Begin your bike tour of contemporary Berlin in Alexanderplatz, a large public square accessed by metro. Your local guide will meet you at the main entrance to the TV Tower and take you to the nearby rental shop to pick up your beach cruiser, a stylish, classic bike with comfortable up-right seating and wide tires.

Follow your guide on an easy 6-mile (9-km) ride, stopping often to take photos and discuss landmarks. Along the way, learn about the creativity of Berlin’s counterculture that has flourished in the city’s open spaces, as well as the real estate boom and urban renewal of once empty lots and crumbling buildings.

Explore the wide, paved runways of the former Tempelhof Airport. Germany's first airstrip, Tempelhof ceased operation in 2008 and was reopened in 2010 as Berlin's largest public park. Watch local families enjoy recreational activities like rollerblading, kite flying and picnics. Here, enjoy lunch and a lager at a Bavarian biergarten (beer garden).

Continue along flat roads to see where the former Berlin Wall once stood. Constructed in 1961 to divide the east from west, this concrete partition was destroyed in 1990 after the reunification of Germany.

Next, cycle through Kreuzberg, the cultural center of Turkish immigrant life since the 1960s, and consider the pros and cons of Germany’s guest worker program. Explore hundreds of stalls in the open-air Turkish market, stretching for half a mile (0.8 km) and brimming with fresh produce, colorful textiles and Turkish delights.

You'll return to Alexanderplatz, where your tour ends.