Grand Tour de Öffentliche Verkehrsmittel Stage 55/59 – Purchase Advice

Date	07.07.2020
Strava Activity	https://www.strava.com/activities/3727062518
Bike	Flash
Distance in km	131.4
Elevation in m	527
Amount of newly ridden kms from wandrer.earth	43.1

After some windy days over the weekend, I could safely tackle the next Stage of the Grand Tour de Öffentliche Verkehrsmittel. I would mainly cycle through the north eastern districts of Berlin and even into some of the towns bordering Berlin. The previous days were peppered with lots of high blood glucose so I was happy to be more active and increase my insulin sensitivity. Because of this, I only slightly reduced my bolus and basal insulin before heading out.

On the way to Am Kupfergraben (At the Copper Trench) for the start of the M1 tram route, I passed by a memorial in the shape of a large face. This face belonged to Johann Georg Elser, who was killed in the Dachau concentration camp after attempting to assassinate Hitler and other high ranking Nazi officials during a speech in Munich. 

The M1 tram that I followed during this first route of the Stage ended at Schillerstraße in the Niederschönhausen district. This is the complement of the other M1 tram that terminated at Rosenthal Nord – this was the very first tram route of the Grand Tour de Öffentliche Verkehrsmittel way back during Stage 6.

The M1 route headed through central Berlin (Friedrichstraße and Hackescher Markt) and then northwards towards Schönhauser Allee. From Stage 6, I remembered that the tram tracks on Kastanienallee were also the bike lane – still a strange choice! The M1 route from Stage 6 and this M1 route part ways at Pastor-Niemöller-Platz in Pankow.

This M1 route headed into Niederschönhausen and passed the lovely Friedenskirche (Peace Church). The M1 tram turned onto Schillerstraße right before the historical tram depot from Stage 47. The tram terminus and the end of the M1 route was at the end of this street.

The next route – the 893 bus – started in the town of Zepernick, which borders Buch – the northernmost district of Berlin. My blood glucose was much higher than I would’ve liked but it was at least starting to reduce. So I decided to see how it was doing once I got to Zepernick. 

I cycled through some quiet roads in Französisch Buchholz and Buch. There were great gravel paths that took me out of Berlin and into Brandenburg along which there were many sandstone sculptures. I arrived at the Zepernick S-Bahn station – this lies on the S2 from Stage 36 – and ate my final homemade flapjack and also injected one unit of bolus insulin. This would both fuel me for the rest part of the Stage and help bring down my blood glucose. 

The 893 bus route started at the Zepernick train station and made a bee-line for the Buch district of Berlin. It circled around the Buch S-Bahn station before heading to the large Helios Klinikum. Buch has a large number of hospitals and also hosts a large campus for the Charitè, the large university hospital. 

After stopping at the Helios Klinikum, the 893 route headed towards Schwanebeck. I had visited Schwanebeck as part of the 259 bus route from Stage 43. Just as during the 259 bus route, the town of Lindenberg was next. But the 893 and 259 bus take different turns once in Lindenberg. The 893 route headed into Neu-Lindenberg (New Lindenberg), which is full of modern housing and is where Nadja’s cousin used to live. 

After Neu-Lindenberg, the 893 bus headed back into Berlin, this time into the district of Wartenberg. The final stop of this bus route was at Prerower Platz which is in the neighbouring district of Neu-Hohenschönhausen. This is a well-frequented spot for public transport routes with many trams and buses crossing here.

Prerower Platz was also the starting point for the next bus route – the 197 route. This bus route headed into the Falkenberg district and towards Ahrensfelde. While circling through the streets of Ahrensfelde, I came across the lovely rainbow unicorn from Stage 12 – it’s still pretty cool.

After Ahrensfelde, the 197 bus continued circling southwards slowly through the streets of Marzahn and then Hellersdorf. I passed by the cable car at Kienberg which gives lovely views of the Gärten der Welt (Gardens of the World). 

I was feeling a bit peckish and slightly tired from cycling in the wind – this was still less windy than over the weekend so I’m glad I gave that a miss! I stopped at a cafe opposite the Kaulsdorf-Nord U-Bahn station for a proper food stop. I had a coffee and a Clif bar and also injected one unit of bolus insulin, as I was still not happy with my high blood glucose.

Once I got back on Flash, I followed the 197 bus towards the Kaulsdorf S-Bahn station and then towards the Mahlsdorf (Pi-dorf) S-Bahn station. The final stop of the 197 route was near the tram terminus on Treskowstraße just behind the Mahlsdorf station.

The 395 bus route was next – this was a circular bus route that serviced north Mahlsdorf and even the adjacent Hönower Siedlung (Hönow Estate) that lies over the border in Brandenburg. This bus route went through very quiet back streets of Mahlsdorf that were full of modern houses before reaching the Hönow U-Bahn station – a terminus of the U5 from Stage 21. Afterwards I cycled through the similarly residential streets of Hönow before arriving back at the Mahlsdorf S-Bahn station.

The next bus route (the 248) started at Alexanderplatz – incidentally the other terminus of the U5, at least until the U5 is extended to Hauptbahnhof (Central Station). I cycled westwards from Mahlsdorf towards central Berlin trying to cycle along as many new roads as possible.

While in Friedrichshain, a man with a bicycle called out at me – I thought he was lost and wanted directions but actually he wanted advice on the bicycle that he was considering buying. I guess my pro-look made me look like an expert. Although I am certainly not an expert on vintage city bikes, I gave it a quick check (no rust, brakes and headset seemed fine) and said it looked good. But I recommended that he haggle for a lower price. 

Once I reached Alexanderplatz, my blood glucose was finally in a decent range. Unfortunately this was too good for cycling so I took on an energy gel to boost up the blood glucose for the rest of the Stage.

The 248 bus route immediately met the large construction site around Molkenmarkt (Whey Market) but at least cyclists were considered in the replanning of the temporary lanes. I then cycled along Lindenstraße towards the Landwehrkanal (Land Army Canal). Here I passed by the Jüdisches Museum (Jewish Museum) – one of the most frequented museums in Berlin. Opposite there is also the W. Michael Blumenthal Academy of the Jewish Museum Berlin which houses archives and offers lectures too.

The southbound direction of the 248 bus took a detour to stop at the Hallesches Tor U-Bahn station. After the detour, I continued on through the cooler areas of Kreuzberg on Bergmannstraße before reaching Columbiadamm.

This is where the Tempelhofer Feld (Tempelhof Field) park on the grounds of the former airport is located. Along the way towards Platz der Luftbrücke, I passed the Columbiahalle and Columbia Theater which are concert venues that I’ve been to many times. Columbiahalle is the larger one and I think it’s the concert venue I have been to the most during my time in Berlin.

From Platz der Luftbrücke, the 248 route headed towards the train station at Südkreuz. The rest of the route passed through some heavily trafficked roads in Schöneberg before ending at Dillenburgerstraße in Wilmersdorf. 

I was feeling pretty tired at this point and was happy to be near the end of the Stage. All that was left was for me to cycle the remaining 10 km home. My CGM alerted me again that my blood glucose was running low so I had another gel at Spichernstraße. The combination of high blood glucose and cycling into headwinds really took a lot out of me so I’m kind of glad that the weather in the next few days will be rainy so I can fully recover from this Stage.

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