wandernlust: Weekend Bike Rides

Germans love their bikes! I'm pretty convinced that one can ride their bike to pretty much any place they desire within the country and the route will be well marked and almost entirely without need of riding along a main street. I have an acquaintance who’s riding her bike home from Bonn, Germany to somewhere in Norway. Sounds fun to me. Although not quite as ambitious, I have however, been able to get in a few weekend bike trips of my own.

I and a few fellow Stifties rode our bikes to nearby Besenhausen, town of 5 (seriously, look it up on Google Earth), and had lunch at the Farm restaurant. Here are a few pictures from the trip.

Through the fields

Through the towns

Our destination was along the old border between West and East Germany. Passing through the city of Friedland (which interestingly Friede means peace) we came across one of the last border integration camps still in operation. It serves to provide housing for Russians, help them find jobs, and integrate into the country.

These signs are seen on streets indicating that bikes are allowed to be ridden, and are particularly helpful when there are several pedestrian only zones around. Fines can be quite hefty when caught riding your bike in such a zone. My companions speculated that with the former border being so close, it would have been helpful to have a sign indicating that this path was safe to ride on.