Sometimes it can be very hard to start something anew after not having done it for a long time. For me, one of these things is cycling.
It was a spontaneous idea coming from my hosts. While the sky was still light blue and the sun was shining like there was no tomorrow, each of us took a bike and followed the person at the very front. I have not been on a bicycle for about three years if not more than that. At first I thought (and I think that actually all of us did) that we would just do a quick tour around the so called ‘gravel pond’ in the neighborhood I live in. It is not really a pond but something like a small lake. However, the trip took us several hours and 20 kilometers.
Cycling in Berlin, near the border of the city, is a truly beautiful experience. When the sun is shining and the sky is light blue, the green landscape seems to shine in the brightest colors. I came down the hill and let the bike carry me down while fresh but not too cold wind was blowing in my face and playing with my naturally messy hair.
There was none of the usual city noise. There was only the crying of the wind and the singing of the birds. Sometimes I could hear the leaves rustle in the summer breeze.
Cycling is nice. You get to see places in your neighborhood for the first time; you can watch squirrels run from one tree to the next and sometimes you may hear a nice morning greeting from other cyclists passing by. But then, when the path gets narrow and there is flora all around you, you may eventually end up driving into an oak tree or something but without any significant damage. 😉
After twelve kilometers, we decided to rest at a Bavarian restaurant by the Havel Lake. Tired as some of us were, we ordered something ‘for the soul’, as we say in Russian. Trying to manage my growing hunger, I ordered an Austrian ginger ale and a Bavarian lard sandwich with fried onions and the famous German sauerkraut (tastes not as strange as it sounds).
Our way back did not take us as long but it was not as picturesque as the one before. With the rain clouds forming above our heads and our muscles hurting more and more, we finally arrived home. Tired but happy about the family trip we sat down and tried to finish the remains of our grill party from the night before.
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