Kultur Blog 4

As someone without a drivers license and someone who is very prone to motion sickness, reading about the popularity and efficiency of biking in Germany was both interesting and reassuring.  A lot of people think I'm crazy for not having a license and for not even attempting to obtain one until the summer after I graduated high school, but with a few extenuating circumstances, so long as you don't live in a rural area driving is not always the only good option.  I grew up in a suburban town an hour outside of Manhattan.  Almost everyone I knew in high school got their license as soon as possible, but I could easily walk or bike to school, my friend's houses, shops on the main road, the library, my voice teacher's house, church, babysitting jobs, and the train station, so I didn't really see driving to be a necessity.  Once some of my friends got their licenses they seemed to forget how fast and efficient it is to walk or bike short distances.  By the time you get everyone in the car, drive to where you need to go, and then park it could very well take less time to walk or bike.  I also agree with the German mentality in that driving is often not worth its cost; I would much rather take a bit longer getting to where I need to go than pay for a car, insurance, and gas.  It is nice to see how many people bike in Ann Arbor, and it was great to see the first official bike lanes appear in Midtown Manhattan just a few years ago.  I wish that biking and public transportation were more widely supported means of transportation in the United States, not only are they cheaper, but they are also better for the environment.  They only major deterrence that I see to biking is dealing with cold and nasty weather.  I know that it is very cold and often rainy in many parts of Germany; does this impact  German biking culture?