After a long winter break, the Grand Tour de Grüne Hauptwege was back! This route took me through many of the southern districts of Berlin that lay on the Teltow plateau. Although most of these districts are very residential, there are many nice green areas and paths along canals, ditches and especially along the former path of the Berlin Wall.
A hot summer’s day was a great opportunity for the eighth Stage of the Grand Tour de Grüne Hauptwege. This route led me through nature reserves and along small lakes in the east of Berlin. All the greenery was a nice touch to these primarily residential districts. A great ride and even my blood glucose was relatively well-behaved!
Stage 7 of the Grand Tour de Grüne Hauptwege started at the lovely Märchenbrunnen (Fairy Tale Fountain) and ended at the border between Berlin and Hönow. On the way, I encountered a huge bull fountain, some fantastic street art, lakes and high-rise blocks. A great mixture of all that Berlin has to offer!
Stage 6 of the Grand Tour de Grüne Hauptwege was a nice tour through some of the central parts of the former East Berlin. It was a mixture of green paths, Plattenbau apartment blocks and some stunning green areas developed on former industrial grounds. My blood glucose was pretty high during the days before this Stage so it was quite a physical struggle – but at least I got to see plenty of sheep.
The start of a new Grand Tour is always exciting and this one would take me through Berlin’s numerous parks, forests and along waterways using the official Grüne Hauptwege (Green Routes). The first route followed roughly the path of the river Spree to connect the west and east borders of Berlin. This was a lovely Stage passing through the old towns of Spandau and Köpenick as well as the hustle and bustle of central Berlin.
The penultimate Stage of the Tour de Tall took me to the extreme north and south of Berlin on the hunt for the 7th to the 4th tallest structures of Berlin. The structures were all related to power generation – mainly stacks from natural gas power plants but also impressive wind turbines. This was a fantastic cycle in Berlin with ideal conditions.
The second Stage of the Tour de Tall was more zig-zagging across Berlin to visit the twelfth to the eighth tallest structures. More impressive stacks from power plants and an Eiffel Tower imitation .. I mean .. inspiration, plus a bonus spaceship.
Stage 56 of the Grand Tour de Öffentliche Verkehrsmittel took on five bus routes around eastern Berlin. A cultural stop at the Schloss Biesdorf and lakeside stop at the Müggelsee were a great relief after car-bicycle tensions earlier in the Stage.
Stage 55 of the Grand Tour de Öffentliche Verkehrsmittel toured the northeast districts of Berlin and beyond. On the way back to central Berlin, a stranger stopped me for advice of buying a bicycle – the perks of wearing all the cycling gear.
I finally completed all of the S-Bahn routes during Stage 53 of the Grand Tour de Öffentliche Verkehrsmittel. This was the S3 running from West to East and I took in some brutalist architecture and cycled through the long stretches of forest. There was also a refreshing summer rainfall too on the way back to central Berlin.