Maybe it’s just my small town, but I rarely see bikers around at home. I’d see a maximum of three on a good day. In going to Germany, I was shocked by the vast number of bikers and bikes lining the streets. I’d go so far as to guess there were at least four bikes for every car in the city. Maybe that explains the generally unfit stereotype that surrounds Americans – we should all take up biking.

Munich is an incredibly bike friendly city, as is (I assume) all or most of Europe. There are lanes on nearly every sidewalk and street dedicated specifically to bikers. Sidewalks that are meant specifically for pedestrians are clearly marked and a sign labels where the bikers should go. If you don’t want to get hit by a bike, do NOT walk in the bike lanes and ALWAYS look both ways before crossing a bike lane. You have to treat them like streets with cars – with care and be aware. This may seem trivial but I witnessed some extremely close calls with other unaware tourists.

We rented bikes from a shop called Mike’s Bike Tours. (They had amazing customer service and were incredibly kind and caring both about what they do and about their customers. They have locations both in Munich and Amsterdam, so if you ever find yourself in either city, I highly recommend them.) We rode somewhere around ten miles around some of the city and Englischer Garten. I realized quickly how out of shape I am. My legs felt simultaneously like gelatin and a raging fire. And we returned the bikes with no trouble, no crashes, and no falls. I’d call it a successful evening.

On one of our last days in Munich we went on a bike tour of Neuschwanstein Castle which was unbelievable, but I’ll save that story for another day.