window (google it) I turned right on to Wilhelmstasse and stopped in front of the British Embassy.
 |
| British Made Brompton outside the British Embassy in Berlin |
The British Embassy is quite an interesting building to look at with its 'large purple water tank' and 'glass sided shipping' container features in the middle. Despite my flippant remarks I actually quite like it compared to some of the truly ugly buildings nearby.
From there I made my way towards Kruezberg and then up through Warshauer Strasse into Freidrichain and to my brother Paul's house for a coffee.
After a good chat and taking his dog for a walk to nearby bike shop (to unsuccessfully get a new poltergeist free bell) I headed back to Alexanderplatz as it looked like it was going to rain. On arrival at Alex I had missed a train by a few minutes so decided to ride through Mitte cleverly following the train tracks where possible to Berlin Hauptbahnhof - killing the bird of having to wait around on the platform and the bird of seeing some more sights as I went with the one stone (the Brompton).
Passing the Museum Island, the Reichstag and then meandering along the Spree once more I had time to spare until I clipped the gear mechanism (whilst walking it across the road!) and had the chain off. After faffing around for a few minutes and getting covered in oil I was back on my way and still arrived at Hauptbahnhof slightly grubby but in reasonable time.
Once inside the station bizarrely I became aware of the fact that is was raining and the stations roof ventilation windows were still open which meant that the people inside the station on the platform were getting soaked. Having been outside all day and managing to stay dry I put my coat on.
People always seem fascinated as I fold the bike and put it into its bag ready to carry onto the train. By packing it away I avoid having to buy a ticket for it which I find quite pleasing.
I hopped on the RE2 back to Falkensee and after a short ride from the station I was home - Twenty five miles (forty kilometres) later I had had a great day out.
