I biked to work every day while living in Berlin and I was shocked by how much easier it was than in New York

I leave my apartment and head down the leafy bike lane on my street in the Berlin neighborhood of Wedding.

I bike along the canal for a bit, where there's a park and a wide path for bikers and pedestrians.

The lane continues with a clear demarcation between pedestrian walkway (cobblestones) and bike lane (paved path).

It's very nice to get away from car traffic!

Many of Berlin's bike lanes are actually on the sidewalk. They're usually clearly marked with red pavement or white painted lines.

Bikers get their own special lights at busy intersections. See the smaller set of traffic lights below.

I bike down by the Spree River for the most scenic portion of my commute.

I pass right by the Bundestag, Germany's federal parliament.

I also pass by a bunch of modern federal government buildings.

Spotted: a yoga photoshoot.

I bike over a line of cobblestones several times during my commute — it's a marking to show where the Berlin Wall once stood.

Bike traffic picks up downtown, and riders are pretty diligent about staying in their lane.

Once in awhile I — admittedly illegally — hop on the sidewalk to avoid bumpy cobblestone streets, but sometimes I'm met with more cobblestones.

If you don't obey the traffic signals in Berlin, you might get crushed by the tram, known as the S-bahn.

It's also common to see parents chauffeuring their kids by bikes with little trailers on the back or front. It's like Berlin's version of the minivan.

Bike racks are pretty abundant on Berlin's streets, but they're often full in dense areas.

My office has its own bike rack set-up. It's like the bicycle version of NYC's stacked parking lots.

I never tried to store my bike on the top level, but this guy makes it look easy.