For the last four years I have produced the travel TV show “Anthony Bourdain – No Reservations”, ran around the world, ate some funky things and ended up moving from New York City to Berlin, Germany….. I’m a TV Producer, Camera woman, Travel Journalist and now humble foreigner in a new city!
July 31, 2008
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Metal Pony, Giddeup!
I am in a constant state of being attacked by inanimate objects. I live in fear. Mostly, though, I am afraid of my bicycle. It’s my only form of transportation in Berlin and so I must battle my bicycle everyday.
In NY I had two very lovely legs that transported me safely through the city. Although I have heard that people use these so called “Bicycles” in NYC, I had yet to become acquainted with one personally. Here in Germany the locals glide through the city with ease and comfort to their destination. Every strasse has a Fahrrad Weg or “Bike Path”. I should feel relaxed when riding through the city, but I just can’t seemed to get, well, on and off the bike without falling.
It would seem to the logical person that training is in order. One must learn the skill, albeit at any age, of taming a wild horse and mounting up on this metal pony. The problem is …..my bike keeps shoving me off. It quite simply doesn’t want me on it. Each day my bike finds clever ways to kick me off; little traps like tangling my shoe in the chain or hanging onto my backpack as I dismount causing me to drag both of us to the ground. And just when I think I have distracted my friend with the sight of lovelier and better ridden city bikes I find myself stuck in the wrong direction on the bike path which is about as dangerous as standing on the subway tracks at rush hour. But that’s okay…because I have begun cheating on my bike with others. I recently bought a brand new Berlin bike. Shiny and tall she stands and without the crotch-cracking middle bar. She is BEAU-TI-FUL! And now I have three bikes, but somehow I can’t seem to get rid of the wild one.
