Annual expenses breakdown

Donations required

We have been running the project for nearly two years and not yet received as enough cash donations to cover our running costs. We estimate that only 20% of our users donate any amount.
While it is true that we promote ourselves as a "free" alternative, we also need cash donations to cover the minimal bike costs ie 0.50€/bike/day. As a result of this, we cannot maintain all the bikes in a road-worthy condition.
We have decided to significantly reduce the number of bikes we have in the fleet, so that the standard of our bikes does not decrease. It is not a decision we have lightly taken and hope that our users/ supporters understand our difficult situation.
With fewer bikes will mean that the availability of bikes for our users will be reduced.
We will revisit this decision when this financial situation is reversed and we have enough funds to invest in bike parts.

VELOBerlin Bike Cruisaid this Saturday 29th March

Poster of the VELOBerlin Bike Tour (organised by BikeSurfBerlin) in German. Please share so that we can get maximum people to come on the tour this Saturday (a special thanks to Rae for creating yet another masterpiece).

BSB bike repair party

Ridley, Tom, Solange and Daniel (photo by Graham) last Wednesday.

Thanks to those who came out and helped fix and improve the standard of our BSB bikes. We welcome all people to come help out, regardless of bike skills. Hope that we get to hold 2-3 of these per week, now that the sun has come out to play. Contact us if interested in being informed of future repair parties or if you would like to get involved in another way.

We are not alone - Berlin really does like to share.

Berlin city guide

ON AND OFF THE BEATEN TRACK - BERLIN

Map of cool free things to do in Berlin | Another CS specific guide can be found here | To get a real free tour guide of the hidden treasures of Berlin check | For a guide to the cycle lanes and route planning | A guide to free events going on in Berlin

ON and OFF the beaten track sightseeing

• Templehof airport 
• Where: Neukolln

• Treptower park
• Where: Treptower 
• Mauer park
• Where: Prenzlauerberg
• Flea market and karaoke on Sundays 
• Gorlitzer park
• Where: Kreuzberg
• check out Edelweiss bar (also dark mini-golf) 

• Maybachufer Turkish market
• Where: Kreuzberg
• Tuesdays and Fridays only
• Best deals on fruit and vegetables after 18:00 when the stalls are closing up 

• Jacob-und-Wilhelm-Grimm-Zentrum
• Where: Mitte
• architecture is amazing
• No bags allowed in library - lock your bags in locker room downstairs (small lock required - eg luggage lock)
• Kopi 137 squat
• Where: Kreuzberg
• Friday afternoons is bike repairing - tell them BikeSurf sent you :-) 
• Teufelsberg
• Where: Grunewald
• Panorama over Berlin in abandoned radar base

• Reichstag
• Where: Mitte
• Free but need to book here

• Spreepark
• Where: Treptower
• Abandoned amusement park

• Tiergarten Zoo
• Where: Mitte
• Along the river in Tiergarten on the southside you pass by some of the animal/ bird enclosures without having to pay the entrance fee
• Schlachtensee, Plötzensee, Muggelsee
• all lakes around Berlin
• able to swim there
• Froschkönig
• Where: Neukolln
• Show silent movies with live piano
• Mauerweg
• 160km long path following the old East/West divide
• free maps available online
• Pankeweg
• Where:Mitte/ Wedding
• Follow the river up north out of the city through forests and parks on cycle paths

• Potsdam
• pretty parks and castles
• especially touristy at weekends in summer
• ~30km from Berlin

• Rathaus Schöneberg
• Where: Schöneberg
• "Wir waren Nachtbarn" - long term exhibition on life in Berlin during the war
• Famous for Kennedy's "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech

Concerts and Live Music

• Konzertkasse
• Huge list of concerts going on in Berlin
• Zitty Berlin
• Another huge list of concerts going on weekly in Berlin
• Hangar 49
• Funk and soul music as well as jam sessions on Tuesdays
• Located behind the BVG building
• Festsaal Kreuzberg
• Generally live electro house, and party music. Soul Explosion once a month
• SO36
• Variety from ska to punk to rock to hip-hop to metal. Huge stage, great crowds
• Some nights of the week are specifically LGBT friendly
• Cassiopeia
• Hip-hop, rock, indie, electro, house
• Quasimodo
• Jazz, funk and soul
• A-trane
• Jazz - some high profile acts
• B-flat
• Jazz - lots of high quality local musicians
• Fuchsundelster
• Indie, old-timey
• Located in the bassment of an old church
• Badehaus Szimpla
• Indie, jazz, rock, gipsy, balkan, eastern
• White Trash Fast Food
• Ska, rock, thrash, indie, alternative
• Get some good food, enjoy music, and get a tattoo at the same time
• Yaam
• All reggae, all the time, on the Spree

Whats on in Berlin

• http://www.zitty.de/list?type=events Some stuff you have to pay for but whenever it says "Eintritt Frei" that means it's free. They index parties, concerts, clubs, theater, dance, markets, museums, festivals, art events, open air events, etc. 
• http://www.gratis-in-berlin.de/

Sport

• Acrobatics in various parks throughout Berlin in summer 
• Acro-yoga & Bodywork jam 
• Saturdays and Sundays 
• Acro-yoga & Circus training 
• Thursdays from 20:15 - 1:00 or so
• Zirkus Zack, Revalerstrasse 99
• 3€ entrance
• thttp://www.vuesch.org/zack/index.html
• Bikram Yoga 
• Bikram/ Vinysa/ Pilates
• Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg
• classes everyday
• www.sunyoga.de
• Bouldering 
• Volkspark Friedrichshain - near the volleyball courts - free outdoor wall
• Der Kegel - Revalerstr 99

Dancing

• Swing lessons and swing parties (live bands - Thursdays from 21:00 - 3€ entry) 
• back to the 20s and 30s with lindy-hop, charleston, etc ultimate Berlin dance
• www.facebook.com/berlinhop
• Cafe Engels, Herrfurthstrasse 21 (U8 Boddinstrasse), Tante Emma, Kopenickerstrasse 1A (U1 Schlesisches Tor)
• Dock 11 on Kastanienallee 
• dance school with absolute beginners' classes for ballet, modern, hiphop, etc. 7e to drop in and try a lesson.
• Badeschiff 
• Where: Treptower
• http://arena-berlin.de/badeschiff.aspx
• €4 entrance - no time limit

Cinemas

• Freiluftkinos (Cinema) 
• Kreuzberg, Friedrichshain, etc.
• Open air movies throughout the summer from 21:00
• Entrance : 6€
• Babylon Kino (Cinema) 
• Mitte
• Regularly show silent movies with live piano/ music
• OFF cinema 
• Old cinema
• Neukolln
• http://www.yorck.de/kinos/detail/100013/Neues%20Off
• Movimento 
• Oldest cinema in Berlin ?
• Kreuzberg
• http://www.moviemento.de/

Places to eat

• Ixthys - Korean food (Schonberg) ~ €5-6 
• Dolores Burrito - Californian-style burittos (Mitte) ~€4 veggie burrito 
• Weinerei - Coffee and cake/ Buffet-style dinner (Prenzlauerberg) 
• VoKu (VolksKuche) -Gruenbergerstrasse 73 (Friedrichshain) - vegetarian/vegan Sundays from 18:00 - 2€ 
• VoKu (VolksKuche) -F54 - Friedelstrasse 54 (Neukolln) - vegetarian/vegan Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 21:00 - pay-what-you-can 
• Another Country - Buffet style all-you-can eat (Kreuzberg) - Friday nights from 21:00 - €5 all you can eat 
• Oase - Vegetarian VoKu ie community dinner Thursdays 20:00 (Wedding) - €2 
• Morgenrot: 9.50€ for an all-you can eat brunch on Sundays (Skalitzer Straße 35 10999 Berlin) 
• Seerose on Mehringdamm: excellent vegetarian Mediterranean buffet, with a huge plate of food, drink and dessert for under 10e. 
• Babel on Kastanianallee: excellent and reasonable authentic Lebanese food. 
• Soupanova in Prenzlauer Berg: bar with great soup, good live music, and good cocktails 

Cool nights (all free!!!)

• Sofa Salon 
• Location varies
• Berlin Living Room Concert Series
• http://sofasessions.blogspot.de/
• Soulcat music Club
• Where: Kreuzberg
• Check website for live events
• Free entrance
• Madame Claudes 
• Where: Kreuzberg
• Sunday nights are open mic from 22:00 -recommended
• FilmKunst 
• Where: Kreuzberg
• Thursday nights (21:00) show independent short films
• Closed for summer break - restarts October
• Mein Haus am See 
• laid-back bar on Rosenthaler Platz
• basic food, lots of seats, and funky music

ON the beaten track

• Quick sightseeing of the city that day, take the bus 100 at Alexanderplatz. 
• The ride is 30 minutes in total, from Alexanderplatz to the Zoo Garden and during this ride you'll be able to see few different famous sites of Berlin: Museum Insel, Branderbourg Tor, Tiergarten Park...
• Ticket will cost you less than 3 euros/person and you can stop where you want. It is less cheaper than the touristy "hop on/ hop off bus"!
• Link: http://www.bus100.de

Upcoming BVG and Polizei bicycle auctions - a great way to get your own bike.

Some of you may not have been in Berlin long enough to hear about the bicycle auctions that happen on behalf of Polizei and BVG every two months. Those bikes that are not claimed by their owners after an allotted time are sold off to the highest bidder at these auctions.

Having attended many of these auctions, I recommend the Polizei auctions as they are more organised and have a larger number of bikes on offer.
The benefits of buying a bike in this manner are:

1. cheap bikes - cheaper than flohmarkts
2. proof of receipt - means you can sell off bike later more easily
3. not supporting bicycle theft
4. it's an exciting atmosphere and gives you a buzz when you're the highest bidder 

It is best if you go there with someone who knows what to look out for in buying a second hand bike, as they are of varying quality and a little bit about how numbers sound in German is a plus.

If you contact us at BSB, we may be attending and be able to help you out in choosing a suitable ride.

The next BVG auction  --> 23/01/14 (viewing starts at 8am, auction from 10am)

• ~ 40 bikes on offer usually (also other items, sporting equipment, cameras, laptops, phones, etc.)
• requires you to pay a deposit of 5€  for the bidding slip in order to place a bid (bring your Anmeldung or other proof of your address, passport)
• a bit chaotic/ unorganised at times
• pay with EC card or cash only (no credit cards)
• from 8am (viewing of bikes) and then auction starts at 10am.
• recommend you bring a picnic with you - eg snacks and tea

Where? Saalburgstr 3/3a, 12099 (nearest UBahn: Ullsteinstrasse)
 BVG auction website - click here

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The next Polizei auction --> 28/01/13 (viewing starts at 8am, auction from 10am)

• ~ 200 bikes on offer usually (also other items, sporting equipment, cameras, laptops, phones, etc.)
• no bidding slip required - bid using your upraised hand, pay for each item immediately after you have won it
• well organised
• cash only - no cards
• will be taking place from 8am (viewing of bikes) and then auction starts at 10am upstairs
• recommend you bring a picnic with you - eg snacks and tea
  

Where? AssetOrb GmbH
Werdauer Weg 23, 10829 Berlin (near S-Bahnhof Schöneberg)
Polizei auction website - click here

The details of all future BVG and Polizei auctions will be on the calendar in "Things to do" at the top of this page.

Happy bidding!