Beware of Bikers

DAY 9 of “Chancellor Watch” – Essentially, no side is budging. Both Merkel and Schroder believe that they have the right to be German Chancellor. Merkel’s team says that they won’t even begin grand coalition talks until the Schroder camp admits upfront that Schroder will not be chancellor. Essentially, this is pre-requirement before any other discussions can take place. On the flip side, Schroder’s team admits that no one group has a mandate and he has as much right as anyone to stay in the job. He has thrown out the possibility of the two parties sharing the chancellery, each for a couple of years. That would be akin to saying, “OK, Bush you have the first 2 years; Gore you get the last 2 years”. Amazing.

I have heard of driving defensively. Now, I can add this to the list: in Germany, one must walk defensively. Tell me more, you say….

Well, throughout the city of Düsseldorf and other German cities, there are biking paths that have been clearly laid out for city bikes (not motorbikes, though – they ride on the streets, unlike Korea). These paths are usually denoted in red paver bricks in one section of a gray concrete sidewalk or marked off in white paint. Kinda like an HOV lane on the sidewlk but for bikes only. Walkers beware! If you walk in a biking path, you do not have the right of way; if you are hit, you could be held responsible. Fortunately, most of the bicyclists have a pleasant little bell on their bike that they ring ever so courteously as they ride up behind you to alert you of their presence.

Still, I can get caught up in checking out my surroundings and be totally unaware that I have ambled into a bike path or worse, the path of a biker. I feel like I need a license just to walk to around to ensure I can interpret and adhere to the traffic signs for pedestrian traffic. So far, no walker-biker altercations, but I have had a couple of close calls.

Please note: Let me allay any concerns regarding the trams. I have no trouble watching out for these. I clearly “check left, check right, check left again” (thank you, catch phrase from high school driver’s education course) before crossing a tram track.