Just as I mentioned in the previous section, Germans bike all year round in all types of weather. Something I had to get used to was the presence of a separate bike lane next to the sidewalk. This lane is usually be painted a different color or marked in some other way, but it can still be easy to miss. During my first few months here, I accidentally walked in the bike lane and had to jump out of the way of speeding bikes, which was a pretty scary experience! But now I know better...
- Scootering: In most major cities, there are electric scooters and/or electric bikes that you can rent. Here's how it works: you download an app that shows you where the nearest scooters are located. You then find a code on the scooter handle and type it into the app, which links your phone to that scooter. After that, you can get on and start zooming around, and the app will track how far you traveled and charge you accordingly. I got to use this mode of transport in Hannover, Germany, and it was really fun! The scooter is very heavy and stable, but it still allows you to go fast. (Have any of you ever played those motorcycle games in arcades? It kind of felt like that, but in real life.)
Okay, now that we've covered short distances, how do people travel longer distances?
- The metro: The metro usually includes both an underground subway system and aboveground trains/trams. In Germany, they call these systems the U-Bahn (U for Untergrundbahn, or underground railway) and the S-Bahn (S for Stadtschnellbahn, or city rapid railway).
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