After spending 24 hours in Bremen, we arrived back in Berlin, for the final leg of our trip to Germany in 2022, following a very small part of the band Pavement’s European tour. It was late afternoon when our ICE train pulled into Berlin Hauptbahnhof, as the sun was beginning to set on a sunny Saturday in November.

As it was now the weekend, there wasn’t any availability at the easyHotel in Mitte, we stayed at earlier in the week, so we’d booked alternative accommodation. This time we were staying at the Motel One Berlin-Tiergarten, which was a slightly more upmarket and expensive hotel, compared to the previous two. This was also better placed for Pavement gig we were going to that evening, at the Tempodrom.

As before, I arranged to meet my friend there, as he took public transport and I found a Nextbike, which was pretty easy as there were plenty at the station. I cycled over the Spree, then past the Reichstag and continued towards the Tiergarten. The cycling provision in and around the Tiergarten is generally pretty good, with lots of paved and asphalt cycle paths around it, plus plenty of shared-use paths running through the park.

At the Victory Column (Siegessäule), I went left and headed south along Hofjägerallee, which turned into Klingelhöferstraße. The cycling provision carried on along here, through a combination of cycle paths and pop-up protected cycle lanes. These continued as I crossed the Herkules Bücke bridge, which sits over the Landwehrkanal canal.

It wasn’t long before I arrived at the hotel and found a suitable location to park my bike. As I mentioned, this hotel was definitely the nicest we stayed at, though the location wasn’t a patch on the easyHotel. Compared to Mitte, the area south of the Tiergarten was really quite quiet, even on a Saturday night.

Pavement gig

As I mentioned, we were due to see Pavement for the second time in two nights, this time at the rather more grand Tempodrom. We needed to eat before the gig, and get a few beers as well. Fortunately, the fantastic BRLO Brwhouse wasn’t far from tonight’s venue, so we headed there on the U-Bahn.

We’d already been to the BRLO Bar in Mitte (which appears to have now closed sadly) earlier in the week, and we’d heard good things about the BRLO Brwhouse, so we were looking forward to going to the Brwhouse. We certainly weren’t disappointed, there was a fantastic selection of beers there and the largely vegetarian food was pretty amazing.

After we finished at BRLO Brwhouse, we wandered over to the Tempodrom, in plenty of time to catch Katy J Pearson again. The Tempodrom is quite a stunning structure, both inside and out and has a interesting history, starting out as an actual circus tent, set up by nurse Irene Moessinger, who used her inheritance to found the venue in 1980.

The gig itself was really superb, both Katy J Pearson and Pavement. It was great seeing them in such a wonderful venue, it really did feel like something special. After the gig, we stuck around outside the venue having a beer, from the convenient bar there. We then jumped on the U-Bahn and headed back to the hotel for a few more drinks.

Sunday morning ride

The next day, I was up early again and at a loose end, so I picked up a Bolt bike and headed out for another ride. As it was such a lovely day, I decided to start with a ride over to the East Side Gallery, on the river Spree in Friedrichshain.

For anyone who’s unaware, the East Side Gallery is an open air gallery, painted on the longest continuous section of the Berlin Wall that remains. Immediately after the wall came down, artists from many different countries began painting on it. Some of those paintings went on to become iconic, such as Dmitri Vrubel’s My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love, based on a photo of Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker in a socialist fraternal kiss.

From the hotel, I headed north, before turning right onto Lützowstraße, which just had painted lanes. I then turned left onto Potsdamer Straße, which took me across the Landwehrkanal canal and through Potsdamer Platz. Along here, there was some cycling infrastructure, which varied in quality and width.

As I continued, Potsdamer Straße turned into Leipziger Straße. I turned off there for a little section and onto Krausenstraße, before returning onto Leipziger Straße. This gave me chance to admire many of the Plattenbau apartment blocks along there.

Leipziger Straße took me across the Spree, where I turned right onto Fischerinsel, then back across the Spree again. I then continued onto Köpenicker Straße and then onto Michaelkirchstraße, which took me across the Spree once again. I was now riding along Holzmarktstraße, which runs parallel to the river.

I stopped briefly to admire Holzmarkt 25, with its incredibly vibrant exterior and some nearby street art. I had no idea what Holzmarkt 25 was at the time and didn’t explore further, which was a bit of a mistake.

I’d rectify this 2023, by visiting there a couple of times during our trip to Berlin (more of that to come in a future post). It’s a pretty amazing place in a lovely riverside setting, with some fantastic food and drink venues, and I definitely recommend it.

Getting back on the bike, I carried on up Holzmarktstraße until I reached the start of the East Side Gallery. I started looking at the small exhibition, before making my way along the wall. With it being a November Sunday morning, it was thankfully very quiet. It was quite a different story when I returned there mid-August in 2023, in peak tourist season.

I really enjoyed walking along the East Side Gallery on this sunny November morning. The artwork on the wall is really interesting and varied, there’s so much to see beyond the most famous pieces. The East Side Gallery is such an integral part of Berlin’s recent history and such a well-preserved section of wall, it’s well worth a visit.

After I finished at the East Side Gallery, I cycled over the impressive Oberbaumbrücke bridge into Kreuzberg, looking for somewhere to grab some breakfast. It didn’t take long to find somewhere, as I stopped at Café Casero on Schlesische Straße, getting a light breakfast and good coffee.

By now, my friend was up and we’d arranged to meet at the Neue Nationalgalerie, the museum of modern art, located not far from where I started. So I got back on a bike and set off along Skalitzer Straße, towards the museum. I don’t know what it is, but I do love these old elevated U-Bahn lines, they really do give the area some character.

I was really pleased to be following the elevated U-Bahn line as I cycled along, as Skalitzer Straße turned into Gitschiner Straße, then Hallesches Ufer, as the scenery varied from apartment blocks of all ages to rows of autumnal trees. Along the way, the cycle route varied between painted lanes, sometimes with pop-up protection to paved cycle paths.

It didn’t take too long before I arrived at the Neue Nationalgalerie, despite the battery giving out on my Bolt bike, making the riding pretty hard going on such a heavy bike, with no assist!

Neue Nationalgalerie

We arrived to find some quite large queues at the Neue Nationalgalerie, not realising it was Museum Sunday. On the first Sunday of every month, many of Berlin’s top museums open their doors for free. While it took a little time to get in, free entry was a pleasant surprise.

The stunning Ludwig Mies van der Rohe designed building is as distinctive as the artwork it holds. The building is split into two floors, the upper floor is a large open expanse, surrounded by a glass curtain and a more traditional gallery space on the lower floor.

The upper floor was in between shows, so there was just the lower floor to look round. We spent a pleasant afternoon looking round the Neue Nationalgalerie, taking in the artwork and architecture.

Riding to Mikkeller

Leaving the Neue Nationalgalerie, we walked over to Potsdamer Platz, which was decked out with Christmas market stalls and a fake ski slope, people were riding down on rubber rings. We stopped for some slightly disappointing currywurst, served in a pastry bowl, feeling a little like we could be back in Manchester.

After a brief pause at the gate, I continued past the Reichstag along various painted cycle lanes, while dodging tourists. I then continued along the Spree, on one of the most bumpy cobbled streets I’ve ridden on. Though that rough ride is probably partly due to the solid tyres on the Bolt bike.

With it being our last day, we decided there was still time for one last visit to Mikkeller Bar Berlin. As usual, my friend took public transport to get there, while I found bike to rider there. Setting off from Potsdamer Platz, I started off along Ebertstraße towards the Brandenburg Gate on quite a busy cycle path.

After passing under Friedrichstraße station, I turned left onto Ebertbrücke bridge, and crossed over the Spree and continued along Tucholskystraße. There wasn’t any cycling infrastructure to speak of at this point, but the streets were quiet and reasonably pleasant to cycle along.

I turned onto Oranienburger Straße, then took a bit of a detour, taking in some of the cycle streets, before arriving at Mikkeller.

Leaving for the airport

After an enjoyable late afternoon in Mikkeller, it was time for me to bid farewell and make my way to Berlin Brandenburg Airport. There was just the small complication that I’d left my bag at the hotel on the other side of town.

No problem though, I’d just grab a bike, head to the hotel, then onto the station, to catch a train to the airport. I didn’t have a lot of time, so I found myself a Bolt bike (with the handy e-assist) and set off across town on a dark Sunday November evening.

The route took me back across the Spree and Museum Island, past all the museums and along the Tiergarten, before crossing Landwehrkanal canal again. I picked up my bag and set off again, heading for Berlin Hauptbahnhof station.

This time, I went along Hofjägerallee, which dissects the Tiergarten and past the Siegessäule (Victory Column). From there, I crossed the Spree and cycled along it, until arriving at Berlin Hauptbahnhof.

At Berlin Hauptbahnhof, I had my usual struggles of trying to find where to catch a train, eventually settling on an S-Bahn train, the S9 I think. Arriving at a busy Berlin Brandenburg Airport, I bumped into a Stretford Uke regular, who happened to be on the same flight as me.

While the Germany trip was all about meeting up with an old friend and going to see one of our favourite bands, Pavement. I got to appreciate Berlin all over again, but this time from a bike. Returning home with tales from my trip, I inadvertently convinced my family to go there, which we did in summer 2023, much more of that to come in future posts!