By bike & train through the city

It’s a familiar image: the city streets are crowded and the trains are late. The daily commute to work or to friends often turns into a stressful affair. If you are a commuter or a regular short-distance driver, you already have to deal with these problems early in the morning. Whether you live in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich or Cologne, more and more people commute to Germany’s cities and want to travel more independently. On the other hand, only very few people use the bicycle to get from A to B, as it is usually very bulky and doesn’t seem very flexible. However, in order not to have to do without exercise, sport and flexibility, a folding bike would be the optimal solution. You can take it with you almost everywhere on your city trip and store it easily.

Folding bikes: Fast and uncomplicated

Why buy a folding bike when you own a regular bike? If you regularly travel around the city, or perhaps commute, you can not only save a lot of time with the folding bike, but also costs. This is because it can be combined with other means of transport. Folded up, it takes up little space and fits in the trunk of your car or on your hand on the train or bus. Compared to normal bicycles, folding bicycles are free of charge on public transport. The practical bike can now be found in every city. Bicycles and especially folding bikes make everyday life more active and can be found in numerous variations at Decathlon, for example. In addition to football, handball and swimming equipment, the sports and outdoor goods manufacturer and retailer also offers various bicycles and matching accessories. In addition to the classic folding bike, you can also find e-bikes and folding bikes here.

Mobility to go: Transport, weight, advantages

Compared to normal bicycles, folding bicycles are especially convincing due to their packing and folding size. With just a few simple steps, the bike can be halved and easily transported on the back or by hand. In addition, they can be easily stowed away in your own home if you don’t have a bicycle cellar. Besides being easy to transport and flexible in everyday life, anyone can ride a folding bike. This is because they can be adjusted to the necessary size at any time. But how much does a conventional folding bike weigh? The classic folding bikes weigh between 10 and 15 kg and are therefore much lighter than normal bikes.

Advantages at a glance – List

Independent of schedules, no crowded roads and a vital everyday life. There are many advantages of folding bikes. Here we show you the most important ones:

• Pack size
• Weight
• Acceleration
• More mobility
• Easy, free transport on train and bus
• Sizes adjustable

Normal or E-bike? Transport & Costs

As with all bicycles, there are countless variants and designs of folding bikes. What does a good folding bike cost? Depending on the equipment, the popular city companions cost between 180 euros and 900 euros. With all the options, it’s hard to choose the right one. So what kind of folding bike should I buy? For example, for those hoping for more assistance while riding, a folding bike as an e-bike would be just right. For those who want to create an active daily life and take advantage of unlimited mobility, a regular folding bike that can be folded in half will suffice. Only a folding bike that can even be quartered offers even more transport-friendliness.

Assembly and disassembly in 20 seconds

When driving through crowded cities, every second counts. The combination of different means of transport, such as train and bike can save you annoying waiting times. Get out of the train, unfold the folding bike and off you go! With a little practice, the bike can be unfolded and folded in less than 20 seconds. How do you fold a folding bike? The folding mechanism of the bikes is very simple and is usually located in the middle of the frame. Just one movement and you are mobile and can continue to explore the city, go to work or visit friends.

Tour through major German cities

If you are planning a city trip together, the well-known foreign metropolises are always named as destinations. But also in Germany there are many cities worth seeing, which can keep up with destinations abroad. Germany has namely breathtaking and diverse big cities, such as Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Cologne or Frankfurt am Main. Each major city impresses with its own buildings, landmarks and landscapes. The cities often have a diverse art scene and an exciting nightlife. When the weather is good, it is especially worthwhile to explore the cities by bike. This way you are flexible, can stop at any time and experience Germany’s cities from a completely different perspective.

Berlin: Center for Art and Culture

How about a tour through Germany’s capital? Berlin is not only the political capital, but also a center for art and culture with around 160 museums. If you have discovered the Berlin lifestyle for yourself, you will love the city on the Spree. There are beautiful places in many neighborhoods and Berlin districts, all of which are easy to reach by bike. Neighborhoods like Kreuzberg, Neukölln or Friedrichshain are hip, and convince with many cafés and restaurants. The many beach bars on the Spree River also make the city particularly exciting in the summer.

Cologne: Media stronghold on the Rhine

The media metropolis Cologne is not only known for the Cologne Carnival, but also offers numerous cultural offerings, parks and excursion destinations. A visit to the old town of Cologne should not be missed during a city tour, because this impresses with colorful houses and pubs directly on the Rhine. If you are a beer lover, you should definitely go to a brewery and drink a Kölsch beer. But also culture lovers get their money’s worth. Popular and colorful neighborhoods, such as the Belgian Quarter or Ehrenfeld are worth a visit and are perfect for trying your way through the various restaurants. And the best thing about it: everything can be reached by bike!

Conclusion: On the road with the folding bike

If you are on the road a lot in the city, have to commute to work or just want to visit friends, a folding bike is a great idea. The unlimited mobility, the easy handling and numerous advantages make your everyday life not only more active, but also more flexible. Folding bikes are not necessarily suitable for off-road use, but they certainly score points on a tour through the city.

Osaka in 4K: Almost as good as live!

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By the way: Osaka received its name officially only in 1868, although it is historically proven that the city was already called “Ozaka” in the Middle Ages. However, its original name is Naniwa and as “imperial residence city Naniwa” until the year 744 Japan’s capital. Since then Osaka has been a more important trade hub than ever, not least because of its excellent land and sea connections. In the meantime, Osaka was the most populous city in Japan, but Tokyo and Yokohama have meanwhile pushed Osaka to third place. In the 1990s, most of the large companies previously based in Osaka relocated their headquarters to rapidly growing Tokyo, which burst the economic bubble around Osaka and plunged many Japanese into bankruptcy and unemployment.

A little history… and tips for your first trip!

Due to the constant changes that the city has been exposed to over the centuries through wars, earthquakes and other natural disasters, Osaka has had the opportunity to reinvent itself every time. Today, the big city is a prime example of modernity and highly efficiently structured. The transport network, for example, is well thought-out, reliable, closely linked and affordable for everyone. This makes Osaka a place with an impressive variety of transport options. There are two airports in and near Osaka – the Kansai International Airport, built on an artificial island, and the smaller Itami Airport for domestic flights. From Kansai International Airport there is a rail connection connecting the airport with the cities of the region, including Osaka, of course. Osaka’s inner-city rail network is the second largest in Japan and almost identical in structure to the Tokyo Metro. Seven different railway companies operate the railways and trains in Osaka, and ownership seems rather fragile. Nevertheless, the entire transport system works perfectly – delays are not only not tolerated here, as in the rest of Japan, they simply do not exist!

Know already? In Osaka you pay by train according to route

By the way: in Osaka you pay depending on the distance covered, the shortest distance costs 200 Yen, so just 1,53 Euro. The JR Osaka Loop Line is one of the more popular routes as it circles – as the name suggests – once around the whole city. Thus, one gets easily and uncomplicated to every part of the city and saves the change to one of the other railways. The train stations per line per direction are simply gigantic – so you should definitely plan enough time to get from A to B. Those who prefer to save the effort and instead reach for their wallet can also treat themselves to a taxi as an alternative. There are no modern apps or vending machines – not yet! – but for that there are taxis literally on every corner – and most taxi drivers even speak a little English.

Tips and Insights for your trip to Osaka

Osaka – official partner of eight international cities

• Chicago, USA
• Hamburg, Germany
• Milan, Italy
• Melbourne, Australia
• San Francisco, USA
• Saint Petersburg, Russia
• São Paulo, Brazil
• Shanghai, China

Although Osaka has had its heyday as Japan’s commercial centre, the city still has a lot to offer culturally. For example, it is the most important city in terms of classical Japanese theatre. Among the sights of the city is the Tsūtenkaku, “the tower that reaches to the sky” with an impressive 103 meters height. The tower, which is loosely designed to resemble the Eiffel Tower in Paris, also provides the current weather forecast for the following day based on the colouring of the top of the tower. The 16th century Osaka Castle with its interior museum is also worth a visit and if you like the underwater field, you should definitely plan a visit to Kaiyūkan – one of the world’s largest publicly accessible aquariums!

Attractions in Osaka – La Santa Maria Cruiser, Owl Family Café, Dotonbori and more

Osaka sees itself as the anti-capital city – proud, cool, self-confident. Full of hospitality and with an exquisite cuisine. The passion for food in particular has a far-reaching historical background here. Hundreds of years ago, when Tokyo was still a military base and Kyoto was considered the imperial capital, Osaka was already known as “Japan’s cuisine”. Osaka is the home of soul food – in no other city in Japan do people spend more money on good food and the quality demands on food and restaurants are extreme. The people here are almost obsessed with food and drink and reinvent dishes seasonally.

Streetfood in culture imprinted Osaka

Street food can be found everywhere and there are always new and unusual creations on offer, alongside the traditional and local dishes for which Osaka is famous. In some restaurants, for example, there is the option “How you like it”, which you can select separately for each main course – and actually you can put together a selection of all available ingredients and garnishes and mix at the table yourself, however you like. There are no limits to your creativity – pancakes with pork belly and shrimps in sesame sauce? No problem. There is even a separate term for Osaka’s culinary culture: “kuidaore” – which means “eat until you burst”. The distinctive eating and enjoyment culture invites you to linger and so it is not uncommon to meet people late into the night in restaurants and bars – in Osaka nobody has to be alone and the last people stagger in the morning hours to work or home, depending on the job.

Kuidaore! The best street food in Dotonbori

The best local delicacies in Osaka

Takoyaki

Literally translated as “grilled octopus”, Takoyaki are small pieces of octopus with pickled ginger and spring onions in dough – a special Takoyaki pan provides the spherical structure. In addition there is still the Takoyaki sauce or alternatively Majonese, seaweed or dried Bonito. Takoyaki is available at every street food stand in Osaka and is one of the most popular snacks there.

Teppanyaki

Teppanyaki translated means “grilling on a metal plate” and describes more a certain cooking technique than a certain dish. The special thing about Teppanyaki is that the customer can fully witness the preparation process and there are even restaurants that specialize solely in this special customer service. For lovers of good food, anticipation is an essential component and, moreover, cooks in Japan are generally very respected and have to undergo many years of training before they can really call themselves chefs. There is no limit to Teppanyaki, but usually either high quality beef or seafood is used.

Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki is visually reminiscent of pancakes and is widespread throughout Japan. Therefore, there are many different variants of this dish. Typical for Okonomiyaki in Osaka is the grated cabbage. Together with a variety of other ingredients, including squid, prawns, octopus or various kinds of meat, the cabbage is put into dough and cooked. Of course there is a special Okonomiyaki sauce and alternatively mayonnaise, seaweed or bonitos.

Kushikatsu

Kushikatsu is actually anything that can be baked in dough and fried on a skewer – meat and various vegetables are often the basis for this dish. But there are also very creative variations with fried strawberries, for example. There’s nothing in food technology that Osaka doesn’t have!

Kitsune Udon

Anyone who has ever eaten at a Japanese restaurant will certainly be familiar with Udon. For everyone else: Udon are thick, light noodles – usually made from wheat – and a component of many hot soups. Kitsune Udon is a variant of these soups, in which the Udon noodles are supplemented with fried tofu. A simple recipe, but not the less popular in Japan, as it has a mythological background. For Kitsune is another word for the Japanese fox, which in Japan is considered a lucky charm and whose favourite dish is allegedly fried tofu. The fox, on the other hand, is the sacred animal of the Shinto goddess Inari, who stands for fertility.

Streetfood Season 9 – Episode 8: Kitsune Udon in Osaka

More about Japan: Travel tips for vacation or weekend

Osaka is of course not the only beautiful city in Japan. The Land of the Rising Sun has several other exciting, colourful and fashionable cities to offer with unforgettable sights and events. Of course, we have already compiled more information about Japan for you:

• Tokyo Experience: Travel tips & Field reports from Adachi to Taitō
• Coloured Kyoto – Sake, Shopping & Imperial Palace in the heart of Japan
• Glamhate: New collection Vampyre by Dice-K in Tokyo, Japan
• Kobe Travel Guide: Sightseeing, Fashion Week & Lifestyle in Kansai