Date:Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Location: Berlin Mahlow
KMs Ridden:0
So, to ride motorbikes around in Europe is somewhat of an administrative nightmare and, as we all know, Germany has administrative bureaucracy down to a fine art. One of our bikes was still registered, because we had lent it to our Son and kept the registration going.  The other had lapsed, so we had to get it re-registered. 

So today we had an early start and yummy Breakfast with Freya, before heading to the “Einwohnermeldamt” (Resident Registration office – it’s a thing in Germany!)  in Mahlow. Even though no one was in the queue in front of us, it took a while to register us as officially living in Germany.  And yes, we need to be officially registered at a current residence in Germany to attempt to register the bike.  So: Step one done! 

The second step was insurance. When we had finished at “Einwohnermeldamt” Freya dropped us off to Klaus who was going to drive to the insurance office with us to take out insurance for both bikes. With the official insurance documents in hand we rushed to the third and final part: the motor registration office. We arrived there just before 11:30. Just early enough to get Sigrid’s bike registered.  Success!

This is what success looks like. Also, our numberplate.

In the afternoon we attempted to get new sim cards for our phones to be reachable more easily – and affordably – in Europe. Turns out that it takes 2 days…  Did I mention German Bureaucracy? So we got the process started and we’ll pick them up on Friday.

Back at Freya’s place, Bjoern and Klaus put the battery into Sigrid’s bike and fitted the number plate.  The battery had been removed for storage, and it turns out the bike runs better with it.

Great! This was by far the fastest we ever had to get a bike registered and on the road! Practice, as they say, makes perfect.