Berlin trip!

In June of this year we, that is Polish representation of Bike Friendly Youngsters, decided to make a small trip of our own to see some world on our beloved bicycles. As Berlin is the closest grand European capital close to us, we headed towards Germany and started our 4-day bike-expedition on 24th of July. We also wanted to visit some neighbor IB schools but unfortunately, it was the end of their school year so we were not able to do that. Maybe next time, then.

DAY 1
Most of the day we spent on traveling - we set off in the morning and finally reached the hostel in which we were staying those days in the late afternoon. Its location was just perfect - we had a 10-minute walk to the Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag and Tiergarten. And that was what we saw during the very first day when we went out in the early evening, this time on foot, to explore some alive Berlin. We spent the rest of the day wandering about, trying to get to know the city, admiring classic, yet modern architecture and tasting some nightlife.

DAY 2
The second day in Berlin we spent actively on rented bicycles on which we traveled throughout almost the whole city. This was the day we will surely remember for a long time. Our goal of the day was to see famous Berlin's museums - that is the Jewish Museum, and the Pergamon and others located on Museum Island, as well as to ride along the remains of the Berlin Wall. Unfortunately for us, it was a really rainy day thus meaning we were both soaking and shivering from cold when we finally got to any of those. Nevertheless, we appreciated the art especially in the unique Pergamon Museum which is a collection of reconstructed ancient masterpieces of architecture in their original sizes.

DAY 3
During the third day, we firstly rode on our bicycles to Neue Nationalgalerie that is the gallery of modern art and then our ways parted - we created two groups, one of which decided to take a 25-kilometer trip to Potsdam, while the other wanted to explore more the city of Berlin. Both of them were glad of their choice - and both of them spent the day actively on bikes, seeing the world around from the two wheels perspective. Great gardens and history buildings in Potsdam as well as monuments, palaces and the Olympic Stadium in Berlin fully satisfied our hunger for exploration of the day and we gladly came to the hostel, feeling not so strange in the city anymore.

DAY 4
On the last day we left our visit to the Reichstag, German parliament building, where we could see Angela Merkel herself debating! The view of the whole city from the glass Dome on the top of the building was stunning and we fully enjoyed in in the bright light of the early sun. After some time in the city spent by ourselves, we finally met in Berlin Hauptbahnhof, found our train home, and not so eagerly set out.

 This trip was a great experience that will stay in our minds and hearts for a long time. Traveling on a bicycle surely is a unique and special way of traveling. It makes us closer to the real world, without any glass surrounding us from it, and it enables us to really get to know a place, and not just to see it.