Month: July 2017

As ones flight wasn’t until 18:00pm, I decided to undertake an experiment by taking a stroll around Copenhagen by oneself to see how Danish people would interact with a disabled individual without anyone to assist. To make things more interesting, one only knows two words of Danish!

Beginning the experiment, one rolled down to the waterfront where the Copenhagen Mall is situated and journeyed through some of the surrounding housing areas. It is surprising how many houses and apartments had step free access, Scandinavian design at it’s finest! One continued by a desire to find out whether the metro network was accessible. One is unsure if all the metro and suburban stations have lifts, however, this one had so one went for a gander. One was approached by a few Danes whilst attempting to push the lift button. Despite the language barrier, one gathered that they were asking to help. Once on the platform, one studied the suburban trains and it appears that there is a designated disabled area signposted by a large wheelchair image, however, there is a step up into the carriage! One can only presume that ramps are available upon request.

After checking out of the hotel, one headed down to Copenhagen train station to catch the train out to the airport. After our successful trip to Malmo on Wednesday, one thought it would be a simple process getting Superbunny on and and off and it was indeed! It has to be said that catching the train to the airport is most likely the cheapest and efficient option as it takes you directly beneath Terminal 3. It is all wheelchair accessible also .

The airport process went according to plan and, for once, security talked to one like an actual human being and not some child. Although our flight was delayed by half an hour, we were escorted into the Ambulift early and then sat on the airfield for half an hour waiting for the plane to come in, efficiency that!

Next month, one will be taking the long haul flight to China to visit Beijing, Xian (Visiting the Terracotta Warriors) and Shanghai. 

Back in Copenhagen, one caught the ‘Hop On, Hop Hop Off’ bus today for a tour around the city. The Tivoli Hotel concierge informed us that some of the buses were not wheelchair accessible and needed to call ahead to check the bus (as of 2017). To make life easier, one opted for the manual wheelchair!

Although the bus we caught was wheelchair accessible, no tie down straps were available thus the driver didn’t like the idea of one staying in the wheelchair! The tour took us around various landmarks such as The Little Mermaid which you couldn’t actually see from the bus which was a little disappointing…

The main issue arose when one was told to get off the bus and get on older one to continue the tour. The bus was not wheelchair accessible at all meaning that the manual wheelchair had to be carried on board and folded up otherwise we would have been stuck for 40 minutes!

Tomorrow, we head back to Copenhagen International Airport, this time by train for our short flight back to Bristol.

Today, one visited Tivoli Gardens which is situated roughly in the centre of Copenhagen. On the way, one was able to get a feel of the accessibility of the city for wheelchair users. As predicted, being in Scandinavia, it is to a high standard with drop curbs in appropriate places etc…

After finding our way through various crowds, we reached the entrance to Tivoli Gardens. It is worth noting that disabled individuals can enter for FREE!

It’s difficult for one to describe the place, perhaps part theme park, part gardens. A large proportion of the site is completely wheelchair accessible making for an easy roll…

One of the highlights of Tivoli Gardens is its truffles which are truly divine…

On the way back to the hotel, one stopped off at the main station in Copenhagen to discover how the Danish railway system works in regards to booking assistance. According to the helpdesk, assistance must be booked at least 24 hours prior to the journey. Despite this, one is opting for the safer option of taking the manual wheelchair tomorrow to avoid as many complications as possible.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in the pool before heading up to the sky bar to have some civilised whiskey whilst admiring the cityscape of Copenhagen…

Tomorrow, we head over the border to Malmö in Sweden.

The answer to ones previous post is the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen! After a 1 hour 45 minute flight from Bristol, we touched down at Copenhagen International Airport…

As Denmark are quite ‘with it’ when it comes to accessibility, one felt confident requesting a wheelchair accessible taxi from the assistance point within T3. Now, one would expect a standard taxi to show up with a ramp or a lift. In this case, it seems that the only wheelchair accessible taxi that was on offer was a Sprinter van, the ones that you would book if you wanted to travel in style!

It wasn’t so stylish when one found out that it had cost around £58 for a ten minute journey! Definitely getting the train back to the airport!

For the next few days, one is staying at the Tivoli Hotel which is located around 20 minutes from sights including Tivoli Gardens and City Hall, For the hefty price tag, it seems that the hotel have put more effort into decorating the hotel rather than the actual rooms, however one has seen worse…

Tomorrow, we head to Tivoli Gardens plus the railway station to find out what we need to do in terms of assistance in preparation for the train across to Malmo in Sweden.