Meet Our Team

Our Local Experts Share Their Berlin Favorites

  • Merren
  • Andrew
  • Marriette
  • Walid
  • Jürgen
  • Tobi
  • Skien
  • Christin
  • Julian
  • Neil
  • Erynne

Merren - Tour Guide

Merren is an Aussie larrikin who has been living in Berlin since 2013. Having German grandparents, she wanted to get to know more about her heritage and was attracted to the vivacious, edgy, unassuming nature of the capital. She’s always up for a beer and is guaranteed to give you a stirring rendition of the Hof at the Brandenburg Gate.

“I think you’d be hard-pressed to find another city in the world with so many layers of history all meshed together and intertwined than right here in Berlin. Becoming a tour guide has been an incredibly rewarding way to connect with the history of Germany, and a great way to meet people from all over the globe!”

 

 

Merren's Berlin Tips

Favorite Tour:

The Day City Tour as it’s the best way to get an overview of Berlin’s multifaceted history – from the Prussians to the Russians, Third Reich to the 21st Century melting pot that is Berlin.

Favorite Site:

East Side Gallery. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve walked that stretch of Wall with a kebap in one hand, beer in the other, contemplating those painted representations of the Cold War division.

Insider Tip:

It’s a little off the beaten track, but head out to the former Stasi Prison out at Hohenschönhausen. It’ll give you very interesting insight into the workings of the GDR's political justice system.

Andrew - Tour Guide

Andrew is a Wisconsin boy who studied History at UW-Madison. He joined the Berlin family two years ago following a stint with the Fat Tire team in Paris, and he’s also been a guide in Prague. After first visiting us here in 2009 though, he knew he would just have to live in Berlin some day!

“I wish everyone could come to Berlin with time to explore the greenness around the city. This is a place surrounded by endless biking, hiking, camping and swimming opportunities. (Feel free to get a Fat Tire trekking bike to get you moving!)”


 

 

Andrew's Berlin Tips

Favorite Tour:

The Day City Tour – the ride through the lush Tiergarten and the beer garden stop will make your day!

Favorite Site:

Treptower Park and the Soviet War Memorial. This is one of the most impressive monuments you’ll see in Europe and it will blow your mind.

Insider Tip:

Sunday is the best day to be in the city as you get to go to the market at Mauer Park. It’s super fun and you can witness the best karaoke you’ll see in your life.

Marriette - Tour Guide

Marriette is a Berlin veteran originally from the Lake District in Northern England. Her planned three-month stay in Berlin after university started a decade ago and you will now find Marriette dividing her days amongst Segway tours, her sewing machine, finding vintage treasures at Berlin’s many flea markets and enjoying lively open air parties.

“Berlin is rough around the edges to say the least. It’s a living breathing entity and many a traveler have succumbed to its magnetic draw. The city pulls no punches; it’s very unapologetic, it’s raw, and it’s in a constant state of evolution.”

 

 

Marriette's Berlin Tips

Favorite Tour:

The Cold War Tour because you get to go into the coolest part of the city and see it in a historical sense rather than just for its bar and restaurant vibe.

Favorite Site:

Oberbaumbrücke as it has an amazing history dating back to the 1700’s and today connects the two most vibrant neighborhoods of Berlin.

Insider Tip:

Get down to Görlitzer Park in the summer – such a great place for a picnic, prosecco and people watching!

Walid - Tour Guide

Walid is an ex-Londoner with extensive tour guiding experience and endless stories after 10 years in Berlin. He lives for discussing the depressing division of the city while taking in the edgy street art scene and death-defying graffiti bombing endeavors. He has a talent for weaving an entertaining educational narrative about the recent past and history’s impact on modern-day Berlin.

“My favourite thing about guiding is summer sunshine riverside segwaying with the wind blowing through all three remaining hairs on my scalp! In what other city can you see historic landmarks, graffitied buildings with four lettered "opinions" about the state of increasing capitalism, remnants of The Wall and a deserted ferris wheel from one spot?”

 

 

Walid's Berlin Tips

Favorite Tour:

Berlin Wall Segway Tour because, content wise, the stories are not only so recent, relatable, dramatic, and sometimes downright weird, but they also bring the New Berlin to life.

Favorite Site:

Bona-Peiser-Weg/Kopernicker Straße 137 on Segway Wall tour. You get a 360° horizon-to-horizon panoramic view from the historic city center to the Eastern suburbs along the River Spree.

Insider Tip:

While everyone is asleep on Sunday mornings, you have the perfect opportunity to relive your childhood and ride bikes through empty, stunning, glorious streets and parks.

Jürgen - Tour Guide

Jürgen is someone you could literally call a world citizen – he’s half German, born in Brazil, yet grew up in India! He moved to Germany at age 18 and, in his years studying Biology in Bremen, he increasingly felt the draw to the amazing and dynamic city of Berlin. When not on tour, he’s studying History and Theory of Culture, writing movie reviews and even producing films as well.

“Berlin is just crazy! It's dynamic, constantly evolving and you'll never get bored. Even after living here for seven years I still love to walk/bike around town to explore. Everyday you'll discover something new, something exciting. Whether it is a café, new street artist or piece of history – it’s amazing!”

 

 

Jürgen's Berlin Tips

Favorite Tour:

The Cold War tour as this was a period that defined much of the 20th century and still influences (geo)politics today. Berlin was right in the heart it and is the city where ideologies truly clashed.

Favorite Site:

The Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe. It doesn’t come with dates, names or sentences describing historical events, but is a memorial that pulls you in, and asks you to interpret it for yourself.

Insider Tip:

For a great breakfast, head down to Neukölln to a little café called Roamer's. It's cozy (they only have five tables) with amazing food! Go for the beetroot sandwich or an egg dish. Trust me.

Tobi - Tour Guide

Tobi, our charming, bona fide, East German gentleman, is a carpenter-by-trade from the quaint town of Quedlinburg. Mr Sparsbrod (literally "Funny Bread") grew up under the communist regime but made the move to more liberal climes here after the fall of the Wall. These days you’ll find him whizzing around in the summer sunshine loving life on Fat Tire Segways.

“Being a genuine East German, I really enjoy being able to answer the many questions people have about what life was really like growing up behind the Iron Curtain. My stories about the joys of sucking bananas are always a favorite. Strangely.”

 

 

Tobi's Berlin Tips

Favorite Tour:

I love the Segway Wall Tour. It's a new one and it’s such a nice complement to the Classic Segway tour.

Favorite Site:

The Tiergarten. It's like a fairy tale fantasy and I love being able to de-stress with a ride through the park after a long day.

Insider Tip:

Shop at Lidl discount supermarkets. They have everything you need at low low prices. They're much better presented than Aldi and Pacey, my cat, loves their liver pate.

Skien - Office Staff

Julien, affectionately known in the Fat Tire world as “Skein”, is our charming Zoo shop manager and all-round office guru. Having been with the company since 2006, Julien knows the Fat Tire brand inside out and is on hand to help you with anything bike or Berlin-related!

“Coming from a small town and moving to Berlin in 1998, it was amazing to encounter this constantly changing and evolving city with its cultural diversity and freedom. That was a great and overwhelming experience, and still to this day, I have this funny feeling of vacation when I walk the streets on a day off.”

 

 

Skien's Berlin Tips

Favorite Tour:

The Gardens and Palaces of Potsdam Tour, because you can enjoy riding through beautiful parks and see stunning lakes, palaces and quaint architecture.

Favorite Site:

East Side Gallery because of the art and the messages behind it, but also for the changes taking place in that area which are so representative for the repercussions of the Cold War.

Insider Tip:

Go to Dolden Mädel in Kreuzberg – delicious food and craft beer in a great neighbourhood, what else can you ask for?

Christin - Tour Guide

Christin is an original Berlinerin, a rare and beautiful breed these days. She studied Art History and Anthropology and now spends her days leading Segway tours around her home city. She’s tried to escape a couple of times to the likes of Dublin and London, but always feels that insatiable pull back to Berlin.

“I love Berlin because of the people. It has become so multicultural and I adore watching the change and being part of it. I like to emphasize this on my tours as it’s important to not only give a detailed historical story of Berlin, but to also explain the changes and new influences I’ve seen take effect.”

 

 

Christin's Berlin Tips

Favorite Tour:

The Classic City tour is a highlight-packed tour that takes you to Berlin's must-see sites. And doing it on a Segway is a unique way to tour Berlin!

Favorite Site:

"Der verlassene Raum" (The Desserted Room) at Koppenplatz. It belongs to the project The Hidden Spaces and is a memorial dedicated to the work of Jewish citizens in Berlin.

Insider Tip:

Visit the “Global Stone – A worldwide peace project” in the Tiergarten. In such a politically charged city, this is an undertaking free of historical, political and ideological burdens, which is quite refreshing.

Julian - Guide Manager

Julian hails from Toronto, Canada, and originally came to Berlin in 2008 to study German history and cultural anthropology. He is now our Fat Tire Guide Manager, a job that might be reminiscent of his pre-Berlin days when you would have found him captaining tall ships on the wide-open seas. In this time he managed to cross the Atlantic on an 11-meter sailboat – an amazing feat!

“I chose Berlin because it is the city my grandmother grew up in. After spending two months here, I was hooked. Following a few years back in Toronto I decided to make the permanent move over. Four years later I'm still here and loving my adopted home.”

 

 

Julian's Berlin Tips

Favorite Tour:

The Potsdam tour, as it's such a relaxing day getting out of the city and enjoying the beautiful gardens of this gorgeous village. And who doesn't love palaces and talking about dead Prussian kings!

Favorite Site:

Tempelhof Airport - it's not only an incredible building, but the massive open space in the middle of a large metropolis is something you just don't see anywhere else. 

Insider Tip:

Get down and enjoy a sunset at Tempelhof. The way people use that space is something that I find fascinating and inspiring.

Neil - Tour Guide

Neil, the tall, charming, English gentleman with a passion for art, design and sport, is one of our Third Reich specialists and most experienced Fat Tire guides. He came to Berlin for the 2006 World Cup and even after living here for over nine years, he loves the way the city always manages to surprise him.

“I was searching for a different way of life and found the individuals and lifestyle in Berlin better suited to me. It’s a beautiful and accepting city to live in despite its turbulent past. I personally feel it is the most important city in Europe in terms of its recent past, and the near future.”

 

 

Neil's Berlin Tips

Favorite Tour:

The Day City Tour, as it gives the best overview for a first time visitor and an excellent insight into the numerous facets of Berlin’s history.

Favorite Site:

The Soviet Memorial in Treptower Park. This place is epic – an awe-inspiring monument with a wonderful atmosphere in one of Berlin’s prettiest parks. It’s a place to feel solemn and yet also inspired.

Insider Tip:

Berlin is so green and surrounded by beautiful forests and waterways. Get out and go for a swim in one of the numerous lakes around the city. My favourites include: Plotzensee, Weissensee, Liebnitzsee!

Erynne - Office Staff

Erynne is a lover of plaid from small-town Ontario, Canada. With a background in German and French literature, she also taught English at a Paris university (and worked for Fat Tire Paris) before moving to Berlin. She is now our Scheduling Manager and brings a whole lot of smiles and laughter to office life.

"I'm not 100% certain why I came to Berlin, but I'm enjoying the spontaneity and adventure. Berlin has taken a strong hold of me; it's a relaxed and non-judgmental city and I love it for that!"

 

 

Erynne's Berlin Tips

Favorite Tour:

The Evening Food Tour as you get to ride through some of the lesser-frequented neighbourhoods of Berlin and eat like a local!

Favorite Site:

Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park – it’s a remarkable commemoration of some of the 80,000 Soviet soldiers who fell in the Battle of Berlin in April–May 1945.

Insider Tip:

Have a latte at Prachtwerk in Neukölln. This is a large open-concept cafe/bar and doubles as a co-working space. In the evenings, they do live gigs and open mic nights.

Shopping cart