Bikes are not the only fruit

Something else I've noticed about the people of Cologne recently...they don't just limit their two-wheeled-human-powered transportation methods to bicycles. Oh no. Grown-ups can also be seen regularly utilising:

• rollerskates
• skateboards
• and push along scooters

Apparently there is no shame in it. Perhaps it even passes for cool?

Today, while I was waiting at a pedestrian crossing with the pram, a man in a black suit (ie unmistakably a grown-up) wheeled up beside me. He pointed to some buttons on the pram's handles and asked whether they were brakes. Er, no, I said, with a note of confusion in my voice. Firstly they weren't. Secondly, why on earth did he feel it was a normal thing to ask a lady he'd just met at a crossing?

Then I was confused again as he hopped on to his push along scooter and sped off. Perhaps he was grateful for his chosen mode of transport - after all, it meant he could get away at speed following his embarrassing question...