We reserved our final day in Berlin for visiting landmarks that were within the city area; and what better way to do than cycling? Cycling is relatively easy in Berlin due to its flat topography and allocated bicycle lanes on the roads. Exploring cities on bicycles is always something we try to include in our itinerary; just our way of injecting some healthy living amongst the gorging. We signed up for the All-in-One Bike Tour with Fat Tire Bike, which was quite highly rated on TripAdvisor and held every Wednesday and Saturdays during winter. No reservation was required, we just had to show up at the TV tower (Fernsehturm) at Alexanderplatz at 11am.
After around 10 minutes of waiting, they gathered us for a short briefing and dividing us into groups of fifteen-twenty; each group had a guide and ours was Tim from USA. We then selected our bicycles and check them for faults, for some reason they were really comfortable to sit on and easy to ride; totally unlike the ones in East Coast Park that makes your ass hurt after 15 minutes. Gloves and hats are essential as it can get pretty cold so make sure you bundle up!
For the first half of the trip, we rode by Museum Island and went to Humboldt University at Bebelplatz, French Cathedral at Gendarmenmarket, Checkpoint Charlie, the remaining Berlin Wall and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Then we took a long, leisurely cycle through the Berlin Tiergarten and had lunch at a beer garden.
Recharged, we continued on the second half of the tour visiting the Victory Column, Reichstag Building and Brandenburger Tor before ending the tour back at the shop. We paid at the end of the tour and the Berlin WelcomeCard gave us 25% discount off the tour prices (18€ after discount).
At each stop, Tim provided some historical stories and interesting facts before giving us some time to explore and take photos. According to him, each tour guide presents the information in their own unique way and Tim frequently used chalk drawings to supplement his stories. The tour lasted a comfortable 5 hours and it was well-paced, entertaining and informative; highly-recommended for anyone who is visiting Berlin and knows how to ride a bicycle!
absolute honesty 