The Bicycle Capital of Germany

Beijing and Freiburg have one thing in common: there are twice as many bicycles as cars in both cities. Granted, the reasons for this differ. In the Chinese capital, the bicycle is the primary means of transportation for most average people. In Freiburg, the use of the bicycle is the trademark of a very environmentally conscious community. The small southern city considers itself the environmental capital of Germany. Bicycling and Bottlenecks Life is difficult for car owners in Freiburg: parking spaces in the inner city are rare. There is, however, an abundance of bicycle racks, especially around the university's downtown campus. It's easy to forget where you "parked" in the maze of thousands of bicycles. A 400 kilometer long network of bicycle paths criss-crosses the city. Two-wheeled traffic can get clogged along some of the routes. One of the biggest bottlenecks occurs along the so-called Blaue Brücke, or blue bridge, which intersects the railroad tracks on the way to the university. More than 10,000 cyclists traverse that route every day. Stepping in the Water The picturesque historic city center in the heart of Freiburg, however, is off-limits to cyclists. The narrow alleyways and winding curves are more suited for a stroll than a bike ride anyway.And then there are the "Bächle" - small canals, about a foot wide and four or five inches deep, that are unique to Freiburg. They wind through the city center on both sides of most streets. One wrong step will land you in the water. Local legend has it that if you step in a Bächle, you'll soon marry a Freiburg citizen.  "Evironmental Capital of Germany" The cyclists are a fundamental part of Freiburg's environmentally friendly image, but there's more to it than that. No other city in Germany has as many environment-related institutions as Freiburg. The Institute for Applied Ecology has an office here, the European bureau of The International Council for Local Environment Initiatives (ICLEI) is located in Freiburg, as is the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) and the International Solar Energy Society (ISES). In fact, solar energy plays a pivotal role in life in Freiburg. The city is located in the middle of the sunniest region in Germany. In addition to being known as the environmental capital of Germany, Freiburg also likes to refer to itself as the solar capital of Germany. There are a total of 2,000m2 of solar cells on Freiburg's roofs, and the sports stadium uses solar power to operate its floodlights. It's only a matter of time before the local students will be riding to school on solar-powered bicycles.