Travelling around Frankfurt

 Germany offers drivers license reciprocity with many jurisdictions, meaning that if you hold a valid drivers license it is fairly simple to transfer that to a German license within the first six months after entering the country. Unfortunately, New York is not one of those jurisdictions. If I want a drivers license in Germany I will have to take driver safety classes, sit for a written test, and take a road test. Total cost for all this is quite expensive, and so I have given up on the idea of driving here.

There are a few other options. Germany has a well-developed public transit system. And bicycles are everywhere.

The transit company for most of the Frankfurt region is called RMV. As a senior citizen (defined as over 65 years) I qualified for an all-transport monthly pass for 72 euro. The allows me to take any train, tram, trolley, or bus in the central Frankfurt zone. Had I wanted to travel in outer zones too, it would have been a bit more, but for many it is cheaper to get the monthly pass, and buy an add-on ticket when traveling outside the central zone.

Commuter trains operate mainly radially, into and out of downtown Frankfurt. To travel across you mostly must use a bus. The bus system is more complicated, although RMV has an app to help you find connections. For the most part, in my life so far, I don't need the buses that much, so I haven't explored the app thoroughly.

Today I splurged an bought myself a bicycle. There has been a shortage of bicycles since the COVID lockdown in the spring. One bike shop owner I spoke with said the main issue has not been the bicycles themselves, but rather the parts produced by Shimano. Shimano has pretty much a grip on the entire world market for derailleurs, and no matter how many frames you can buy, you can't assemble the bicycle without a derailleur.

I did find a bike shop who actually had a bike in my size in stock. (I was warned that ordering a bicycle was futile, as there would be no way to predict when, or even if it would come in.) So I bought it. It is a Hercules Tourer 21. I got the bike, a UVEX helmet, and a Trelock lock. I had my first ride bringing the bike back home from the shop.

I was worried about riding a bike in traffic, but once on the road, it seemed quite safe. There was a bike lane most of the way, and the cars and buses did not attempt to crowd me. I was a little unsure how to handle intersections with a dedicated right turn lane where I wanted to go straight if there was a red light. The bike lane seemed to veer off to the right, but I felt exposed in the "go straight" lane. Nevertheless, I managed. Successfully home.