Berliners are out there!!

It seems like everyone here is on a bike. If they aren't drinking in a cafe, getting a tattoo or piercing something, Berliners are tooling around on their bikes.  And they aren't ninnies about it either.  They'll ride anywhere.  Middle of the sidewalk, on the street, talking on cellphones, drinking beer, putting up posters, shopping. Even taking their pets for a ride.  Yesterday I saw a guy giving a lift to his pug in the basket of his bike as he he was cruising down the street.  He was going fast!!! Another guy was cruising around our neighborhood with 5, count em, 5 parrots and macaws riding on the back of his bike.  Crazy.

The boys and I rented bikes today, it seemed like the right thing to do.  From George from Berlin on a Bike.  He is from Kenya - claimed to be one of Obama's many cousins.  Very kind. He got us set up and sent us out on our way.

So there is an bicycle etiquette so all these people can get along and not get mowed down.  I did not realize this.  You cannot stop in the bicycle lane, you cannot go the opposite way in the bicycle lane, (even though it is wide enough) and when it is a single lane you don't always stay to the right when approaching folks coming from the opposite direction.  I got yelled at three times.  I have to say that I am a big fan of bicycles.  I am not a big fan of cyclists.  They have no patience and are always ready, willing and able to tell you how and why you are doing it wrong and you are messing it up for everyone else.  It is a bike for goodness sake, you shouldn't be traveling at 40 miles an hour on the sidewalk!  When Rich was here - he was almost mowed down and all the guy said was, "TAKE CARE."

Even with all the rules, Blake and I have been impressed by the can do attitude that exists in the city.  It seems like people here are up for anything!  We went to the park today and this is what people had set up for their kids.  A mini surf skimming pool in the middle of the park. Can do!

The other day, Blake and I went to a production of "Hamlet" produced by the Schaubuhne.  This show has been playing since 2008, so needless to say they know it pretty well, but the actors were out there, eating dirt, spraying water, milk and blood all over themselves.  Stuff that actors in the US would really hesitate to do. Not in Berlin.  Want me to eat dirt and then recite the most famous Shakespearian text of all time? No problem!!