王昕

　　It was the beginning of my student life in Germany. I was strolling in the streets in Munich,* absorbed by the scenes, when I suddenly heard someone shouting behind. Turning back, I saw a young man dashing toward me on a bike. I instinctively jumped aside, and the guy whizzed by without slowing down a least bit.

　　"Jerk!" irritated, I blurted out. But my friend beside me, who had been in Germany for some time, said, "Well, I don't think you should blame him. You are on the bikeway."

　　I looked down. The placeswheresI had been standing on was right by the pavement, a narrow strip painted red.

　　"You don't mean this is a bikeway, do you?!" I was puzzled. My hometown is Dalian. But even though we don't have special bikeways in Dalian, we are from China, the kingdom of bikes. I have seen streams of bike riders in cities like Beijing and Shenyang. The bikeways there are broad enough for cars, with least likeness to this one before me. This could allow only one rider to go forward. No wonder that I hadn't even noticed it.Later on, in the small town of Passau in Southern Germany, I saw bikeways even narrower than those in Munich. Passau, with a population over 50,000, lies in a hilly area. The streets are fairly narrow, rising here and falling there. Fellow students warned me that I'd better forget about getting a driving license in Passau, for the driving test was extremely difficult and it would be just a waste of money. Narrow as the streets are, special bikeways were designed there—though they were usually less than one meter wide.

　　Passau has rich tourist resources. Three rivers converge here, the Danube, the Inn River and another one called Ilz, presenting a charming landscape. The St. Stephan Cathedral here owns Europe's largest organ. Therefore it's perfectly understandable that apart from the groups of college students biking between schools and dormitories, the bike riders in the streets of Passau are mostly those who simply roam around.

　　You can get a glimpse of Germans' fondness for biking from the special carriages they reserve for bikes on their inter-city expresses (ICE) and regional expresses (RE). On the roads you can often find cars carrying bikes, too. Just imagine, what a pleasant thing it will be to carry your bike to such a beautiful place and merge yourselfsintosNature. Germany's natural environment—more than 12,900 natural reserves and natural scenic reserves, covering nearly 30 percent of its territory—also makes it possible for people to enjoy such a life.

　　The other day, we were on a train heading for Fuessen to visit Neuschwanstein. Seated beside us were two middle-aged couples, and two of them were still holding bike helmets in their hands—typical roaming riders. Chatting with them, we learned that they would get off midway, and then bike in the mountains. Watching verdant fields outside the window and red-roofed houses spotted in them, I was itching to take actions. "How about renting a bike and taking a ride too?" I said to my friend. "You'd better first learn how to ride a bike," my friend teased me. Well...

　　＊德国城市慕尼黑。本文其后提到的地名依次是德国南部小城帕绍(Passau)、多瑙河(the Danube)，因河(the Inn River)、伊尔兹河(Ilz)、圣斯蒂凡教堂(the St. Stephan Cathedral),弗森市(Fuessen)和天鹅湖城堡(Neuschwanstein).

　　(王昕：1996年毕业于北京外国语大学德语系，1999年赴德，现就读于帕绍大学，攻读文化经济硕士学位。)