A Simple Pleasure : Walking as Transportation

The snow decided to stick around Berlin at Christmas time.  So I hung up my bike and began walking across the icy path to school and back every day.  Do you ever walk on a regular basis to the places that you go?

My path used to look like this:

Now spring is finally creeping in.

It’s true that walking takes longer than any other form of transportation.  But as the icy snow disappeared and the weather started to get warmer, my classmates in German class kept asking me, “Did you ride your bike today?”  ”How about today?  Ride your bike today?”

“No,” I kept telling them.

They could not understand why I would possibly choose to walk 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) to school every single day.  They all drove if they had cars or took the subway system.  And *I* was the American?!

(Note: confuse people around the world by being a vegetarian who prefers to bike and walk over riding a moving vehicles.  Then say, “I’m an American.”)

Anyway, there are a couple reasons I keep putting off the switch from walking to biking.  And if  you’re not much for walking, spring is the perfect time to start strolling a little more than usual.  It’s amazing how alive a walk can make you feel. Here’s how:

1.  Flowers are blooming.  Plants are growing.  Some come from designated garden beds.  Not always.  Not these:

They’re just growing all along the sidewalk and under patches of trees shown above in snow.

2.  You walk, watch, and hear.  I always arrive to class smiling because of the people I see.  I hear little kids and learn German words like “to lick” (a dog licking a boy’s hand) and “to land” (a bird landing on the sidewalk).

3.  You sleep better at night when your body has moved during the day.

4.  You have time to think and reflect.

5.  You stop stressing about time and worrying; you start relaxing.

6.  You consume no limited resources and emit nothing.

7.  You get fresh air.  It wakes you up.  It alerts your senses.  The breeze blows in your face.

8.  You smell more.  Spring has so many lovely smells.  One that I discovered happens to be our now-favorite bakery for fresh bread.

9.  You burn calories.

10.  You stop carrying extra baggage and clutter everywhere you go.  You realize what’s really important in your pockets, purse, or backpack.