While cat sitting in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park area I was introduced to the most delicious sandwiches, fresh, tasty & spicy, my favorite! I was sad to leave both cat and the shop around the corner when my friends returned.
After moving to Berlin I found a lot of wonderful Vietnamese restaurants, but no sandwich shop, until CôCô opened in Mitte! A sweet little spot near Rosenthaler Platz with a backyard, moderate prices, nice service, and the best bánh mì East of Sunset Park.
My favorite on “meatless days”: Bánh Mì Tofu – Bánh Mì Chay
This morning I went on a guided tour with StattReisen. As much as I love biking in the city - to really experience a neighborhood I prefer the slower walking pace. A good reminder to stop and get off the bike once in a while.
In 1990 French artist Christian Boltanski researched former residents’ names, dates of birth and death, and occupations of a house destroyed during the war. Plaques were installed on the walls of neighboring buildings. A memorial dedicated to “absence”.
Berlin’s apartment buildings usually offer a “yellow ton”, die “Gelbe Tonne” to their tenants. Mine doesn’t since it used to be filled with anything other than what’s supposed to go in there. So once a month or so I get on my bike with a huge yellow bag and take it to a Recyclinghof nearby. Always a fun trip, and rolling into the yard by bike seems to be a rare sight for workers there.
Today I noticed the rules of recycling when driving there by car.
First step: “Turn off engine”. Second step: “Close doors quietly”.
Talking about recycling: I have closed the Meetup group and moved it over to Twitter & Facebook for future rides, Kaffeeklub & get-togethers.
…I just ride my bike everywhere. And that sometimes means at least 30 minutes of pedaling for going from A to B in this city.
This article I read this morning resonates with me in so many ways. But especially the topic named “We don’t have time to compensate” is what makes cycling so important to me: I don’t “exercise”, I don’t like gyms, I don’t like running, but I like to walk, and love to cycle.
I wish more people would understand that simply riding their bike to work instead of driving or taking public transport - especially in a city like Berlin - would save them tons of time (and money).
Like time to stretch your legs and enjoy sitting in the park you’ve just discovered.
Exactly a year ago I got on a plane from Brooklyn, NY to Berlin after living in the U.S. and Canada for five years.This is one of the last pictures I took in beautiful Clinton Hill, at the corner of now closed coffee-shop-institution Tillie’s of Brooklyn, before I went for a great breakfast - biscuits & egg sandwich - and was taken to the airport by my good friend, fabulous musician, Andrew Vladeck. It seems like it all happened yesterday.
Just recently another good friend and wonderful writer Christin, whom I’ve met while living in San Francisco, did an interview with me for her blog called “Turnover, transition and change: musings on a life in flux”. Read all about why I got back on a bike, started this blog, and am organizing rides in her post: Have Bike, Will Travel. Thanks, Christin, it was a great way to reflect on the past year.
Pedaling forward into the now, and on to my next Kaffeeklub this Friday, May 4 from 8-10am at Café CK on Marienburger Str. 49 in Prenzlauer Berg. Learn more about Kaffeeklub here. Hashtag on Twitter is #kaffeeklub. Hope to see you there!
Last week’s first #kaffeeklub was so much fun that I’ve decided to make it a weekly gathering. Simply show up anytime from 8-10am, get a coffee or other beverage, and sit down for a chat with us. There might only be standing room this week though since The Barn is a small, very popular & wonderful coffee shop in Mitte, and makes the best coffee & scones.
I have started a Facebook page for Berlin by Bike to announce #kaffeeklub, rides, and more since I won’t be using Meetup anymore in a few months. So please “like” the page, or follow me on Twitter for updates and fun things to do.
This Sunday I rode to Slow Travel Berlin’s event at Markthalle IX in Kreuzberg. Tons of delicious, local, organic food, workshops in photography and sewing, various Berlin themed walking tours, book stalls, and an overall wonderful atmosphere. Hopefully there will be more markets, especially food related! Food, good food, healthy, local, and organic food is what’s very important to me and I am happy and proud to announce that I’ve joined Dickes Bee Food Coop. Excited to meet all the Bees tomorrow at their weekly Wednesday food pick-up!
P.S. Have I told you about my beautiful new bike? Here’s a sneak peek:
I’d been trying to get to a “Sporting event or concert” but changed my mind for the last ride of Winter Cycling Challenge, thought out by chasing mailboxes d.c..
The past few days I’d been dreaming of Mission Workshop’s beautiful bags, and I had an invitation for another mug of delicious Bicycle Coffee over at the Berlin Pop-Up Shop. Fresh banana-bread in my well-worn shoulder bag I rode down one of Berlin’s Fahrradstraßen (bike road) and discovered a couple more cafés on my way. Mental note: Explore Berlin-Mitte neighborhood!
Biodegrable coffee mug in hand I sat down with the nice Mission Workshop & Bicycle Coffee Co. team. I love the shop design of bag & apparel presentation, all made from salvaged wood and huge metal thread spools & hooks found in scrap yards. See pictures of it on their website.
Later on another guest joined us. She turned out to be a bike mechanic in training at Radspannerei where my new bike is being built. Glad to know it is in such good hands.
I left the shop with my, as Bicycle Coffee roaster deluxe put it, “new favorite bag”. And she’s so right. That rucksack is so much more comfortable to wear than a shoulder bag, and while it looks wonderful, it also has the best design with several pockets, some with zipper, lots of room without being bulky, waterproof fabric, lifetime warranty, and the best closure system. Happy!
Stopped for some groceries on the way back. 
Nice bike parking spot someone chose here. 
Utilitaire card will be scanned & emailed later on today. It’s been so much fun! Thanks for setting this up, reading our blogs, posting, tweeting, and retweeting about it, @gypsybug! Glad to know I’ll read you again at #30daysofbiking.
