First feet bath of the year

First real weekend announcing the spring. Yesterday I could not stay on my sofa, one look outside, blue sky, jumped on my bike in order to go checking how it was in altitude, aimed for Muggelturm located in  Muggelwald near Muggelsee. It's a short bike trip, 50km, one line to go and the same to go back, crossing East-Berlin, Ostkreuz, passing the FC-Union stadium, Köpenick, entering the forest and climbing. Once on the top I got the offer to join friends for talco in SO36. The pause was short and I return home, concert start in two hours. Long story short it was good.

Sunday morning, struggle to leave my bed, I did promise in the middle of the night to join the apocalypse riders for another bike tour, the goal being Liepnitzsee. So here we are, Sunday lunch time, ready to go and direction the North of Berlin with on the roadmap Pankow, Bernau, Buch, Lanke and finally, maybe the lake. Before reaching half of our trip - the full loop being to be able to come back in Berlin - we stop at a gas station, put some air in our tires, acquire a beer each, ready.

A photo posted by jeremie Gerhardt (@mrbonsoir) on Apr 3, 2016 at 1:42pm PDT

Weather is nice, not too cold and the beer on the side of the lake very pleasant. In the summer the place can be crowded, today it is only for the braves. I put my feet in the water, loose one or two toes, left my beer in the natural fridge and try to warm up what's left from my feet.

A totally green solution to cool down our beer #sundayride #beer #lake #faitpaschaud

A photo posted by jeremie Gerhardt (@mrbonsoir) on Apr 3, 2016 at 1:58pm PDT

Taking the direction back to the city we make another stop about 1km later. The view of the imbiss wakes up some food memory, we are hungry. It's what we call the bockwurst pause. The owner of the place is so old and slow that I worry about my order, will he past away before bringing me my meal?

A photo posted by jeremie Gerhardt (@mrbonsoir) on Apr 3, 2016 at 2:04pm PDT

Having our stomach full we keep going on our tour. We just have to go South, crossing forest and getting slowly closer to the civilisation. 80km later we are seating on the side of the Spree facing Treptower Park, enjoying the last rays of light and last deserved beer.

A lot of fun.

Berlin bikes and pumpkins

A weekend including Halloween over Friday and Saturday, the guarantee to witness how mainstream we all went, but there is hope, I hope.

Friday evening at a checkpoint
I'm sick this week, no sport, keep calm and have some rest said the doctor. But it's Friday evening and I want to move and see what is happening outside. I heard there is a traditional alleycat around Halloween and decided to stay at one of the checkpoint, one appears to be at the cicli-berlinetta bike shop - probably the best bike shop in Berlin - about 800m from our place.

For the occasion the entrance of the shop was turned into a photo studio, each participant was taken into picture before rolling some dices and jumping almost immediately again on their bike to their next check point. Basically people - the bike messengers - playing a game being what they usually do by day for living. Why will you ask? Why not will I answer and people seem to have fun.

It was not my first time hanging around after the closing time of the shop - and by the way the shop online never stop. Always interesting bike fellows to meet and talk to. A ratio of one nationality per person, English, German and more languages spoken with various accents. I love that. Always interesting to hear the story behind the people - by people I meant mostly bike messengers - and the relationship with the streets. Something I like while being on my bike - or my roller skates back in the days in Paris - is to move faster than the pedestrians, sometimes faster than the cars and to observe the city, the multiple interactions at each street corners.

Saturday evening counting the pumpkins
Still sick, always a good excuse to not go out. Only expedition I did was to attend a pre-party in Schöneberg. I crossed the city, avoid a taxi - by that I meant I had to stop or being rolled over by taxi while driving at the green light in the bike lane - reach the place, had a tea, two snaps and I let my friends sheep-ing or penguin-ing the rest of the night - by that I meant behaving like sheep and/or penguins and do like everybody else like going to a costume party tonight.

Berlin is a place where you can go out and get good music all the time, Halloween should a night where you do nothing.

It's 11:00pm and I jump on my red bike - not because of the dress code of the night, my bike is always red - and hit toward Prenzlauerberg following another way. Nollendorf Platz is quiet, nothing special is happening.

Passing behind Potsdamer Platz I see my first accident: three cars and bus trying to compress themselves into one art pieces, nobody seem to be injured except the cars, losers.

I keep going and enter the Hannah-Arendt street. Parallel to Unter del Linden you are mostly alone by night in that street, the city looks like a zombie spot and you will not be surprised to see some at each corner.

Then it's Alexander Platz. I like this place, tonight the police is there and a lot of lost people as well, some going to Halloween party. I see a lot of witches, skulls faces, zombie nurses, group of cats - more the pajamas costume than the slutty version - nothing very original.

I passed U-Rosa Luxemburg Platz and start Schönhauser Allee. First bar is the gothic Lost or Last Cathedral where it seems people having a casual dress code evening. Getting closer to U-Eberwalderdstrasse and the Ferdinand club where only ugly locals are going I see my second car accident. Always funny to see people in costume looking at they cars into each other, hopefully nobody is hurt, just the cars.

Warsaw - deuxième jour

11:01am early awake but later than yesterday! A short look into my spotted by local app and decide for  an hummus breakfast. Then I aim for the sky, go toward the Palac Kultury, got lost in the building and finally find the elevator. The view once almost on the top of the building is stunning. I can see where I went yesterday and can locate where I had my delicious hummus and halloumi burger some minutes ago in  Beirut.

Back on earth I enter the nearby located Museum of Modern Art. It's squeezed between towers but you don't feel compressed once inside. If you like poster and book shop, that's the place to go.

4:04pm second try for the planetarium, I failed but I successfully acquired some bike accessories in antymateria. At the question from one of the shop crew member "how did you find out about our shop already?", "well" I answer, "I'm coming from Berlin, know some shops there, asked there if they know people in Warsaw, then I talked on the net with shared connection being a frame builder in Warsaw that recommended some addresses and here I'm!"  thanks to the bike messenger communities in the different cities I thought.

8:03pm I meet my Scandinavian crew in a Polish posh restaurant - as will later describe our tour guide the next day. I lost some money on that game but I kept my clothes, so the honor is safe. Being a bit ill at a fancy restaurant is problematic as everything taste the same, color and  texture are changing but still you don't get the full experience. Anyway...

11:33pm a drink at a panorama bar in the city center and we split the group. At that time I thought I already entered a parallel world while having diner in the previous restaurant - the Belevedere - but I was wrong. There are many parallel universes or many ways to explore cities or interact with new spaces, I explain in the following lines.

It's passed midnight and I'm meeting a French journalist - also writer for spotted by locals, not for Warsaw but Budapest. Thanks to the internet I got to know during the day that she was visiting Warsaw and a Polish friend this weekend. Where do we meet she asked? I checked on my foursquare, found out some places recommended by Lithuanian friend - other spotter from Vilnius this time, I met him in Berlin in Amsterdam. So here we are, three people, one true local and two local travelers having a last Saturday drink in Kraken. Funny because at the beginning of my day I had not idea I will conclude my path in the same place I started - the hummus place and this bar share the same address.

3:33am  late again but I got a lift home to my beloved Campanile hotel. Another full day.

Berliner Farhrradschau 2015 and sound studies

My third Berliner Farhrradschau in a row. It's growing every year but manages to keep a human size. You will not find the biggest companies, but a panel of all the cool stuffs from kid bikes, electric, downhill, vintage and more. I really like the laid back  atmosphere - maybe different if you are running a stand -  and the gin tonic. In three hours you get some many frames in your face, thinking of your new bike - the one you will never get because once you have it there is no quest for it - and new accessories...

Leaving the place near U Gleisdreieck I met other friends in the same street in what seems to be an abandoned building. On the fourth floor we found sound installations from UDK master students. Here as well pretty cool installations combining sounds, electronic sensors and other captors. Almost a classic when you are familiar with those type of installation, but almost all working.

Some links:
- one cool shop cicli-berlinetta and the review I wrote about it in spotted by locals Berlin.