Sunday, January 17, 2010

Sundays In My City-Bremen and my ride


Welcome to my City-Bremen, Germany. When we moved here we opted not to get a car.People are shocked when they find out we are Americans without a car in Germany. But you don't really need one, the transportation of this city is very user friendly. Yes I do mumble and curse at time wishing we had a car, but those times are far and few between.
These are our main form of transportation Strasse Bahn-Sbahn or Tram. They go almost everywhere and are a convenient and comfortable ride.




The bus is also available and really convenient, we have a stop 3 minutes from our home. The only problem is making sure your watch and theirs are synced...unless you jump in front of it, once they leave the stop they aren't stopping!


 This little guy is a life and time saver you use it for your fares and they auto take from your bank account. It's nice cause you never have to carry money to ride. Plus each family member has one and it's been cheaper for us than a monthly pass.


When the weather permits I ride my bike. Sometimes when the weather is not permitting we still ride our bikes......like this weekend to grocery shop. I rode my bike in the snow covered paths...I did a lot of ohhhh and OMG!! The whole time I was white knuckle riding I thought to my self I'm an AMERICAN we don't ride in the snow! And my husband was behind me saying ride faster....it's hard to flip him off when I'm holding on for dear life!


Have a wonderful Sunday!
Go see UnknownMami and Friends.

52 comments:

Liz Mays said...

I love that your husband was telling you to ride faster in the snow! LOL

The idea of a BOB card is brilliant!

Joyce said...

Oh that would so be my husband too!

cliff1976 said...

People are shocked when they find out we are Americans without a car in Germany.

We're approaching the six-year mark here and as recently as last Thursday, people I've worked with for several years were shocked to find out we don't have a car — apparently specifically BECAUSE we're from the U.S. "Ein Amerikaner ohne Auto — Wahnsinn!" And this is a very common occurrence. Each time I explain that yes, where I come from, not having a car pretty much means you're a shut-in or younger than 17, but that some city-job-lifestyle combinations don't require a personal vehicle.

Winter-biking takes a little getting used to, and can be dangerous (see the Heidelbergerin's post about this), but I generally find the snow mostly doesn't stop my bike commutes. It slows me down and requires more concentration and anticipation (as I decide whether to blaze a new trail through fresh snow or risk possibly-frozen tire tracks from those before me), but is generally doable. I do tend toward the streetside bikepaths (usually directly next to the pedestrian paths) versus riverbank or bikepathless streets in the winter in the dark, because the plowjob is always good on the pedestrian path and I can swerve onto it if the bikepath looks particularly treacherous.

Sonya said...

I STILL cant believe it when I see a dutch person riding their bike in the snow! I cant do it..lol We have one car and can't imagine living without it but we know plenty of people who don't have one. They tax the you know what out of you for having one.

Have a good week! The snow is melting over here finally..Im kinda done with it now..lol

Maggie May said...

Thank you for sharing the wonderful ways of transport in your country, that I have never visited. Sounds like the transport is much better & more reliable than we have here.

Nuts in May

Adoption of Jane said...

I want a BOB card! I love your pics! I lived in Holland for a few years on my way to the states as a kid. Love your blog.. am following :)

Claremont First Ward said...

This is so cool.

A good old bike. Who would have thought?

Americans, right.

I want to go to Germany for a visit with my family.

One day.

Andrea said...

Thanks for sharing your life in Germany with me. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers this past week.

Andrea

Erika Jean said...

We do a have a fairly good bus system here in Tucson - but as for suburbs around the US, I wish there were more options!

Anonymous said...

SO many different ways to travel around in each country. I went from Living in England.. to relying on public transport to get me from point a to b( buses, trains, taxi, walking) and it was all so convenient. I come over to NM with my husband and his job in the af.. and pretty much HAD TO GET MY CAR AND LICENSE.. as there is no public transport here. It's desert landscape.. everything spaced out.. if you don't drive i dont know how you would get around here !
Thanks for the insight on transport in your country.

Unknown said...

Get out of here! I can not even imagine riding a bicycle to the grocery store. I guess you can just get a few things to bring home with you, right! : ) What a fun post! I always love what you do. You are so creative!

Kristina P. said...

I wish we had better public transportation here. The TRAX and Frontrunner is nice, but the bus service is really lacking.

Traci said...

I think you are going to have to work on your one-handed biking skills!!! LOL.

I am back in Texas after some years in San Francisco and New York and one of the chief things I miss from both places is good mass transit. Texans LOVE their cars so very little is invested in good train and bus systems. I loved the ease of getting around without traffic and parking problems. I'm pretty jealous of you and "BOB".
:-)

Boozy Tooth said...

Oh, see... that's where you and I differ.... I could have flipped off Larry with both hands tied behind my back.

But I'm confused. I thought you were in New York.

Do I need a psychiatrist?

Shady Lady said...

You can still yell "BITE ME" while white knuckling it. ;)

RennyBA's Terella said...

What a great presentation of a city I would love to see! As a Norwegian, I loved to see some snow too of course :-)

The BOB card sounds great - I must suggest that to visitOslo!

Lori said...

Very cool. I have friends who live in NYC and they don't own a car and people have a million questions. At least in New York they have the subway system. In St. Louis you either ride the bus or the MetroLink (which doesn't go everywhere) or you need a car.

Ann Imig said...

I used to bike everywhere, but living in Chicago killed it for me.

Now, I sort of suck at it.

Sad, but mostly true.

Thanks for delurking!

Chief said...

how intriguing... not to have a car...

please dont jump in front of the bus though umkay?

Lisa said...

I love public transportation and I so love cities that I could ride bicycle in. Enjoy Frau.

Joanna Jenkins said...

I'm laughing at the last sentence Frau :-) The last time I was on a bike was the 1980s-- The VERY early 1980s.

When I lived in San Francisco I had a car but never drove it. It's so nice to leave in a place with great public transportation.

Thanks for sharing your City.
xo

Julie said...

It is wonderful to think that the individual can do without a personal motor car. I no longer have one. I walk a lot and other than that I catch public transport. Nice to read your post about travelling around Bremen, Germany.

Good post.

Claudya Martinez said...

I didn't have a car in San Francisco for 11 years. Even now that I do have a car I still walk or take public transit most of the time.

Debbie Drews said...

Thank you for your kind comments you left on my post.
My boys would love to be able to hop on a tram for local transport.Lucky you! Debs x.

Unspoken said...

I love the transportation in Europe!

Nancy C said...

My brother is quite happy not having a car in Seattle. I appreciate his freedom and his ability to see the world on foot. He's happy.

Deidra said...

Love the bicycle!

Ina in Alaska said...

How convenient to have public transportation and a convenient way to pay (Bob). If Anchorage had better bus routes and schedules i would certainly take the bus to and from work in the winter months, as I do NOT enjoy driving on ice for 5 months out of the year! And just forget about riding a bike around here in winter. Way too dangerous, I think Anchorage drivers are very rude to walkers and bicyclists. OK I feel better now... :)

Erin said...

OMG I couldn't even imagine riding my bike in the snow...I have a hard enough time riding it in the sun! What an adventure!

Joyce said...

Your last comment made me laugh. G would have said the same thing and my lovely finger would have popped up. xo

Ronda said...

Funny you are! I wish I could ride a bike around here to the store and everywhere, but you would get run over. I love the Bob card too!
XOXO

Together We Save said...

Oh I would love to ride a bike to work.... save on gas but not to safe here.

Unknown said...

Wow, how cool that you live there! I visited there once when I was 19. My son wants to go there and I hope to be able to bring him there someday.

ck said...

I love your photographs.

And if you can flip off your husband while riding your bike in the snow...you can do anything!

Kwana said...

Thanks for sharing your cool transport pics. You are a brave woman on your bike.

Expats Again said...

Like you, we don't own a car in Munich either. In fact, we are the only ones in our building who doesn't have a car in their parking spot in the garage. No real need for a car with such excellent transportation. But I have yet to brave the bicycle in the snow. I'm leaving the hubby behind when I do.

the mama bird diaries said...

In the snow? Impressive.

Leciawp said...

Funny about your husband!

Fifi Flowers said...

LOVE your bike!

TBM said...

Well done there! I think we cross the expat line when we bike in the snow, friend. ;-)

Unknown said...

oooh we need 'The Bob' here. Why is europe sooo far ahead??

Melissa said...

Very nice! I can't believe you rode your bike in the snow though, that just doesn't sound pleasant, haha

Christina said...

wow, i could definitely not ride my bike in snow. i'm lucky to stay on it when conditions are perfectly fine!

Anonymous said...

I could have WRITTEN this post. I think the best part about the bussing is when some little old lady is pressing the button and the driver just ignores them. Those are the times I wish I could understand German! Oh and I didn't know about the BOB i'm going to have to look into that one!

Melissa Vines said...

What an amazing experience you must be having living abroad!

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