Stadtrad
I'd like to thank Dervilla Fastner, Claire's mum, for sending me the first of
what I feel will be a record breaking October. So, without further ado...
I have decided to write a short overview about my experience of hiring a city bike during my recent weekend stay in Hamburg. As the weather forecast for the weekend was really good, we decided to go cycling together on the Saturday. Cycling is probably one of the best ways to explore a city, and besides that, it’s fun, healthy and environmentally friendly.
How it Works: It’s all fairly straightforward. Firstly, you need to
download the Hamburg city bike app, STADTRad Hamburg, onto your
smartphone. Then, sign-on entering a few personal and payment details. After a
few clicks you are ready to pick up a bike. On the map, which is visible on your
app, you will see all the pick-up and return points in and around Hamburg. There
are 220 stations in total.
Once you have found a bike at a pick-up station, tap the “rent” function, then enter your selected bike number and confirm. With the bike’s built-in lock system, you can take a break whenever you want, as you might feel like stopping off at one of Hamburg’s many beer gardens or cafés. Instructions on how to lock and unlock the bikes are shown on the display on the handlebars. It’s all very simple. The first 30 minutes are free. After that, you pay per minute, but the daily rate can’t exceed €15. You can return your bike at any bike station.
The bikes are comfortable, robust and easy to pedal, perhaps a wee bit on the heavy side. The bike carrier can hold a small bag.
At around 11 am on Saturday – a rather odd looking trio - Declan on his trike, Claire on her road bike, and myself on a red city bike set off on our 24 Km bike return-trip to The Zollenspieker Fährhaus and back again. After about 2 kilometres, we reached the cycle path and began our car-free cycle tour, enjoying the abundance of plants, flowers and trees, including small picturesque streams along the way.
After about 5 km we stopped at a beer garden for refreshments. We, then,
continued along at snail’s pace enjoying the last days of summer. On finally
reaching our destination, we sat down at the very busy beer garden (Biergarten)
with a wonderful view of the river Elbe.
Enjoying the good food and a cool beer - I can’t actually remember what we all
ate – we spent about two hours there recharging our batteries for the cycle back
to Bergedorf. The ride back was quite strenuous for the tri-cyclist, but
nonetheless he mastered it, stopping off at a Croatian restaurant for more
refreshments about 1 km from home. When we arrived back to the flat, we had
spent over 9 hours outdoors, inhaling fresh air.
The next day, Sunday, I rented a bicycle again and cycled into Hamburg on my own. I took the main commuter cycle path towards Hamburg. On the way to Hamburg, on Claire’s recommendation, I detoured via the Boberger sand dunes. This was a pleasant surprise. Suddenly, I found myself in the middle of breathtaking sand dune landscape. It is actually possible to take the forest route back to Bergedorf from the sand dunes.
I then continued on my way to Hamburg, taking the scenic route, along Boberger Niederung Natural Reserve. The reserve is wonderfully diverse, including heathland, marshland and lakes. Soaking up the scents of my surroundings, I cycled for another 10 kilometres before hitting Hamburg traffic.
On reaching the centre of Hamburg, I returned my bike effortlessly, and then spent some time walking along Jungfernstieg and the Alster lakes. After an enjoyable few hours, I took the S-Bahn (fast urban train) back to Bergedorf and joined Claire and Declan for dinner before taking the train back to Bavaria the next morning. I can definitely recommend hiring a red city bike for anyone visiting Hamburg.
I have decided to write a short overview about my experience of hiring a city bike during my recent weekend stay in Hamburg. As the weather forecast for the weekend was really good, we decided to go cycling together on the Saturday. Cycling is probably one of the best ways to explore a city, and besides that, it’s fun, healthy and environmentally friendly.
Renting a City Bike in Hamburg
Once you have found a bike at a pick-up station, tap the “rent” function, then enter your selected bike number and confirm. With the bike’s built-in lock system, you can take a break whenever you want, as you might feel like stopping off at one of Hamburg’s many beer gardens or cafés. Instructions on how to lock and unlock the bikes are shown on the display on the handlebars. It’s all very simple. The first 30 minutes are free. After that, you pay per minute, but the daily rate can’t exceed €15. You can return your bike at any bike station.
The bikes are comfortable, robust and easy to pedal, perhaps a wee bit on the heavy side. The bike carrier can hold a small bag.
My Bike Tour Experience
At around 11 am on Saturday – a rather odd looking trio - Declan on his trike, Claire on her road bike, and myself on a red city bike set off on our 24 Km bike return-trip to The Zollenspieker Fährhaus and back again. After about 2 kilometres, we reached the cycle path and began our car-free cycle tour, enjoying the abundance of plants, flowers and trees, including small picturesque streams along the way.
Along the cycle path to Zollenspieker Fährhaus
The River Elbe at Zollenspieker Fährhaus
The next day, Sunday, I rented a bicycle again and cycled into Hamburg on my own. I took the main commuter cycle path towards Hamburg. On the way to Hamburg, on Claire’s recommendation, I detoured via the Boberger sand dunes. This was a pleasant surprise. Suddenly, I found myself in the middle of breathtaking sand dune landscape. It is actually possible to take the forest route back to Bergedorf from the sand dunes.
Boberger Sand Dunes (approximately 6 kilometres from Bergedorf).
I then continued on my way to Hamburg, taking the scenic route, along Boberger Niederung Natural Reserve. The reserve is wonderfully diverse, including heathland, marshland and lakes. Soaking up the scents of my surroundings, I cycled for another 10 kilometres before hitting Hamburg traffic.
Heathland, Natural Reserve Boberger Niederung
On reaching the centre of Hamburg, I returned my bike effortlessly, and then spent some time walking along Jungfernstieg and the Alster lakes. After an enjoyable few hours, I took the S-Bahn (fast urban train) back to Bergedorf and joined Claire and Declan for dinner before taking the train back to Bavaria the next morning. I can definitely recommend hiring a red city bike for anyone visiting Hamburg.
.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment