Before the war I walked around 10,000 steps every day in Kyiv. An app on my phone counted that for me. If I could get more steps in a day, it was even better. Walking just helped me stay in good spirits. Most of the time I went for a walk in the evening after a long day in the office. At the weekend I walked even more. And I’m not the only one with that in Kyiv, many people are pedestrians there.
When I arrived in Dachau, I noticed that many more people are traveling here by car or, above all, by bicycle. I now take around 3,000 fewer steps a day. I only meet a few pedestrians in Dachau – and when I do, they always have a dog with them. It almost seems to me that going for walks is only for walkers – at least compared to my old homeland. But even if I don’t have a dog, I love walking through Dachau: along the Amperweg, through the forest, up to Dachau Castle and through the castle gardens.
My mother and I learned to ride a bike in Dachau
The other way Germans get around is a great adventure for me – cycling. I’m pleasantly surprised at how wide the bike lanes are here and that drivers actually let cyclists pass and stop for them. Germany seems to me to be a cycling country. In Kyiv I also liked to ride my bike, but you couldn’t get anywhere by bike because there were no bike paths – but there were all the more cars and traffic jams.
So my mother and I learned to ride a bike in Dachau. It’s comfortable and good for your health. But of course an adventure awaited us here too. On our first bike tour, my mother fell off her bike – luckily nothing happened to her. A passing motorist immediately stopped and asked if she was okay. That was really nice of her.
I also notice how well developed public transport is here. The only thing that surprised me is that on the bus you have to press the “stop” button to get off. In Kyiv, buses stop at any bus stop without you having to press a button. That’s why I often drove past my bus stop in my early days in Dachau. But that didn’t matter. At least I was able to walk a few more steps that way.