It has been a sunny day and I have biked solely on good, bigger roads – wise from yesterday's experience. There were of course many cars on some of today's roads, but believe it or not, the Germans have a terrific traffic culture, which means that they won't overtake me as long as there are meeting cars. This is fantastic! Sometimes it means that a long line of cars gather up behind me, until the sight is clear in the other lane and they can overtake me.

I had a new strategy for today: I would read the map CAREFULLY and OFTEN. Apart from this, I would also ASK people along the way, to get constant feedback about my way. This new strategy of mine was a success: I didn't lose my way a single time, despite all the ”umleitungen” (alternative routs due to roadworks).

These umleitungen are many and worrying. If you're in a car you don't mind driving some extra kilometers every now and then, but on a bike you do. Especially since you're never completely sure that you're biking along the right umleitung, since the signs differ between for example U2, U4 and U7. You have to pay attention.

In Sweden we don't have these kind of umleitungen, but I guess they are good, since they let the roadworkers work alone, instead of just forcing the cars to slow down at the roadwork.

I biked today through Rheinsberg and Lindow to Oranienburg, which is the end station of the S-Bahn. Just before Oranienburg I encountered a huge roadwork as I took a chance and diverted from an umleitung. A whole highway was under construction – what a surreal view it was to see this big highway, complete with viaducts and bridges – but without cars. After a few kilometers I biked into a group of roadworkers. The leader drew a map in the congealing cement, and about ten minutes later I had found my way to the station, from where I took the S-Bahn to central Berlin.

And here I am now! Sitting on Andreas' roof terrace in Kreutzberg, I watch the sun set as I drink a glass of wine. Andreas will be home tomorrow night, so I have the whole three-floor apartment to myself until then.

I must say I can't believe I've biked from Stockholm to Berlin now. But I do feel it. Not in my body, that is in perfect shape, but in my mind. It feels good.