German here. My stepdad was a policeman until his retirement, and his advice on bike safety was "The best security for your bike is a more expensive, less secured bike just next to it."
Greetings from Freiburg, I like your videos and your view of the world. What´s missing in the video is, that we have a Park & Ride System, so if you come with your car to Freiburg, you can park for free outside of the City if you buy or own a ticket for the Tram (Straßenbahn). If you buy a ticket for a concert or a soccer game, you can use the public transportation in the whole Freiburg Area for free.
Thanks to you, I finally know the meaning of park and ride, 12 years after moving to Münster xD (we have park and ride parking lots, too. It's usually in the name of the adjacent bus station)
My US friend wondered why I never got a driver's license. I simply told him I've lived in Amsterdam for most of my life and never needed one 🙂 I could get wherever I needed to go either by bicycle or public transport. And yes, you will need to lock up your bicycle or it will be gone.
Although in those very big clumps of bikes it is sometimes possible to not lock your bike, because the probability of someone actually noticing it isn't locked is small. I've done it a few times when I realised I forgot the key for my bike lock at home, and so far I got lucky and it wasn't stolen
There is a Germany ticket available to everyone for 49 euros per month. With this, you can use all buses, trams, underground, regional express trains, and regional trains in whole Germany. I commute on weekends over 250 km by bus and train, using the regional express system. It takes me less than 4 hours for the journey. By car, it also takes me 4 hours, so I prefer to use the train. And yes, you have to lock your bikes here too….
There is a reason, why I don't have a drivers licence. I never needed it. I work in Frankfurt and live in another city. From my home to my office it takes 23 minutes with public transportation. Oh, and I can really recommend Ashton's channel. She has some really fine videos. Really surprising was her take on the difference on the costs of living in the US and Germany.
That's a stupid way of thinking. I have a license for motorboating and for sailing on international waters yet I do not need it now since I don't own a vessel. I have a license for owning and carrying a gun here in Poland yet I really don't need it now and I haven't bought a firearm still. I have an IKO kiteboarding license and I don't need it now, but anywhere in the world I can rent a kite and a board and people will know I am safe. I am licensed lifeguard yet it is not for a job, but for me a as a versed human being. I am planning on getting other licenses too. I want more categories of my driver license. I hope to one day get back to and finish my snowboarding instructor course. Maybe one day I would even become a licensed diver too. What are you doing with your life?!
@@darek4488who hurt you? 😂 Stop being mean for no reason. This person might get a drivers license once it's necessary. But you only do that when the situation occurs, otherwise it would be a waste of money, energy and time.
Yeah - you have to lock your bike - else it´s gone. Especially in the big cities - but the locks usually deter theft and work pretty well. Great point btw - when you said Freiburg is "humancentric" - that´s what all cities should be 4 real!
I usually don't lock my bike - but it is a trike anyway, and it is an incumbent trike which gets steered by the feet, which at the same time turn the pedals. It takes some exercise to even move it. I would not leave my normal bike unattended without a lock.
There are seven (mostly) car free islands on the German coast - some are even bicycle free. Mostly car free, because only emergency vehicles, sometime public transport and maybe maintenance vehicles are allowed to drive on those islands.
There's a well known one in the US too (in Michigan) -- Mackinac Island. No cars (except for a couple of emergency vehicles). Right now there's a fight over whether or not ebikes will be allowed (and particularly whether or not bike rental companies will be allowed to rent them).
Washington DC has 690,000 inhabitants and 177.0 km2 (68.35 sq mi). And Copenhagen? It has 660,000 inhabitants and 90.01 km2 (34.75 sq mi)... American cities are built in a way that makes it difficult to use public transportation and bicycles. They take up a disproportionate amount of space, and in many parts of them, car parks take up more space than buildings...
Using public transport is not a question of the size, the rnv (Rhein Neckar Verkehr) is 621.47km2 (239,95sq mi) that covers 3 major cities without any major problems. And the network is even more impressive than the Freiburg one I think.
@@mindscraper1978 I don't think they meant it in a way that disagrees with what was said. America wastes a lot of land for The Car. Remember, those cars aren't a Toyota Yaris or a Smart. We are talking about big-ass 2 meter tall, 4 meter long vehicles that in USA classify as regular SUVs and here in Europe they look more like a van. The size of parking lots are really bigger than the building they serve. You sometimes need a ride from the place you parked to the entrance of the supermarket/mall. The size is insanely big, unnecessarily big, as most of the parking spots are empty.
@@alanpotter8680 Partly true, but, the problem is still not the size, there are large empty spots in the area of the RNV too, as said, it is 3 cities. The problem is, in many cases they don't want to even try it. Sadly that is often the case when tax money might benefit the majority, many US Americans are not willing to try different solutions that might cost them and they don't see it might benefit them.
in Europe, you learn to use the bike to go to places.... in the USA, you learn to use a bike, so your parents can brag about that their kids know how to use a bike and still get driven everywhere!
Stop lying, German parents and grandparents drive kids everywhere. to school, to sport grounds, to shopping centers, just everywhere. Kids on bikes or on food are a rarity.
@@HelenaDammers lol.... not here, not here.... there are a few thousand kids walking or riding bikes to school, the few in cars barley count... even i have been driven sometimes to school, 45 years ago and also used my bike or even walked a few times! i still use my bike, not every day...i am working in another city, so i have not much time left after coming home!
@HelenaDammers I ride a bike for 4 1/2 average (without counting to go to friends) per week and I get only driven somewhere, when one of my parents also has to be there.
@@HelenaDammers that really really depends on the city or town, the specific part of city or town, the millieu your moving in. It's really not that clear cut
In my german city bikes get stolen when you leave them locked outside for 24 hours. Unlocked it will probably last 10 minutes until it's gone. But we are having surveilled locking stations and rentable bike garages. Most of my friends and I are keeping their bikes inside their flats when they are at home because the bikes will also get stolen from your houses cellars.
@@alanpotter8680 In my city the thieves are often drug addicts who are trying to sell them at the nearby central station to get money for their drugs. And a well organized bike-mafia who goes through the city by night stealing bikesand bringing them out of the country ( to Eastern EUrope). At least 5 bikes have been stolen from me in the past ten years.
There is a bit of prejudice that it's mostly the cities in northern and central Europe that really push transit, but I invite you to check out Barcelona, which is also a much bigger city (a million and a half people) and it's really pushing the transit network, with lots of subway lines and busses, limiting the number of streets open to car traffic, and making also the peripheral areas uncrowded.
Freiburg is wonderful, but these smaller beautiful cities can be found everywhere in Germany! I hope you'll have a wonderful summer in my country! Thank you for your nice reactions, I like them a lot. Take care!
Once my dad stole back one of my bikes in Finland in the 90s-ish. He saw someone riding it, followed them, checked the ID number off the bike (he had put it there himself) and it matched. The bike had been gone for like a year+. I constantly see people leave their bikes unlocked in the village I live in nowadays, I wouldn't though. I ride an eScooter at times and I lock that with a bike lock to anything solid, usually a bikerack.
When I was younger I was often in Switzerland for skiing. I was often in a town called Mürren. It was halfway in the mountains, and there weren't any cars since there was no street up to the mountain. You had to leave your car down in the valley and the only connection upwards was a cable car.
There is a notable exception to the tram story: The city of Münster is at least as bicycle-friendly as Freiburg i. Br. and does it all without trams. Bike theft is rampant in Germany, too btw
18:24 There is not much petty theft in general, this changes during big festivals were it is easy to pickpocket... BUT normaly your stuff ; minus any cash; will be dropped of at the next POA (Point of Authority). So on a festival ask the guys from the Production if someone found your stuff. At train stations go to the information desk, they handle "lost and found". Suprisingly often your stuff is there because even our thiefs and pickpockets have a heart. The cash is gone sure but if you need to replace your typical wallet card ... in germany you are in a world of pain. ID = Paperwork + 50-100 Euro Drivers License = More freaking paperwork and another 60 Euro Credit and Bank Cards = Time and more paperwork Insurance card = more time and paperwork and so on...
There are plenty of Towns and Cities in Germany with "Old Towns" like in Freiburg. The Big Cities like Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Cologne are also run by Cars, but all of them have "Old Towns" Downtown without many Cars. Because foundated hundreds of Years ago.
Not Just Bikes is great! I can tell you are getting radicalized while watching his videos just like I was. 😂 Great reaction, can't wait to see where life leads you!
"Copenhagen-style bicycle paths" seem dangerous to an outside observer. In reality, this is not the case and in Copenhagen there are practically no accidents involving cyclists on this type of roads. Accidents can happen (theoretically), but they don't happen in practice...
The issue is not that they are unsafe as such, but there are safer ways still, as you can find out in videos from Not Just Bikes about the Netherlands. The point is also more, how you feel on these cycling paths. So there might not actually something happen, but if it is constructed well you feel much safer…
@@winfriedtheis5767 If, if... There will always be someone who is oversensitive and finds the world around them dangerous. I know a woman who thinks that two-way sidewalks are less safe than one-way sidewalks because you can hit someone... Is this really a valid concern? Well, such a collision is theoretically possible. So should people on sidewalks only move in one direction? Maybe it would be safer for you. I, as a person who knows Copenhagen, do not necessarily have to share the concerns of oversensitive people...
@@winfriedtheis5767 Many people in the US perceive some of the situations in Copenhagen as dangerous. But this has nothing to do with Danish reality. These are just concerns about bad experiences living in the USA. Cycling next to cars? In the USA it is a cause for fear, in Denmark it is a safe everyday occurrence that does not arouse any emotions. A newborn in a stroller left outside a store or restaurant? In the USA it is a reason to fear kidnapping, in Denmark it is a safe everyday occurrence. A ten-year-old traveling alone on public transport? In the USA this is a cause for panic, in Denmark it is nothing unusual. Your experiences of living in a country where smiles are on display and people are like wolves to each other - in Denmark, they arouse astonishment.
@@leszekk.73, well I used both, and I tell you despite feeling okay, I feel better with quite some of the systems we have here in NL. Even if something is good, and we should applaud it, does not mean we should not try to further improve it. The problem of mixed infrastructure is always, that if you have people, not used to it might do things wrong, and then accidents happen. If you have a proper split of infrastructure you minimise the possible accidents further. As said: check out some of his other videos @NotJustBikes and see for yourself!
@@leszekk.73 I do know a lot of Americans, so thanks, I know what you are talking about. And I agree, as a European you are wondering about these things…
I am so glad that in many German cities more and more car roads are being reduced! This gives us more space for trams, bicycle ways, children and people who meet in clean air (without car noise!). For a better world!
Münster has 3000km bike lane and was votet as the most liveable city in the world by citys up to 750.000 habitants and has 300.000 and 50.000 students. It is said everyone has two bikes. One for going out and one for touring.
Freiburg is still a car centric city, as there are 4,000 parking spaces spread over various parking garages in the city center. Source: Freiburg für Alle. The cars are just hidden inside large multi floor buildings.
so I live in Antwerp and my best friend got her bike stolen once outside her appartement, then saw it 2 streets along a few days later with a different bike lock on it. So one night me and her carried it to my place to later take it to a bikeshop. We explained the situation and yup.. they helped us out, she got her bike back, continued to park it outside her front door like nothing had happened, it never got stolen again! :-)
Freiburg has 230,000 inhabitants and an area of 153 km2 (59.10 sq mi). Spokane (USA) has 230,000 inhabitants and 179.99 km2 (69.50 sq mi). The cities are similar in size, but they are completely different...
As usual when comparing US and EU cities, the EU city is much more temperate -- cooler during summer and warmer during winter. The US has higher winter winds too, exacerbating the cold temperatures. Compare the two cities on a climate comparison site (I checked on a site called weatherspark) and you'll see. As in much of the US, Jan and Feb are freezing, and July-August are scalding (note that although Spokane is in Washington State, it is east of the Cascade Mountains and does not have Seattle's milder maritime climate).
@@markweaver1012 Well... Weather is not a factor in whether people ride bikes. Finland has very cold winters, and yet, even in snowy winters, people use bicycles in many cities.
The problem of American cities is their large area, which is disproportionate to the number of inhabitants, and the car infrastructure, which makes bicycle and pedestrian communication difficult. In a vast American city, as a rule, everywhere is far away - to work, to school, to the store, to the restaurant. So you have to go everywhere by car, because you won't find any other options... European cities are built differently. You are close to everything - even if you live in the suburbs, you can reach a shop, school or restaurant in a few minutes on foot or by bike.
@@leszekk.73 Of course weather is a factor -- and its not just cold winters but also very hot summers, high winds and thunderstorms (which are 4x more common in the US). If you compare Helsinki to Chicago, you'll see that they're both about equally cold in Dec and January but that Chicago is about 10-15F hotter during summer (and more humid too).
Oh, Freiburg looks great, I like it. That`s nice thing about Germany, if you live in the city you don`t have to rely on a car, because you have good connections by bus, tram, train and bike.
I live in Athens, Greece, and I only have a driver's license because everyone's got one. I use my car mostly to go from my house, which is high up in the hills and far away from any possible urban transport, to the metro station 2.5 km away. It's a very steep hill and I biked that distance every day until I had to get a car because of my kids.
In Germany older "Hausratsversicherungen" (household insurance) includes - up to a low value - bicycles. Therefore when stolen you can get parts of the costs back. For expensive bicycles you can sign a bicycle theft insurance but in both cases the bicycle must be locked when "lost" - for the expensive bikes the insurances often have a list of locks (or safety standards the lock must match) that you have to use or they will not pay (or only a part of the insured value). There is a rule of thumb that a lock cost about 10% of the prize of the bike (with Pedelecs - similar to Class 1 eBikes in the US, when I remember correct) it is mostly around 5% or less of the prize (but Pedelecs are commonly much more expensive and you will have problems to find a lock that costs 300 to 500 or even more Euro). And all bike looks can be cut - they only should make it so annoying for the theft, that he take a different bike (and not yours) 🙂
@@biankakoettlitz6979 probably cause neatherlands is a tiny country compared to germany, citys are very close together and also the whole country is flat, perfect for bikes. Germany has many mountains and some citys therefore are build uphill. In some citys it does not make sense to ride bike only. I am german and also ride my bike here. I will go to a google maps link to check how much height there is before I start my journey. Trust me it make s a difference, you gonna feel it in your legs.
I've lived in Freiburg since I was born, so for 30 years, and I'm very happy with the public transport in the city. But Freiburg is not entirely green, there are still some major works that need to be done. And there is still quite a lot of traffic, especially at rush hour. All the people I know who live in Freiburg prefer to travel by car, even though it takes longer and is much more expensive due to the parking fees. But I think there will always be people who deliberately don't want to take part because they are simply always against it. That's a pity, but it's the reality. I think a visit to Freiburg will definitely be worthwhile for you. Greetings Andy.
A very nice reaction video! An idea comes to mind: Come to Germany as a young, open person, learn German, live and work here for a few years and then go back to the USA in 10 years, enriched by your positive experiences. Then become a serious politician and simply copy the ideas that work so well here. I think more people will be sick of it like you are. And many people will help you and follow you on the new path. *pop* ... Oh, it was just a dream... but a beautiful one! 😉 Greetings from Northern Germany 🇩🇪♥️
Freiburg looks great! Next on the agenda should be the revegetation of those town squares. Here in Austria, my next town over, has a similar huge "former parking lot - turned pedestrian main square" with a farmers market, a playground and outdoor cafés, but it's all concrete and they struggle with the heat now. They're amping up the greenery and develop a concept for shade etc. Hope it'll turn out well.
Polish Solaris electric buses in Freiburg, nice :) This manufacturer from my hometown produces hydrogen buses as well. This is a very modern company, leader of bus industry in Europe, proud of it :)
4:41 that picture... the house I spent my teenage years in is *just* not in the frame, it's slightly below. I used to get on the bus to go to school in the loop at the lower right hand quarter (you can see the bus in the picture ;-)) until the built the tram. The picture looks like it's from before we moved there, I'd guess it's from around 1972-1975, as there are some buildings still under construction in the upper right hand corner. The whole place is *MUCH* greener today, though...
Freiburg has great Weinstuben (wine bars) too. As a university town in a wine growing area lots of young people hang out there in the evenings. You should check them out! You can walk or take the tram home.
I think one huge point on taking the bike or the tram is that you are nearly everywhere faster than you are with the car. I live in Freiburg and I often use my bicycle and my grandparents took the car. We started at the same time meeting at the other side of the city and I am always faster than them. Up to ten or fifteen minutes.
I know Zermatt…. We used to deliver things to there and they must have been picked up at some sort of mailpoints outside of the city. Even bigger stuff like tables and furniture
Locking your bike is common. I live in Cologne and I currently don´t own a bike anymore since I had two bikes stolen within a year. I use the bike-sharing system which works well in big cities
Hello! I am a Romanian citizen (not German citizenship and passport yet) that is living in this city from 1998. About Freiburg , Germany, this video is pretty much accurate. For your comment from min. 17:05 regarding bicycles , we are locking the bicycles of course . There is a small problem, also here, with the stolen bicycles, but mainly with the stolen saddles from the bicycles. On the more urban area. There are people like every where in the World that are living on the limit, or they are having problems with the consuming of alcohol or different substances. Frankly, I do not understand where do they sell so many saddles and who buy”s them. But the locals are used to this and it is not a big problem. Sometimes the owner of the bike is taking the saddle home or at the work place . 😄 And after they finished the job , or the next day, they are installing the saddle , it takes only like 5 seconds, and they go. 😄 .Sometimes you can see bicycles that the owners forgot, or small bicycles for children or toys in this residential areas, laying down on the side of the street or in front of the house , in front of the garden, etc. Nobody takes them. The owners find them over there the next day, also. Here , everybody have jobs. In this video they do not say that the old town it was expanded with many villages that surrounded it and in between there are so called ”Snell Strassen” ( quick streets ), that are like the German Autobahnd , with two lanes on the side, and other two from opposite direction only that they do not have emergency lane. with speed limit 80 km per hour, sometimes 70 km per hour. Above this streets are an enormous network of pedestrian bridges and bicycles bridges so the people easily are going into the city and at work. Good luck ! Ciao !
In Germany it is mandatory to lock your bike by law. Otherwise the police can conficate your bike so it does not get stolen(btw, that is mandatory for cars as well, the have to be locked). On the other hand if you dont do it, your bike will likely be stolen. Even if you use cheap locks..
The only downside is that the tram tracks are a danger for driving with bicycle. The bicycle thing only works really well when there are no hills around. Like in northern germany or the Rhein valley. In my small 55000 people city in the north we do have lots of bike lanes and some walking only city centre for shopping. Some bike and pedestrian ways only. With parking basement under the market place or under the small shopping mall at the edge of city centre. With extensive bus line net and a train station for far distance travelling too. I am quite happy with my city. In my county there is a vast network of bike ways with special traffic signs to follow several tours. Including connected hotels and such for a week tour or so. The only downside is the lack of mountains but we have rivers and canals instead, including canoe tours to book.
Hello there, I´m following your channel since over a year and today you made me a big surprise by posting and reacting to a video from the city where I live more than 25 years. Seriously I´m quite shocked because the city of Freiburg is not so important for Germany in terms of industry or financies. Here in Freiburg is like the time stood still. Everything goes slower than other big cities like Frankfurt, Munich or Cologne. I personally own 7 bikes and no car at this moment because to own a car in Germany (or generally in Europe) is very expensive (taxes, insurance and above all the fuelcosts are nuts) so either I ride my bike or I walk. By the way Ashton has a very good channel, she and her husband made videos most of them about Freiburg but also about Germany. Sorry for my not so good english. Take care. Timo
And yes indeed you need to lock your bike everytime. Since I live in Freiburg people robbed me 4 bikes. When I want to go to the city center I take a cheap bike but to ride (travel all day) to black forest I take a much better bike. Cheers
We also have the "Deutschland Ticket" which cost about $50 a month. It allows us to use almost any kind of public transport, including regional trains as much as we want. For many people this is a very very cheap alternative to cars.
Especially in Freiburg and surroundings, where a monthly public transportation ticket was more expensive than that. I remember when i was in college in Freiburg (not the university, but one of the other college options) i paid for a student ticket just below 50€ and i lived first in Kirchzarten, later in Hochdorf in Freiburg. After college, it was over 60€ for a monthly ticket, no matter if it was the city, the outskirts or the smaller towns and villages that were in the regional public transportation area. By the time the lockdown started, i think it was about 70€. That Deutschlandticket is such a great deal for us here.
As a European and enthusiastic cyclist, I bike all the time (to grocery store, to work - yes I am one of the lucky ones who works really close to home), and people here in LA look at me like I am either crazy or homeless. In LA, when they see you biking, they assume it's because you are too poor to buy a car. They look down on you. It's a different culture, but I don't care (must say it's kinda dangerous - biking in LA)
There is another car free village in the Alps in Austria, Serfaus. It is fascinating because in the 1980ies, it actually got a subway below the village. Now cars have to park outside, and you have to take the subway to the village (or walk). The most interesting thing about the subway is that it is actually an air cushion subway. You might look it up: Dorfbahn Serfaus. Imagine it: A 1300 inhabitant village with its own subway.
If you will come to southern Germany in summer, try to visit Das Fest in Karlsruhe, close to Freiburg. It takes place from 18-21 of July and ist one of the biggest music festivals in the south with various bands and styles of music. 70% of the concerts are free and there is also a lot of fun actions beside music like theater sport and art.
One example of catering just for "King Automobile" is the Olympic Stadium and park in Munich. Built outside the city center, they also paved enormous spaces nearby to accommodate parking. And AFTER they'd done that, some bright person said, "Well, how do we get people there who DON'T have a car?" So they connected the stadium and area to public transport, but as it was very much an afterthought, you now have to walk past and through all the parking lots to get to the venue(s), which is/are quite a ways distant. Thanks for nothing. Some cities also have built new residential developments where you can ONLY drive into and out of your garage; there is NO parking allowed on the street unless it's for the duration of up- or offloading heavy, or bulky items. Instead, they have provided small parking spaces that serve several smaller streets, where you can rent/reserve a parking space. Visitors ... well, tough luck. They may have to leave their cars outside the actual development and walk to whatever house they're going to. Oh, and for what little traffic there is? They usually have a speed limit of 30km/18mph for safety reasons.
In Germany the city of Dresden has been awarded to have the best public transportation system (by the users of it) the 8th year in a row. Maybe you want to shed some light on this.
I live in Münster, aso a city with more bikes than cars... I personally own two bikes and no car. Unfortunately there are still far too many cars left, which makes bicycle riding sometimes less nice.
It is actually not possible to compare the infrastructure of the USA with that of European countries. The formation of cities is already completely different. While cities in Europe have developed over many centuries, some even over two thousand years (for example Rome or Athens), this is of course not the case in the USA. In Europe, roads were initially used for pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages and were later adapted for motorized traffic. The differences can be clearly seen on city maps. The streets in US cities are built in squares or rectangles, but in Europe this is not the case. The infrastructure is designed for cars, not the people of the USA. The automotive industry is happy because pretty much everyone depends on a car. This would probably have happened in Europe too if there hadn't already been so much history worth protecting (by that I mean buildings and structures). And if the automotive industry lobby had been more influential, things would probably look different in European cities today. The same applies to the suburbs and villages.
I'm surprised how you recognized the Black Forest from just one mountain. There are around 20 other low mountain ranges in Germany, including the Black Forest. These are tree-rich mountain ranges that are spread across central and southern Germany from the border of Belgium and France in the west all the way to the border of Czech Republic and Austria in the east.
My driving instructors (1x car and 2 of 3x train) had the same weird saying "Kind nicht weit, sei bremsbereit!" = "Child not far, be ready to brake!" … Meaning: near or in residential areas, one has to expect a child to appear out of nowhere (bush, car, fence … u name it) ^^
Freiburg is at the western foot of the Black Forest, where the river Dreisam leaves its Höllental (hell valley) gorge and enters the wide Rhine valley. You should definitively lock your bike. The only time my bike was stolen was because I had not locked it, and therefore the insurance would not pay. I was then still a kid, and my parents said I had to buy the next bike myself (as punishment for my carelessness). So I walked for some years about 3 km to school the most time and saved my allowance. But nowadays I leave often my backpacks or panniers unlocked at my (locked) bike while I visit the farmer's market or go into the supermarket - never had any problems. But I would probably not do the same in a bigger city like Berlin or Munich. Zermatt is a town at the Matterhorn mountain, which lives mostly by the tourism industry.
17:03 I mean, even in Japan, where people are incredibly respectful towards people's personal belongings. You still lock your bike... It's hard to generalize Europe as a whole, but if we take the northern Europe like Germany, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands, the biggest difference to the US is that bikes generally has a lock attached to the frame between the back wheel and the frame. So if you are going in for some grocery shopping you will just lock that frame lock (it's a 2sec operation)... But if you park your bike for a long time, like here at the train station. people will generally feel more confident locking the frame lock as well as a lock that preferably locks the front wheel with the frame and bicycle stand. Generally people don't steal bikes. BUT I once saw a guy with a van and a bolt cutter that just cutting open locks and hauling tons of bikes into his van... This was during the middle of the night so I called the police about it... I bet A LOT of bike thefts could've been linked to his little "operation" rather than normal people stealing bikes. I have forgotten to lock my bike, or perhaps even done a sloppy job of doing so. But it has never been stolen.
You should experience the bicycle culture and the very safe bicycle infrastructure in the Netherlands. Don’t try that in Amsterdam or Rotterdam center. Remember that the Netherlands has more bicycles than inhabitants. The national train service runs on renewable energy. Yes, you have to lock your bike and lock it onto something like a lantern.
Usually every bike is locked in the public. And there is a recommendation, that the lock should be worth around ten percent of the price of the bike. Some even have an old bike for the city, that will not be stolen and a fancy high tech bike forhobby or when they go to work and will lock it in a garage. Bike theft is an issue in Germany. Some insurances even requeire a certain quality of a lock, otherwise they will not provide insurance for a stolen bike.
I can recommend you Everyday Engineering. He is a small channel that deserves much attention and goes into good depth in his videos, showing which easy measures could be implemented in your town, if you took the effort to convince your town board (except the construction update, I do not find that interesting)
13:02 In my work as a delivery driver, the amount of goods per delivery requiring the use palettes( the EPAL standard and system), I have encountered restaurants where the designated load zone has been converted to outdoor seating for patrons, forcing me and others who deliver to these places to park on the active street and block the Bike Lane on top … . I also encounter loading zones that I physically don't fit in with a Truck being just shy of 10m … . For the first scenario WHO green lights these conversions? For second scenario I can only ask why aren't the planning folk made more aware of vehicle sizes?
If you should be back in Germany in summer, I can highly recommend Freiburg i. Brsg.! I lived there from 1986 to 2002 and it had been the best time of my life, honestly! During my time in Freiburg I had a job as a taxi driver for about 7 years, so there is really not a single city in my country I know better than Freiburg! It is not far to the Black Forest, has a lot of stunning nature and landscapes around and the best Brezels ever :) A lot of good restaurants and streetfood for each and every budget! It is close to France and Switzerland and to an amusement park called "Europa Park Rust". And it really has a lot of sightseeing to offer. I bet - if you go there you won't regret! The theft of bikes is an issue in Germany (and Freiburg of course). Yesssss you have to lock your bike.
Even Big cities are enough to get around with buses tramways bicycles electric scooters we don’t need cars. Thank god my city to went all green and introduced trams and electric buses and limited access to cars and trucks. Now it’s a breathable peaceful city.
Yes, they are actually nice and good compromise to allow pedestrians, bicycles and cars side by side without this ideologic confrontation by the greenish car haters. I love my freedom-machine (car) but also live in such an area. It is phantastic. No trouble, no fights, no recklessness (except for some speeding bicyclists). Peace! from Dresden / Germany
The rule of thumb of locking bikes is: Invest 10% of the price of the bike into a lock. That can easily mean that you buy a lock above 100€. If you don't lock your non-garbarge bike consider it gone, and praise the heavens if it's still there
Hi, Joel, If you're wondering why such cities can't or don't exist in the US, it's because of the almighty car and petrol industries lobbies that call the shots. Take a look at this, from the same excellent "Not Just Bikes" channel: "Would You Fall for It? [ST08]" - Not Just Bikes
I currently live with my wife and kid in the outskirts or as we call it "Speckmantel" of Freiburg. Many things shown in the video are true, but living only 15 Minutes (18km) from the center the whole public transportation system shows its limits. Even the "famous" biking lanes are lacking in those areas. Don't get me wrong, i lived in Freiburg (Betzenhauser Torplatz) with my wife and got to work at the Uniklinik or "University Hospital" Freiburg by bike easily for a long time, but since you are almost "forced" to live outside of Freiburg because of the extremly high apartement prices (currently Freiburg is the 4th most expensive city of germany) as a young family, the whole situation turns massively around. I would never leave the black forest, since i love the whole area. I love the sunny weather (warmest region in germany), the "Kaiserstuhl", the black forest (perfect mountain bike area btw) any many more things, but Freiburg obviously struggles a lot right now like many other cities in germany. Greetings from Freiburg and take care of yourself! :)
Hi, Joel! Well, two bicycles were stolen from my basement! And you better have a good lock outside too. But it also depends on where you live and what the audience is like there...
7:35 yepp, pretty much the most south-west city you can go in Germany because right across the Rhine is France. It's less than 5 km/2 miles to France and 20km/9 miles to Switzerland. 11:08 The play street sign comes with a LOT of limitations to any vehicles, especially motorized vehicles of ANY kind. Yes, cars are allowed to enter... BUT they have to slow to a walking pace, AND they have to be able to come to a full stop within a vehicle length at any time. They also can't hinder ANY pedestrians from crossing at ANY time. Vehicles have to give right of way to pedestrians, no matter the circumstances. The absolute top speed is 5kmh, roughly 2 mph. Going over this speed limit may quickly result in having your driver's license revoked (at 21+ km above the speed limit/9 mph higher) at least for a month. The one shown at the time stamp is even a Sackgasse/ cul de sac except for pedestrians and bicyclists so anyone entering it with a vehicle wouldn't get anything from it except reach a destination IN the street, nothing beyond. So there is absolutely no through traffic except bicycles. Edit 2: 18:02 unfortunately, bike theft is a huge problem in Germany. It is one of the most prevalent thefts occuring in Germany, no matter where you. While it isn't a terribly huge loss vs burglary or a hold up, it is definitely frustrating and aggravating. However, the rule of thumb for bike locks and chains is: spend at least 10% of the price of the bike on the bike chain. If you want to see a high end bike lock, check out the lockpicking lawyer's video about the Abus Granit lock. While he got it open with a specilized tool he and Bosnian Bill created, even he was challenged by it, and it took him more than three minutes to pick. Which is an absolutely incredibly long time. With a good bike chain only the tank bolt cutters from military hardware has any chance to cut through the chain. He even tried it with an electric cutter, and gave up after 20 minutes. But tank bolt cutters are HUGE and definitely NOT inconspicuous. So the idea is to make it as inconvenient or conspicuous for a thief to get access t o your bike so they focus on easier targets. It's a very brutal logic but it works.
Bikes indeed get stolen. A lot. Freiburg has a surprisingly high crime rate, just due to bike theft. However, the quality of life there is amazing. I've been living there for a few years - as a student, of course. I really miss the city. What a beautiful place!
German here. My stepdad was a policeman until his retirement, and his advice on bike safety was "The best security for your bike is a more expensive, less secured bike just next to it."
This, you can always find a more expensive bike with a less secure lock and park next to it. Greatest theft prevention method.
Putting the Tram infrastructure in place before any building is erected is a long held practice in the NEDERLANDS.
You sound angry about it... Why? XD
In Berlin this wose Done with the U-Bahn and in London with the Tube.
It is exactly how Los Angeles grew in the first place.
Greetings from Freiburg, I like your videos and your view of the world. What´s missing in the video is, that we have a Park & Ride System, so if you come with your car to Freiburg, you can park for free outside of the City if you buy or own a ticket for the Tram (Straßenbahn). If you buy a ticket for a concert or a soccer game, you can use the public transportation in the whole Freiburg Area for free.
Thanks to you, I finally know the meaning of park and ride, 12 years after moving to Münster xD
(we have park and ride parking lots, too. It's usually in the name of the adjacent bus station)
Just call it football, german brother
Ach alter, als ob! So ein Video könnte auch über eisenhüttenstadt herstellen.
Merci j’ai toujours envie de visiter Freiburg mais le problème du parking me retenait 😊
Great idea 👍
My US friend wondered why I never got a driver's license. I simply told him I've lived in Amsterdam for most of my life and never needed one 🙂 I could get wherever I needed to go either by bicycle or public transport. And yes, you will need to lock up your bicycle or it will be gone.
Although in those very big clumps of bikes it is sometimes possible to not lock your bike, because the probability of someone actually noticing it isn't locked is small. I've done it a few times when I realised I forgot the key for my bike lock at home, and so far I got lucky and it wasn't stolen
Same in Milan (Italy), except I don't even ride bikes. For me it's walking and transit.
@@alicetwainfor me (Berlin) too
people need drivers licences in those cities to do delivery jobs. Sounds terrible to be your whole live in one spot.
@@HelenaDammers ? I see many delivery drivers doing their deliveries by bike
LA had the largest tram system in the world, which was ripped out by an oil and gas consortium after a privatisation deal.
There is a Germany ticket available to everyone for 49 euros per month. With this, you can use all buses, trams, underground, regional express trains, and regional trains in whole Germany. I commute on weekends over 250 km by bus and train, using the regional express system. It takes me less than 4 hours for the journey. By car, it also takes me 4 hours, so I prefer to use the train. And yes, you have to lock your bikes here too….
There is a reason, why I don't have a drivers licence. I never needed it. I work in Frankfurt and live in another city. From my home to my office it takes 23 minutes with public transportation.
Oh, and I can really recommend Ashton's channel. She has some really fine videos. Really surprising was her take on the difference on the costs of living in the US and Germany.
That's a stupid way of thinking. I have a license for motorboating and for sailing on international waters yet I do not need it now since I don't own a vessel. I have a license for owning and carrying a gun here in Poland yet I really don't need it now and I haven't bought a firearm still. I have an IKO kiteboarding license and I don't need it now, but anywhere in the world I can rent a kite and a board and people will know I am safe. I am licensed lifeguard yet it is not for a job, but for me a as a versed human being. I am planning on getting other licenses too. I want more categories of my driver license. I hope to one day get back to and finish my snowboarding instructor course. Maybe one day I would even become a licensed diver too.
What are you doing with your life?!
@@darek4488who hurt you? 😂 Stop being mean for no reason. This person might get a drivers license once it's necessary. But you only do that when the situation occurs, otherwise it would be a waste of money, energy and time.
Yeah - you have to lock your bike - else it´s gone. Especially in the big cities - but the locks usually deter theft and work pretty well. Great point btw - when you said Freiburg is "humancentric" - that´s what all cities should be 4 real!
I usually don't lock my bike - but it is a trike anyway, and it is an incumbent trike which gets steered by the feet, which at the same time turn the pedals. It takes some exercise to even move it. I would not leave my normal bike unattended without a lock.
My dear Joel,,,,Where your heart is. Your feet follows
There are seven (mostly) car free islands on the German coast - some are even bicycle free. Mostly car free, because only emergency vehicles, sometime public transport and maybe maintenance vehicles are allowed to drive on those islands.
There's a well known one in the US too (in Michigan) -- Mackinac Island. No cars (except for a couple of emergency vehicles). Right now there's a fight over whether or not ebikes will be allowed (and particularly whether or not bike rental companies will be allowed to rent them).
The Greek island of Hydra only has a few rubbish trucks. That's all.
@@alanpotter8680auf den beschriebenen Nordseeinseln wird der Müll mit der Pferdekutsche geholt 😅
Washington DC has 690,000 inhabitants and 177.0 km2 (68.35 sq mi).
And Copenhagen? It has 660,000 inhabitants and 90.01 km2 (34.75 sq mi)...
American cities are built in a way that makes it difficult to use public transportation and bicycles. They take up a disproportionate amount of space, and in many parts of them, car parks take up more space than buildings...
Using public transport is not a question of the size, the rnv (Rhein Neckar Verkehr) is 621.47km2 (239,95sq mi) that covers 3 major cities without any major problems. And the network is even more impressive than the Freiburg one I think.
@@mindscraper1978 I don't think they meant it in a way that disagrees with what was said. America wastes a lot of land for The Car. Remember, those cars aren't a Toyota Yaris or a Smart. We are talking about big-ass 2 meter tall, 4 meter long vehicles that in USA classify as regular SUVs and here in Europe they look more like a van.
The size of parking lots are really bigger than the building they serve. You sometimes need a ride from the place you parked to the entrance of the supermarket/mall. The size is insanely big, unnecessarily big, as most of the parking spots are empty.
@@alanpotter8680 Partly true, but, the problem is still not the size, there are large empty spots in the area of the RNV too, as said, it is 3 cities. The problem is, in many cases they don't want to even try it. Sadly that is often the case when tax money might benefit the majority, many US Americans are not willing to try different solutions that might cost them and they don't see it might benefit them.
@@mindscraper1978 Step up and have a look at the adjacent RMV (Rhein-Main Verbund). :) Going to the airport? Never by car.
They didn't used to be.
Black Forest area at least in Germany even has these bicycle sized safeboxes for individual bicycle storage, so it is not "just" locks and garages.
in Europe, you learn to use the bike to go to places....
in the USA, you learn to use a bike, so your parents can brag about that their kids know how to use a bike and still get driven everywhere!
Stop lying, German parents and grandparents drive kids everywhere. to school, to sport grounds, to shopping centers, just everywhere. Kids on bikes or on food are a rarity.
@@HelenaDammers lol.... not here, not here....
there are a few thousand kids walking or riding bikes to school, the few in cars barley count...
even i have been driven sometimes to school, 45 years ago and also used my bike or even walked a few times!
i still use my bike, not every day...i am working in another city, so i have not much time left after coming home!
@HelenaDammers I ride a bike for 4 1/2 average (without counting to go to friends) per week and I get only driven somewhere, when one of my parents also has to be there.
@@HelenaDammers that really really depends on the city or town, the specific part of city or town, the millieu your moving in. It's really not that clear cut
@@simonl.6338 I never saw a school that was an exception from what I told. Show me.
In my german city bikes get stolen when you leave them locked outside for 24 hours. Unlocked it will probably last 10 minutes until it's gone.
But we are having surveilled locking stations and rentable bike garages. Most of my friends and I are keeping their bikes inside their flats when they are at home because the bikes will also get stolen from your houses cellars.
I wonder who's stealing them? Is it the peaceful migrants or the working class of Germany? ;)
@@alanpotter8680 In my city the thieves are often drug addicts who are trying to sell them at the nearby central station to get money for their drugs. And a well organized bike-mafia who goes through the city by night stealing bikesand bringing them out of the country ( to Eastern EUrope). At least 5 bikes have been stolen from me in the past ten years.
@@alanpotter8680 No, it's organized crime. They come with trucks.
@@herrgoldmann2562 Sounds as if we're living at the same place.
“Appreciate my patience and good timing.” 😂
There is a bit of prejudice that it's mostly the cities in northern and central Europe that really push transit, but I invite you to check out Barcelona, which is also a much bigger city (a million and a half people) and it's really pushing the transit network, with lots of subway lines and busses, limiting the number of streets open to car traffic, and making also the peripheral areas uncrowded.
Sounds great. 😊
Freiburg is wonderful, but these smaller beautiful cities can be found everywhere in Germany! I hope you'll have a wonderful summer in my country! Thank you for your nice reactions, I like them a lot. Take care!
We have (still) a lot of cars in Lisbon - some restrictions are being implemented and we have less now, but we have a lot of Trams since 1878!
Once my dad stole back one of my bikes in Finland in the 90s-ish. He saw someone riding it, followed them, checked the ID number off the bike (he had put it there himself) and it matched. The bike had been gone for like a year+. I constantly see people leave their bikes unlocked in the village I live in nowadays, I wouldn't though. I ride an eScooter at times and I lock that with a bike lock to anything solid, usually a bikerack.
17:04 Unfortunately, I recommend locking bicycles
Freiburg im Breisgau is a great City to visit. Its realy a green city.
Freiburg is a shithole full of woke communists
When I was younger I was often in Switzerland for skiing. I was often in a town called Mürren. It was halfway in the mountains, and there weren't any cars since there was no street up to the mountain. You had to leave your car down in the valley and the only connection upwards was a cable car.
Thanks for sharing J. What a wonderful place. The world could learn a lot from this x
There is a notable exception to the tram story: The city of Münster is at least as bicycle-friendly as Freiburg i. Br. and does it all without trams.
Bike theft is rampant in Germany, too btw
Nice😂greetings from Finland
18:24 There is not much petty theft in general, this changes during big festivals were it is easy to pickpocket...
BUT
normaly your stuff ; minus any cash; will be dropped of at the next POA (Point of Authority).
So on a festival ask the guys from the Production if someone found your stuff.
At train stations go to the information desk, they handle "lost and found".
Suprisingly often your stuff is there because even our thiefs and pickpockets have a heart.
The cash is gone sure but if you need to replace your typical wallet card ... in germany you are in a world of pain.
ID = Paperwork + 50-100 Euro
Drivers License = More freaking paperwork and another 60 Euro
Credit and Bank Cards = Time and more paperwork
Insurance card = more time and paperwork
and so on...
There are plenty of Towns and Cities in Germany with "Old Towns" like in Freiburg. The Big Cities like Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Cologne are also run by Cars, but all of them have "Old Towns" Downtown without many Cars. Because foundated hundreds of Years ago.
Not Just Bikes is great! I can tell you are getting radicalized while watching his videos just like I was. 😂 Great reaction, can't wait to see where life leads you!
"Copenhagen-style bicycle paths" seem dangerous to an outside observer. In reality, this is not the case and in Copenhagen there are practically no accidents involving cyclists on this type of roads.
Accidents can happen (theoretically), but they don't happen in practice...
The issue is not that they are unsafe as such, but there are safer ways still, as you can find out in videos from Not Just Bikes about the Netherlands. The point is also more, how you feel on these cycling paths. So there might not actually something happen, but if it is constructed well you feel much safer…
@@winfriedtheis5767
If, if...
There will always be someone who is oversensitive and finds the world around them dangerous. I know a woman who thinks that two-way sidewalks are less safe than one-way sidewalks because you can hit someone...
Is this really a valid concern? Well, such a collision is theoretically possible. So should people on sidewalks only move in one direction?
Maybe it would be safer for you. I, as a person who knows Copenhagen, do not necessarily have to share the concerns of oversensitive people...
@@winfriedtheis5767 Many people in the US perceive some of the situations in Copenhagen as dangerous. But this has nothing to do with Danish reality. These are just concerns about bad experiences living in the USA.
Cycling next to cars? In the USA it is a cause for fear, in Denmark it is a safe everyday occurrence that does not arouse any emotions.
A newborn in a stroller left outside a store or restaurant? In the USA it is a reason to fear kidnapping, in Denmark it is a safe everyday occurrence.
A ten-year-old traveling alone on public transport? In the USA this is a cause for panic, in Denmark it is nothing unusual.
Your experiences of living in a country where smiles are on display and people are like wolves to each other - in Denmark, they arouse astonishment.
@@leszekk.73, well I used both, and I tell you despite feeling okay, I feel better with quite some of the systems we have here in NL. Even if something is good, and we should applaud it, does not mean we should not try to further improve it. The problem of mixed infrastructure is always, that if you have people, not used to it might do things wrong, and then accidents happen. If you have a proper split of infrastructure you minimise the possible accidents further. As said: check out some of his other videos @NotJustBikes and see for yourself!
@@leszekk.73 I do know a lot of Americans, so thanks, I know what you are talking about. And I agree, as a European you are wondering about these things…
I'm from Luxembourg. I've never been in Freiburg but it reminds me a lot of Trier (but without the trams) which is 30 minutes away from Luxembourg.
I am so glad that in many German cities more and more car roads are being reduced! This gives us more space for trams, bicycle ways, children and people who meet in clean air (without car noise!). For a better world!
Münster has 3000km bike lane and was votet as the most liveable city in the world by citys up to 750.000 habitants and has 300.000 and 50.000 students. It is said everyone has two bikes. One for going out and one for touring.
Freiburg is still a car centric city, as there are 4,000 parking spaces spread over various parking garages in the city center. Source: Freiburg für Alle. The cars are just hidden inside large multi floor buildings.
so I live in Antwerp and my best friend got her bike stolen once outside her appartement, then saw it 2 streets along a few days later with a different bike lock on it. So one night me and her carried it to my place to later take it to a bikeshop. We explained the situation and yup.. they helped us out, she got her bike back, continued to park it outside her front door like nothing had happened, it never got stolen again! :-)
Have a look at the new Bike Garage underneath AMSTERDAM CENTRAL STATION,,,,,,, FANTASTIC.AND THE NEXT LEVEL IN THIS KIND OF ARCHITECTURE.
new, build in the early 2000s!
And also covered by NotJustBikes in one of his videos. Yepp, we Germans can still learn a LOT from our great Dutch neighbors for bike infrastructure.
Freiburg has 230,000 inhabitants and an area of 153 km2 (59.10 sq mi).
Spokane (USA) has 230,000 inhabitants and 179.99 km2 (69.50 sq mi).
The cities are similar in size, but they are completely different...
And that is the problem of American cities.
As usual when comparing US and EU cities, the EU city is much more temperate -- cooler during summer and warmer during winter. The US has higher winter winds too, exacerbating the cold temperatures. Compare the two cities on a climate comparison site (I checked on a site called weatherspark) and you'll see. As in much of the US, Jan and Feb are freezing, and July-August are scalding (note that although Spokane is in Washington State, it is east of the Cascade Mountains and does not have Seattle's milder maritime climate).
@@markweaver1012 Well... Weather is not a factor in whether people ride bikes. Finland has very cold winters, and yet, even in snowy winters, people use bicycles in many cities.
The problem of American cities is their large area, which is disproportionate to the number of inhabitants, and the car infrastructure, which makes bicycle and pedestrian communication difficult.
In a vast American city, as a rule, everywhere is far away - to work, to school, to the store, to the restaurant. So you have to go everywhere by car, because you won't find any other options...
European cities are built differently. You are close to everything - even if you live in the suburbs, you can reach a shop, school or restaurant in a few minutes on foot or by bike.
@@leszekk.73 Of course weather is a factor -- and its not just cold winters but also very hot summers, high winds and thunderstorms (which are 4x more common in the US). If you compare Helsinki to Chicago, you'll see that they're both about equally cold in Dec and January but that Chicago is about 10-15F hotter during summer (and more humid too).
Oh, Freiburg looks great, I like it. That`s nice thing about Germany, if you live in the city you don`t have to rely on a car, because you have good connections by bus, tram, train and bike.
I live in Athens, Greece, and I only have a driver's license because everyone's got one. I use my car mostly to go from my house, which is high up in the hills and far away from any possible urban transport, to the metro station 2.5 km away. It's a very steep hill and I biked that distance every day until I had to get a car because of my kids.
👍🚴@@alanpotter8680
In Germany older "Hausratsversicherungen" (household insurance) includes - up to a low value - bicycles. Therefore when stolen you can get parts of the costs back. For expensive bicycles you can sign a bicycle theft insurance but in both cases the bicycle must be locked when "lost" - for the expensive bikes the insurances often have a list of locks (or safety standards the lock must match) that you have to use or they will not pay (or only a part of the insured value).
There is a rule of thumb that a lock cost about 10% of the prize of the bike (with Pedelecs - similar to Class 1 eBikes in the US, when I remember correct) it is mostly around 5% or less of the prize (but Pedelecs are commonly much more expensive and you will have problems to find a lock that costs 300 to 500 or even more Euro).
And all bike looks can be cut - they only should make it so annoying for the theft, that he take a different bike (and not yours) 🙂
We should normalise Bike-friendly cities
I agree, why can the Netherlands and not Germany?
@@biankakoettlitz6979 probably cause neatherlands is a tiny country compared to germany, citys are very close together and also the whole country is flat, perfect for bikes. Germany has many mountains and some citys therefore are build uphill. In some citys it does not make sense to ride bike only. I am german and also ride my bike here. I will go to a google maps link to check how much height there is before I start my journey. Trust me it make s a difference, you gonna feel it in your legs.
I've lived in Freiburg since I was born, so for 30 years, and I'm very happy with the public transport in the city. But Freiburg is not entirely green, there are still some major works that need to be done. And there is still quite a lot of traffic, especially at rush hour. All the people I know who live in Freiburg prefer to travel by car, even though it takes longer and is much more expensive due to the parking fees. But I think there will always be people who deliberately don't want to take part because they are simply always against it. That's a pity, but it's the reality. I think a visit to Freiburg will definitely be worthwhile for you. Greetings Andy.
I am not from that region but I have to say: Freiburg is beautiful, been there many times.
A very nice reaction video! An idea comes to mind:
Come to Germany as a young, open person, learn German, live and work here for a few years and then go back to the USA in 10 years, enriched by your positive experiences. Then become a serious politician and simply copy the ideas that work so well here. I think more people will be sick of it like you are. And many people will help you and follow you on the new path.
*pop* ... Oh, it was just a dream... but a beautiful one! 😉
Greetings from Northern Germany 🇩🇪♥️
You seem to like Germany - that smile is too nice to be true. Hugz & kisses from central Germany. muah ♥
Nebula is so your kind of streaming service because it has good documentaries that you might like.
most cities in Germany have shared car pools, where you can sign up for and 'rent'a car , if you need one.
In Münster we have a whole highway around the city, just for bycicles
Freiburg looks great! Next on the agenda should be the revegetation of those town squares.
Here in Austria, my next town over, has a similar huge "former parking lot - turned pedestrian main square" with a farmers market, a playground and outdoor cafés, but it's all concrete and they struggle with the heat now. They're amping up the greenery and develop a concept for shade etc. Hope it'll turn out well.
Polish Solaris electric buses in Freiburg, nice :) This manufacturer from my hometown produces hydrogen buses as well. This is a very modern company, leader of bus industry in Europe, proud of it :)
4:41 that picture... the house I spent my teenage years in is *just* not in the frame, it's slightly below. I used to get on the bus to go to school in the loop at the lower right hand quarter (you can see the bus in the picture ;-)) until the built the tram. The picture looks like it's from before we moved there, I'd guess it's from around 1972-1975, as there are some buildings still under construction in the upper right hand corner. The whole place is *MUCH* greener today, though...
Freiburg has great Weinstuben (wine bars) too. As a university town in a wine growing area lots of young people hang out there in the evenings. You should check them out! You can walk or take the tram home.
Amsterdam in Holland and Gdańsk in Poland - just the same.
I think one huge point on taking the bike or the tram is that you are nearly everywhere faster than you are with the car. I live in Freiburg and I often use my bicycle and my grandparents took the car. We started at the same time meeting at the other side of the city and I am always faster than them. Up to ten or fifteen minutes.
A other advantage of good public transport is that you can have some drinks if you meet friends downtown.
I know Zermatt…. We used to deliver things to there and they must have been picked up at some sort of mailpoints outside of the city. Even bigger stuff like tables and furniture
Locking your bike is common. I live in Cologne and I currently don´t own a bike anymore since I had two bikes stolen within a year. I use the bike-sharing system which works well in big cities
Hello! I am a Romanian citizen (not German citizenship and passport yet) that is living in this city from 1998. About Freiburg , Germany, this video is pretty much accurate. For your comment from min. 17:05 regarding bicycles , we are locking the bicycles of course . There is a small problem, also here, with the stolen bicycles, but mainly with the stolen saddles from the bicycles. On the more urban area. There are people like every where in the World that are living on the limit, or they are having problems with the consuming of alcohol or different substances. Frankly, I do not understand where do they sell so many saddles and who buy”s them. But the locals are used to this and it is not a big problem. Sometimes the owner of the bike is taking the saddle home or at the work place . 😄 And after they finished the job , or the next day, they are installing the saddle , it takes only like 5 seconds, and they go. 😄 .Sometimes you can see bicycles that the owners forgot, or small bicycles for children or toys in this residential areas, laying down on the side of the street or in front of the house , in front of the garden, etc. Nobody takes them. The owners find them over there the next day, also. Here , everybody have jobs.
In this video they do not say that the old town it was expanded with many villages that surrounded it and in between there are so called ”Snell Strassen” ( quick streets ), that are like the German Autobahnd , with two lanes on the side, and other two from opposite direction only that they do not have emergency lane. with speed limit 80 km per hour, sometimes 70 km per hour. Above this streets are an enormous network of pedestrian bridges and bicycles bridges so the people easily are going into the city and at work.
Good luck !
Ciao !
The Netherlands 18 million inhabitants, 22 million bicycles 🚲
In Germany it is mandatory to lock your bike by law. Otherwise the police can conficate your bike so it does not get stolen(btw, that is mandatory for cars as well, the have to be locked). On the other hand if you dont do it, your bike will likely be stolen. Even if you use cheap locks..
Dude, I am from Germany and minute 1:23 looks like something right out of Star Trek, for me too.
Great video my man keep it going ❤
The only downside is that the tram tracks are a danger for driving with bicycle. The bicycle thing only works really well when there are no hills around. Like in northern germany or the Rhein valley. In my small 55000 people city in the north we do have lots of bike lanes and some walking only city centre for shopping. Some bike and pedestrian ways only. With parking basement under the market place or under the small shopping mall at the edge of city centre. With extensive bus line net and a train station for far distance travelling too. I am quite happy with my city. In my county there is a vast network of bike ways with special traffic signs to follow several tours. Including connected hotels and such for a week tour or so. The only downside is the lack of mountains but we have rivers and canals instead, including canoe tours to book.
Hello there, I´m following your channel since over a year and today you made me a big surprise by posting and reacting to a video from the city where I live more than 25 years. Seriously I´m quite shocked because the city of Freiburg is not so important for Germany in terms of industry or financies. Here in Freiburg is like the time stood still. Everything goes slower than other big cities like Frankfurt, Munich or Cologne. I personally own 7 bikes and no car at this moment because to own a car in Germany (or generally in Europe) is very expensive (taxes, insurance and above all the fuelcosts are nuts) so either I ride my bike or I walk. By the way Ashton has a very good channel, she and her husband made videos most of them about Freiburg but also about Germany. Sorry for my not so good english. Take care. Timo
And yes indeed you need to lock your bike everytime. Since I live in Freiburg people robbed me 4 bikes. When I want to go to the city center I take a cheap bike but to ride (travel all day) to black forest I take a much better bike. Cheers
We also have the "Deutschland Ticket" which cost about $50 a month. It allows us to use almost any kind of public transport, including regional trains as much as we want. For many people this is a very very cheap alternative to cars.
Especially in Freiburg and surroundings, where a monthly public transportation ticket was more expensive than that. I remember when i was in college in Freiburg (not the university, but one of the other college options) i paid for a student ticket just below 50€ and i lived first in Kirchzarten, later in Hochdorf in Freiburg. After college, it was over 60€ for a monthly ticket, no matter if it was the city, the outskirts or the smaller towns and villages that were in the regional public transportation area. By the time the lockdown started, i think it was about 70€. That Deutschlandticket is such a great deal for us here.
As a European and enthusiastic cyclist, I bike all the time (to grocery store, to work - yes I am one of the lucky ones who works really close to home), and people here in LA look at me like I am either crazy or homeless. In LA, when they see you biking, they assume it's because you are too poor to buy a car. They look down on you. It's a different culture, but I don't care (must say it's kinda dangerous - biking in LA)
Watch biking in London videos
London has a lot of bikes considering it's known for being dangerous for them
There is another car free village in the Alps in Austria, Serfaus. It is fascinating because in the 1980ies, it actually got a subway below the village. Now cars have to park outside, and you have to take the subway to the village (or walk). The most interesting thing about the subway is that it is actually an air cushion subway. You might look it up: Dorfbahn Serfaus.
Imagine it: A 1300 inhabitant village with its own subway.
3:13 Yeah, we don’t do this stuff on our open water channels lol
If you will come to southern Germany in summer, try to visit Das Fest in Karlsruhe, close to Freiburg. It takes place from 18-21 of July and ist one of the biggest music festivals in the south with various bands and styles of music. 70% of the concerts are free and there is also a lot of fun actions beside music like theater sport and art.
One example of catering just for "King Automobile" is the Olympic Stadium and park in Munich. Built outside the city center, they also paved enormous spaces nearby to accommodate parking. And AFTER they'd done that, some bright person said, "Well, how do we get people there who DON'T have a car?" So they connected the stadium and area to public transport, but as it was very much an afterthought, you now have to walk past and through all the parking lots to get to the venue(s), which is/are quite a ways distant.
Thanks for nothing.
Some cities also have built new residential developments where you can ONLY drive into and out of your garage; there is NO parking allowed on the street unless it's for the duration of up- or offloading heavy, or bulky items. Instead, they have provided small parking spaces that serve several smaller streets, where you can rent/reserve a parking space. Visitors ... well, tough luck. They may have to leave their cars outside the actual development and walk to whatever house they're going to. Oh, and for what little traffic there is? They usually have a speed limit of 30km/18mph for safety reasons.
I worked in Freiburg last year. It is truly a place that I wanted to return to. There is very little negative for visitors.
In Germany the city of Dresden has been awarded to have the best public transportation system (by the users of it) the 8th year in a row. Maybe you want to shed some light on this.
I live in Münster, aso a city with more bikes than cars... I personally own two bikes and no car. Unfortunately there are still far too many cars left, which makes bicycle riding sometimes less nice.
Bike theft is a great problem here. You have to lock it or it will be stolen.
It is actually not possible to compare the infrastructure of the USA with that of European countries.
The formation of cities is already completely different.
While cities in Europe have developed over many centuries, some even over two thousand years (for example Rome or Athens), this is of course not the case in the USA.
In Europe, roads were initially used for pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages and were later adapted for motorized traffic.
The differences can be clearly seen on city maps. The streets in US cities are built in squares or rectangles, but in Europe this is not the case.
The infrastructure is designed for cars, not the people of the USA.
The automotive industry is happy because pretty much everyone depends on a car.
This would probably have happened in Europe too if there hadn't already been so much history worth protecting (by that I mean buildings and structures). And if the automotive industry lobby had been more influential, things would probably look different in European cities today.
The same applies to the suburbs and villages.
Sorry, but maybe you should watch the video.
I'm surprised how you recognized the Black Forest from just one mountain.
There are around 20 other low mountain ranges in Germany, including the Black Forest. These are tree-rich mountain ranges that are spread across central and southern Germany from the border of Belgium and France in the west all the way to the border of Czech Republic and Austria in the east.
My driving instructors (1x car and 2 of 3x train) had the same weird saying "Kind nicht weit, sei bremsbereit!" = "Child not far, be ready to brake!" … Meaning: near or in residential areas, one has to expect a child to appear out of nowhere (bush, car, fence … u name it) ^^
so nice to here you say "oh i know where that is of course black forrest so south west germany" well aducated
Freiburg is at the western foot of the Black Forest, where the river Dreisam leaves its Höllental (hell valley) gorge and enters the wide Rhine valley.
You should definitively lock your bike. The only time my bike was stolen was because I had not locked it, and therefore the insurance would not pay. I was then still a kid, and my parents said I had to buy the next bike myself (as punishment for my carelessness). So I walked for some years about 3 km to school the most time and saved my allowance.
But nowadays I leave often my backpacks or panniers unlocked at my (locked) bike while I visit the farmer's market or go into the supermarket - never had any problems. But I would probably not do the same in a bigger city like Berlin or Munich.
Zermatt is a town at the Matterhorn mountain, which lives mostly by the tourism industry.
17:03 I mean, even in Japan, where people are incredibly respectful towards people's personal belongings. You still lock your bike... It's hard to generalize Europe as a whole, but if we take the northern Europe like Germany, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands, the biggest difference to the US is that bikes generally has a lock attached to the frame between the back wheel and the frame. So if you are going in for some grocery shopping you will just lock that frame lock (it's a 2sec operation)... But if you park your bike for a long time, like here at the train station. people will generally feel more confident locking the frame lock as well as a lock that preferably locks the front wheel with the frame and bicycle stand. Generally people don't steal bikes. BUT I once saw a guy with a van and a bolt cutter that just cutting open locks and hauling tons of bikes into his van... This was during the middle of the night so I called the police about it... I bet A LOT of bike thefts could've been linked to his little "operation" rather than normal people stealing bikes. I have forgotten to lock my bike, or perhaps even done a sloppy job of doing so. But it has never been stolen.
You have to watch a Video about Leipzig. It ist (mostly) sucht a beautiful city❤
You should experience the bicycle culture and the very safe bicycle infrastructure in the Netherlands.
Don’t try that in Amsterdam or Rotterdam center.
Remember that the Netherlands has more bicycles than inhabitants.
The national train service runs on renewable energy.
Yes, you have to lock your bike and lock it onto something like a lantern.
Very informative video. I wish more of UK is buillt like this.
Yes, my hometown. I have lived in Freiburg for my entire life. At minute 8:17 the red car belongs to my parents.
Usually every bike is locked in the public. And there is a recommendation, that the lock should be worth around ten percent of the price of the bike.
Some even have an old bike for the city, that will not be stolen and a fancy high tech bike forhobby or when they go to work and will lock it in a garage.
Bike theft is an issue in Germany.
Some insurances even requeire a certain quality of a lock, otherwise they will not provide insurance for a stolen bike.
Freiburg stands out in Germany for its bikefriendlyiness, but car free city centers are pretty common in Europe.
I can recommend you Everyday Engineering. He is a small channel that deserves much attention and goes into good depth in his videos, showing which easy measures could be implemented in your town, if you took the effort to convince your town board (except the construction update, I do not find that interesting)
13:02
In my work as a delivery driver, the amount of goods per delivery requiring the use palettes( the EPAL standard and system), I have encountered restaurants where the designated load zone has been converted to outdoor seating for patrons, forcing me and others who deliver to these places to park on the active street and block the Bike Lane on top … .
I also encounter loading zones that I physically don't fit in with a Truck being just shy of 10m … .
For the first scenario WHO green lights these conversions?
For second scenario I can only ask why aren't the planning folk made more aware of vehicle sizes?
Yessss I love Freiburg, I study there💕💕
If you should be back in Germany in summer, I can highly recommend Freiburg i. Brsg.! I lived there from 1986 to 2002 and it had been the best time of my life, honestly! During my time in Freiburg I had a job as a taxi driver for about 7 years, so there is really not a single city in my country I know better than Freiburg! It is not far to the Black Forest, has a lot of stunning nature and landscapes around and the best Brezels ever :) A lot of good restaurants and streetfood for each and every budget!
It is close to France and Switzerland and to an amusement park called "Europa Park Rust". And it really has a lot of sightseeing to offer. I bet - if you go there you won't regret!
The theft of bikes is an issue in Germany (and Freiburg of course). Yesssss you have to lock your bike.
Even Big cities are enough to get around with buses tramways bicycles electric scooters we don’t need cars. Thank god my city to went all green and introduced trams and electric buses and limited access to cars and trucks. Now it’s a breathable peaceful city.
There are many play streets like this in Germany, even in big cities in residential areas.
You can only drive at walking speed, so 4-7 kmh.
Yes, they are actually nice and good compromise to allow pedestrians, bicycles and cars side by side without this ideologic confrontation by the greenish car haters.
I love my freedom-machine (car) but also live in such an area. It is phantastic. No trouble, no fights, no recklessness (except for some speeding bicyclists).
Peace! from Dresden / Germany
The rule of thumb of locking bikes is: Invest 10% of the price of the bike into a lock. That can easily mean that you buy a lock above 100€.
If you don't lock your non-garbarge bike consider it gone, and praise the heavens if it's still there
Hi, Joel,
If you're wondering why such cities can't or don't exist in the US, it's because of the almighty car and petrol industries lobbies that call the shots. Take a look at this, from the same excellent "Not Just Bikes" channel: "Would You Fall for It? [ST08]" - Not Just Bikes
You need to come to Dresden!!
Come to Belgium too ! You'd be amazed !
I currently live with my wife and kid in the outskirts or as we call it "Speckmantel" of Freiburg. Many things shown in the video are true, but living only 15 Minutes (18km) from the center the whole public transportation system shows its limits. Even the "famous" biking lanes are lacking in those areas. Don't get me wrong, i lived in Freiburg (Betzenhauser Torplatz) with my wife and got to work at the Uniklinik or "University Hospital" Freiburg by bike easily for a long time, but since you are almost "forced" to live outside of Freiburg because of the extremly high apartement prices (currently Freiburg is the 4th most expensive city of germany) as a young family, the whole situation turns massively around. I would never leave the black forest, since i love the whole area. I love the sunny weather (warmest region in germany), the "Kaiserstuhl", the black forest (perfect mountain bike area btw) any many more things, but Freiburg obviously struggles a lot right now like many other cities in germany.
Greetings from Freiburg and take care of yourself! :)
Hi, Joel! Well, two bicycles were stolen from my basement! And you better have a good lock outside too. But it also depends on where you live and what the audience is like there...
7:35 yepp, pretty much the most south-west city you can go in Germany because right across the Rhine is France. It's less than 5 km/2 miles to France and 20km/9 miles to Switzerland.
11:08 The play street sign comes with a LOT of limitations to any vehicles, especially motorized vehicles of ANY kind.
Yes, cars are allowed to enter...
BUT they have to slow to a walking pace, AND they have to be able to come to a full stop within a vehicle length at any time. They also can't hinder ANY pedestrians from crossing at ANY time. Vehicles have to give right of way to pedestrians, no matter the circumstances. The absolute top speed is 5kmh, roughly 2 mph. Going over this speed limit may quickly result in having your driver's license revoked (at 21+ km above the speed limit/9 mph higher) at least for a month.
The one shown at the time stamp is even a Sackgasse/ cul de sac except for pedestrians and bicyclists so anyone entering it with a vehicle wouldn't get anything from it except reach a destination IN the street, nothing beyond. So there is absolutely no through traffic except bicycles.
Edit 2: 18:02 unfortunately, bike theft is a huge problem in Germany. It is one of the most prevalent thefts occuring in Germany, no matter where you. While it isn't a terribly huge loss vs burglary or a hold up, it is definitely frustrating and aggravating. However, the rule of thumb for bike locks and chains is: spend at least 10% of the price of the bike on the bike chain. If you want to see a high end bike lock, check out the lockpicking lawyer's video about the Abus Granit lock. While he got it open with a specilized tool he and Bosnian Bill created, even he was challenged by it, and it took him more than three minutes to pick. Which is an absolutely incredibly long time. With a good bike chain only the tank bolt cutters from military hardware has any chance to cut through the chain. He even tried it with an electric cutter, and gave up after 20 minutes. But tank bolt cutters are HUGE and definitely NOT inconspicuous. So the idea is to make it as inconvenient or conspicuous for a thief to get access t o your bike so they focus on easier targets. It's a very brutal logic but it works.
Talking about safety - do you guys have speed bumps or other measures in US to slow or reduce pass-through traffic in residential areas?
Bikes indeed get stolen. A lot. Freiburg has a surprisingly high crime rate, just due to bike theft.
However, the quality of life there is amazing. I've been living there for a few years - as a student, of course. I really miss the city. What a beautiful place!
Nice 👍 I live in Freiburg, it’s a beautiful city