Rambling journeys

Coming from Perth, there are two things that are immediately noticeable about the way people live here in Berlin.  Bicycles and canine companions are far more visible.  Every single major road will have either a bike path, or a shared bus/bike lane.  Dogs are also allowed in shopping centres, restaurants and on public transport.  In Perth, only assistance dogs are afforded the same priveliges.

Unfortunately, I have observed that the popularity of dogs and bikes leads to some tensions.  Let me tell you some stories…

The most common type of bicycle in Berlin is a city bike.  They have big, padded seats with springs, fat tyres and frames that remind me of exercise bikes more than a “real” bike.  They’re built for short-distance trips to the shops or to friend’s houses.  The problem, though, is that they are incredibly slow.  I’ve never seen anybody ride one faster than 10km/hour.

On my recent trip back from Potsdam, I was riding along one of the narrow bike paths along a major road.  These paths have very little room to manoeuvre.  I was cruising along at between 20-30km/hour.  My heart rate was up and I was thoroughly enjoying the sweatiness.  Suddenly, there was a middle-aged woman on a city bike in front of me, riding in the very middle of the lane.

She either didn’t notice me or didn’t care, as she made no effort to give me any space to overtake.  When it was safe, I nipped onto the adjacent footpath and quickly passed her.  I didn’t think any more of it.  What really got me was what she did next…

I came up to a red light.  Bicycle lanes have their own traffic lights, and the white line at which you have to stop is generally about 2 or 3 metres away from the intersection.  The delightful lady that I had previously passed rode off the cycle path, onto the footpath and forced her way through the pedestrians until she was at the kerb of the intersecting road.  When she had a green light, she crossed the road, went back onto the cycle path and was in front of me again.  Of course, I had to overtake her again.  Unfortunately, this happened several times.

Her behaviour irritated me a little.  I suppose that you, dear reader, will have some sort of opinion based on what sort of cyclist you are.  Needless to say, I felt that she was extremely rude, inconveniencing cyclists and pedestrians alike.

Now, my dog story.  I wasn’t personally involved in this one, but it’s certainly a good example of how Berlin’s variety of people and lifestyle sometimes don’t mesh very well.

I was sitting in Alexanderplatz, waiting for a friend.  She was running late, so I enjoyed the chance sit down and watch the people go by.   I was approached by no fewer than two beggars, but that’s a topic for a later post.

There were many people sitting around me, including a reasonably well-dressed white woman with a large white dog on a lead.  I’m afraid I couldn’t identify the breed.

Suddenly, her dog started barking – I looked up and noticed three bohemian looking gentlemen, complete with dreadlocks, numerous piercings and well-loved clothing walking by.  Accompanying them was another large dog, a brown one of also unknown species.

The brown dog looked at the white dog, sniffed the air and made a couple of steps towards it.  The bohemian gentlemen just ignored the barking dog and kept walking.  The brown dog decided to follow their lead, ignoring the white dog.  It was a perfectly happy and harmless encounter, until the well-dressed lady started yelling at the bohemian gentlemen, telling them to keep their dog on a lead.  The gentlemen yelled back and the whole thing degenerate into an argument at 4km/hour.

I found the whole situation quite amusing, really.  The brown dog was incredibly well behaved and obedient, and certainly didn’t need to be on a lead.  If anybody needed any kind of lead or muzzle, it was the owner of the white dog.

Right!  That’s enough storytelling for today.  Not many pictures either, I’m sorry.  Next week I’m flying to visit my grandmother in the Rhineland.  There are bound to be many pictures of the breathtakingly beautiful scenery.