There are 3.5 million people living in Berlin and lots of different ways to get around. Coming from New York City, I was used to using public transportation (subways and buses), but there are definitely some differences here that I had to adjust to. To start, there are lots of trams--electric trains that run on tracks on the street--that can take you around the city. There are also bike lanes everywhere! In lots of places, the bike lanes are on the sidewalk, instead of in the street like in New York. Sometimes I still get dinged at by bicycle riders for accidentally wandering into the bike path. When you walk around Berlin, you really have to keep an eye out for cars, trams and bikes.
People get around Berlin using trains, buses, trams, bikes, cars and zu Fuß ("on foot"). There are two types of trains, the S-bahn (above ground) and the U-bahn (underground). Sometimes the S-bahn is also called the Ringbahn, because it goes in a ring around the city and branches out into the areas surrounding Berlin. When I go to work, I take the S-bahn and a bus. My commute is very easy because trains and buses almost always run on time.
