Kif Bicycle: Fürstenberg to Berlin: Do-over

The days fly by so quickly here.

Today is the day that I can say I've truly biked from Copenhagen to Berlin. I rewound my trip back to Fürstenberg where I hopped on a train to meet my host a little earlier than later back on Friday night. I took the train there today and biked into Berlin this evening.

Every time I'm able to navigate and accomplish something mundane like getting on a train and making a transfer while speaking broken German, it feels like a minor victory. There's the interpretation of signs and ticket machines (English).

There were a bunch of other people heading to Fürstenberg too with bikes. They have a dedicated car for bikes-- you just have to buy a ticket for it and then you roll it on and lock it.

It turns out that I did the most challenging parts of Rostock to Berlin in the days previous, and Füstenberg to Berlin was mostly all pavement and enjoyable.

There was some more forest.

And there was some corn. If you want to imagine you're in Europe cycling, just cycle to your nearest cornfield to achieve this true European experience.

I really liked the little town of Gransee.

It had 13th century architecture. I saw this church from miles away. They slowly built it up over hundreds of years. It's clear how powerful the church was then through these buildings.

Some of the Berlin-Copenhagen Radweg followed rivers.

I liked this little Polish tugboat.

With the new power bank for my cell, I felt more comfortable taking more pictures. More importantly, it actually worked and is easy to incorporate into my routine. I can charge my phone through the battery that is in turn plugged into the wall. C'est parfait. It has eliminated a lot of anxiety.

I feel like I'm getting the hang of things right now. I feel a little better about German too. I feel like signs and advertisements are starting to make sense. I like that part of immersion. Today, I also had interactions where I understood little bits of polite banter. Usually I just speak at someone, and they reply in jibberish, and I watch closely to see if they understood me. I feel like I'm less of a jerk now, though not by much.

Also, I'm figuring out that 100 kilometers is probably my max per day by bicycle. I stop constantly for pictures, and it takes me longer to process my surroundings in another language. I probably have another week in Germany before I enter the Czech Republic with the third unfamiliar language of this trip. Not everyone speaks English; that's a myth.

This is the part of the trip where I have to start charting my own route. Potsdam, Dresden, and Prague are coming up. I'd really like to go to Krakow too.

I am having a lot of fun. Things were just funny to me today.

There was the 'barf-up-food' currywurst.

This hotdog saved me at just the right time.

There was the bar that could definitely expand to Cleveland. I forget that Lebron James is someone people might now here when they ask me Woher kommen sie? They often don't know Cleveland or Ohio. At this range, you're an American, though noone has guessed yet. I'm always asked if I'm from the United Kingdom.

And then you can get a coffee from Star Back. I've seen a few of these...it's awfully close in name to...

I found an apartment that wasn't afraid to have their German pride mistaken for nationalism. It is rare to see German flags waving in the air here. This is an anomaly.

Finally, for some reason, there are all these young trees that are protected by wooden cages. It seems a bit ironic. There are thousands of these here.