I remember my first Fahrrad. It was passed down to me from my sister and had solid tyres. I spent hours riding it round the garden and perfected the art of cycling with a cardboard box over my head. Until one day I steered the bike right over the edge of the lawn and dropped four foot, landing in a flower bed.
Fahrrad comes from das Rad which means the wheel and fahren meaning to go or to drive.
Germans often talk about their Rad just as we in England shorten bicycle to bike.
In German towns you will see dozens of bicycles. Most cities have constructed cycle ways which are called Radwege. These safe cycling routes often have their own traffic lights and cyclists in Germany are generally more noticeable and treated with more respect by motorists than they are in the UK.
The Donauradweg is a beautiful cycling route which runs beside the river Danube through Germany and Austria.
If you want to hear more about cycling in Germany why not listen to Annik Rubens' podcast on Radfahren (cycling)?
