I read an article about the the positive impact ofthe use of the bike inParis after the people receive a monthly compensation for going to job by bike, promoting a set of behaviors that benefits the whole city. This made me think about bike adoption in cities.

I´m becoming olderand I am able to lookwithperspectivethe evolution of cities I visited 10 years ago.This week I was,in this order, inBerlin, Amsterdam andBarcelona. I will focus on the quality of lifeof those livingtherein terms ofuse of the bike10 yearsagoand today.

So,

Berlinhas not changed, so many people use the bike. It was 2003 thefirst time I visited Berlin, in summer; This time in winter. You can see childrenare wrapped in their coatsthat canbarelymovethemselves, but here theyare. Herethe motto is:one street, onebike lane.

In Amsterdam there aremore bikesif possible, insome areasit is the maintransport, you can find piledbikes, wood-bikes, fat-bikes. exclusive city-bikes.I asked if they still have the problem of bike theft,and they still have it. Ifthisenormous lovefor the bikes that Dutch people have you apply their knowledge ondesignonthe bikes, the consequence is easy:you have all kind of bikes.They have in The Hague a race of fat-bikeson the beach. 10 yearsago The Netherlands wasa pioneer in theuse of the bikeand today they still are on top of the list (atleast I think so).

Barcelonawas thebig surprise to me. The first timeI visited it there were only onebike laneon Diagonal Avenue andinthe sea-port area. Now you can find thousand of bike lanes, a municipalbike service, lots of bikesparked on streetlights…The changeof such a largeand complex city as Barcelona cannot only be measured by the existence ofbike-lanes, but you can see the change (maybe others do not agree with me). Bikes have won some space of the streets to the cars.

In contrastI look atMadrid,and I see nochange, the cars still ownthe streets.

Design, design and more design is what you can find in so many corners of Dutch’s cities. All of them developed with high quality and nice style.

My preference is the home design of furniture, how they play with the space of a room and how the ergonomic aspects are present in all details.

First time in winter, and I have to say it was not horrible at all, but 4 days is enough for me to make me an idea about how cold weather impacts on lifestyle.

I spent some days in Berlin, working and having only the nights to enjoy the city. Dinners in a Russian restaurant and a glass of wine in an Italian winery was just an example about the opportunities you have.

First time in Winter; and we were lucky of enjoying sunny days combined with a nice snow storm during the night that dress the city with a beautiful white.

Running 13 kms around the city enables you to know new streets, stop in shops to look up at some designs, build a better map of the city in you mind and know where the people go.

Nice trip!