Nath, Author at The Wheelchair Traveller

Day 6 – A walk into the red light district

So today was our only day in Geneva and we wasted no time by heading out to visit the United Nations building in all its glory. Straight away you can tell how clean the city is compared to Marseille where there were tramps living on every corner.

In comparison, the City of Geneva is beautifully clean. There is no litter nor vagrants. Oh and whilst I remember although we didn’t get to go on the trams, they are all equipped with low floors and are completely accessible with automatic ramps, bridging the gap between the tram and the platform edge, another hit for Geneva!

We wondered to see the United Nations building…

After getting a little moist from the sprinklers in the surrounding parks grounds we found or way to the visitors entrance, oh, and of course I skipped the queue to get inside. The tour itself was very informative and accommodating for disabled people. It showed of the marvellous architecture that the UN building as to offer.

Once we said goodbye to our amazing tour guide, we walked down to Lake Geneva with its picturesque views at the famouse ‘jet of water’ which shoots an impressive 120 metres into the sky and can be seen for miles!

By this time we were all hungry so we went on the hunt for an accessible and pigeon free resturant. Unfortunately most resturants have some kind of curb or step, but there are a few that are step free. In the afternoon we visited the base of the water jet…well as far as I was able to go without having to use any stairs.

Coincidently, today was Genevas turn to host a triathlon which was awesome for me because the ramp down to the lake which was erected for the swimmers enabled me to take a dip in an otherwise inaccessible lake…

(We definitely did a risk assessment for this!!)

My PA decided not to tell me that there was a bird sat behind me, within two feet watching me get my legs wet. It was only when I saw the photo afterwards that I realised I was within inches of a painful death.

As we have a 12 hour train journey tomorrow (which my PA’s are so looking forward too) we headed to the train station to pick up our tickets and make sure the assistance was in place and booked. However, Google maps failed us on the way to the station – taking us for a little tour around the red light district, and I will say no more on that…although I know a certain Irish PA of mine who will be reading this will want to know more. I can say however that the road works in place in the district ment that we spent a little longer than we could have admiring the sceneary. The staff at the ticket office at the station were very, very helpful in ensuring that all the assistance was in place, especially seeing as we have to change at Zurich.

Looks like tomorrow will be a day of trains which will thrilling for me, not so thrilling for my PAs (my European Sherpas as they call themselves).

We arrive in Vienna around 23:10, so I will write tomorrow’s post whilst travelling, how exciting!

See you in Austria

Day 5 – I need to remember to charge my phone!

After a late start this morning, we went out for one last stroll around Marseille before we caught our train to Geneva at quarter to 2. Over the past 2 and a half days I have come to realise just how dirty the city is but at the same time how it possesses some marvellous arcitechture.

We headed to Marseille St Charles station about 1 o’clock to ensure we were there in plenty of time (oh and because I wanted to go train spotting!) to make sure that all the assistance was in place. The French TGVs themselves are low floor so there is little gap between the train and the platform edge, however once inside there is a step down into the carrige. To overcome this obstacle, there is ingenious invention where the floor raises up to the top of the step and then lowers back down so you can enter. It was quite difficult for super bunny to manoeuvre as the area is quite tight getting in and out but I think it would be easy using a front wheel drive wheelchair like bad bunny which I have at home.

As the train set off for its voyage to Geneva, I discovered that I hadn’t charged my phone the night before and the sockets on the train didn’t seem to work which meant that we were rather clueless as to the whereabouts of our hotel in Geneva! Anyway, getting off the train was quite straight forward after the train staff had worked out that the ramp was in the platform which the could use.

As we were without a phone and Google maps, we hunted down a map and tried to figure where our hotel was and decided to ask for help in a shop. The woman in the shop proceeded to tell us that it was too far for us to walk and that we would have to get a taxi or a bus. Over the past couple of years, I have come to find that wheelchair accessible taxis and Europe do not mix and as a result there was no wheelchair accessible taxis in Geneva. We decided the easiest way to get to the hotel with our bags was to send one person in a taxi whilst the other walked with me and that was the point which we discovered that the hotel is around 13 minutes away but oh well now we know!

Tomorrow is our only day in Geneva so we plan to head down to the lake to see a lovely fountain, as well as visit the UN.

See you tomorrow 🙂

Day 4 – Marseille public transport system, Notre Dame and a colourful skyscraper

We woke up to another hot and sunny day in Marseille and headed out straight after breakfast to see Notre Dame, which is basically a church which overlooks the whole of Marseille presenting stunning views across the whole city for the who visit

We were unsure of how accessible it would be to get there but one of my PA’s found a little road train which takes you to the top, which on their website claims to be wheelchair accessible – which it is clearly not! Following that and after googling a bus route we found one and prayed it was accessible. The buses in Marseille are similar to the ones that can be found in London, where automatic ramps are deployed from the side, so it was simple to get on and off.

Once at the top, I was surprised to see that there was a lift which takes you to the top of the church, The Basilica of Notre Dame. Most of which is totally accessible despite all the steps which can be seen on arrival.

After my PAs taking a few selfies and my camera battery nearly dead, we decided to head back to the hotel for lunch while the camera recharged. It was then time for another method of public transportation in the form of a tram in order to get to the tallest skyscraper in Marseille. The trams themselves have low floors so there are no gaps whatsoever between the tram and the platform edge, making it easily accessible. The public transportation system in Marseille surprised me as research indicated it wasn’t great as a wheelchair can’t access the metro. Saying that, the buses and trams take you most places anyway.

We reached the skyscraper and all its glory –

As with all modern architecture, I took a million photos before heading back on the tram into the centre. Also, I may have found a new ringtone to replace the existing French train announcement, that’s if I can find it!

Next stop was visiting the bridge connecting the museum to Fort Saint Jean which is a feat of engineering in itself. Apart from trying to find a suitable route up to it, we reached the other side and found ourselves in the old part of Marseille which is never good for wheelchair access but we managed to find our way down, taking a few detours to discover drop curbs.

Today was our last day in Marseille as we travel to Geneva tomorrow afternoon by train, which we house be interesting as I booked assistance but who knows if it will turn up, fingers crossed!

See you Switzerland!

Day 3 – A lovely boat trip

Oh I forgot this morning to mention that when we arrived at the hotel, despite ringing them twice prior to coming, they were still unable to other the three rooms we requested to be close to one another. Oh and they were unable to other me a disabled room, “we are full”. Luckily today they were able to offer us the three rooms which we requested previously, which are on the same floor.

We started out the day with a trip down to the port to purchase tickets for a boat tour around Marseille. We were little worried about the stairs onto the boat so we decided to take my manual wheelchair just in case. However, there was no need to worry as there was a platform at the rear of the boat which didn’t involve any steps.

After this, we returned to the hotel to relax for a while before heading out for something to eat, somewhere a pigeon was not able to get me.

(A nice building on the way back to the hotel)

The strategy for tomorrow is to visit Notre Dam in the morning and then attempt the tram to see a a skyscraper (my second favourite thing after train stations!), then finally visit the Museum of Mediterranean culture, or rather the bridge which you need to walk across to access it.

See you tomorrow

Day 2 – Going under the sea

Well I jinxed it, oops! Anyway yesterday we woke up around 5am to catch the 07:18 Eurostar service to Marseille from London St. Pancras international in which I could marvel at the architecture. The accessibility of Eurostar is quite good until you get into the carrige where the space is a bit tight and there is a seat right next to you so moneuovering is quite hard. It came as a surprise that the table seats that were in front of us were all free so I decided to get out my chair and sit at the table which was probably comfier than sitting in super bunny for 6.5 hours!

After watching the fantastic French scenery as we travelled down the country, we arrived at Marseille St Charles station. As expected, you could tell the difference straight away in temperature as the train doors opened without a ramp to be seen . However after a minute, it arrived in all its glory. Countries in Europe seem to always have weird contraptions to help me get on and off trains, this time it was a little lift, doesn’t beat the fork lift though in Switzerland back in 2013. It took a while to work out how to exit the station as the main entrance is compromised off massive staircase leading down from the station into the wonderful city. It took a while to work out where disabled access down was but then we managed to get out. As with loads of train stations, the area around is rather dodgey. Why do I always pick them most dodgiest areas!?

A couple of hours later, we went for a stroll along the harbour to discover how and when the boats tours are which we plan to do later today. As I have a phobia of pigeons it took a while to find somewhere to have dinner that was both the accessible and inside. In the end, we resorted to a random hotel but it was good food. We were all tired and returned to our hotel around 10pm.

Today, we plan to visit Fort Saint-Jean and the Musee des civilisations de l’europ et de la Mediterranee which is a cool building and the Marseille Cathedral and then a boat tour around Calanque.

Keep watching our twitter:)

Day 1 – The start of trains!

So here we are in lovely London for the start of another fabulous holiday expedition around Europe! We decided to get the train to London Paddington on which there were no wheelchair spaces in standard class ( free upgrade to first class). When you think of first class, you think everything will be just so, however, these are British trains so disabled people are not always at the forefront of their creations plus it was built in the 1970’s or 1980’s!

Superbunny could only just fit through the gap between the luggage rack, just! However after a little mounavering, we arrived into Paddington on time, with its magnificent architecture. Which by the way has nearly a few weeks left until the station has finished it’s renovation.

I only discovered weeks back when I came to visit a friend that there is an accessible underground station in Paddington which has step free access onto to the Circle and the Hammersmith and City line which we needed get on to get to St Pancreas International. However today is the beginning of a 24hour strike and we arrived in 90 minutes before it was due to start. It always amazes me how the end carriages on tube trains are always nearly empty, which I use to my advantage as it was manic.

Outside St Pancreas station, we found our way to the hotel and checked in without any problems (I have probably jinked it now). The room is nice enough and basically what you get in a normal Ibis hotel. My PA’s had a lovely evening to theirselves whilst I went out with my friend for dinner. Excitement of my day was that someone fainted in the restaurant, paramedics are amazing!

Tomorrow we get up at 5am which my PA’s are so excited about, in order to catch th 7:18 Eurostar to Marseille.

See you tomorrow!

What a few months!!!! Time for a holiday?

It seems that the last post on here which was upon my return from Iceland is now a distant memory with all the exciting things that has happened over the past few months!

First off was the Education Show at the NEC (or as I was calling it by the last day, the cattle shed) back in March which we are still reaping the success of. I never in my life imagined that I would be looking at the exact same view for three days straight, luckily there was some eye candy on the stand next to us which kept me occupied (that sounds really pervy, definitely not the intention…promise!!). To try to prevent all of us going stir crazy we also kept a stash of Krispy Kreme under our stand – definitely needed them by the last day!

Just 2 weeks after the show, it was time return to Brum to talk to some year 8s, one word of advice, if your car looks like a van like mine and your travelling on the M6 Toll, be prepared to pay the van rate of £10, never doing that again!

Next up, after 4 years of VEUcans existence, the time felt right for it to step up and become a Limited company (VEUcan Ltd still sounds so posh!) which coincided with employing dedicated presenters (well translators and general helpers) for our talks and workshops. We also have some awesome ideas for the future including ingenious ideas to get VEUcans message across.

So your probably wondering where the hell am I going to find time to go on holiday, god knows!!!! I joke, I’m taking 2 weeks out in July to travel once more around Europe but this time by my favourite mode of transportation, TRAINS (Oh and a PLANE)!! Also, drastically deviating from the original plan, we are visiting the following places, each for a few days; Marseille, Geneva, Vienna, Budapest and Katowice (a place in Poland where we will stay to visit Auschwitz), flying back from Warsaw to Heathrow.

Of course I visited France and Switzerland back in 2013 so know that they have great accessibility but after that, we are stepping into the unknown, the place that I think will be interesting is Budapest, see how Eastern Europe accessibility holds up!

Before all of this though, guess where we have work to do…..Birmingham yet again!!!! We are visiting two schools on two consecutive days, swear that I should just do a road tour 🙂

Anyway, start following our antics on the evening of the 8th July on Twitter and on here, by now it’s obvious that something won’t go to plan no matter what we do!

Day 4 in Reykjavik – Whoopsies!

So it’s the end of another trip, it always goes so fast! Oh well that’s another country off my list.

Anyway, returning to last night we went on a hunt for an accessable restaurant in the City center when I had an ingenious idea. They are building a new area of Reykjavik with skyscrapers and all that so the theory was that the resteraunt there would all be accessable and that worked. After going into a few restaurants where there was no one there we settled for a burger place a bit like Gourmet Burger Kitchen. I think it was everyone’s birthday in Iceland as they were shouting out something in Icelandic and then everyone started clapping, so we joined in clapping (not knowing why we were clapping) then we retuned to the hotel to pack our stuff and be ready for the flight.

After a 6:30am start our taxi driver drove us back to the airport in plenty of time. And in that time I figured out that I’m a total numpty! We got to the checking desk with our boarding passes and then was told that the tickets I booked were for the 8th March not the 8th February. it was fine though because I knew that there was loads of flights back to the UK albeit to London or Manchester in case the flights was fully booked however, we were very lucky in that, after a lot of conversation in Icelandic between the management, we were allowed to book seats on the flight that we intended to get, with time to spare to get our last souvenirs from duty free. After all the commotion, the flight was delayed anyway.

The flight seemed to pass very fast and I was surprised that Keflavik had actually looked into what you they needed to do with super bunny, so there was no issues getting off the flight at Bristol.

In the summer I am planning a month long European road trip around Scandinavia so key an eye out on facebook or Twitter for development on this. But first we have work to do at the education show in March

Day 3 in Reykjavik – Lots of salty water

So we found the do not disturb sign but still managed to wake up at 8am in my new accessible room. We decided to give up on trying to swap rooms with the hotel and, like I said, luckily the walkie talkies worked between floors so now I’m on the third floor and my PAs are on the fourth floor. I don’t think hotels will ever get the idea of needing rooms together but we can live in hope!

After breakfast, we headed out into the centre once more to buy souvenir and lunch before returning back to the hotel to get ready to go to the Blue Lagoon. As usual by now, I had to wait outside the supermarket whilst my PAs went in to get food which isn’t fun if it is raining but luckily it wasn’t!

After we had some lunch, our taxi driver awaited us to take us down the only motorway in Iceland (I have a weird obsession with motorway?) and into the mountainous area where the spa was situated. The views were stunning…

And we saw how the energy generated was being transferred to Reykjavik which was fascinating…

We we soon arrived at the Blue Lagoon where our taxi driver told us to return in 90 minutes otherwise he would charge us an extra 30000 krona which is about £150 and I wasn’t going to pay that!! However we soon discovered that there was a massive queue to get there but one of the benefits of being disabled is that we skipped the queue with the help of a guy who was serving coffee to people waiting in line. The bue lagoon has a massive accessible changing room in which we got ready to go outside in the freezing cold into the spa. The staff were very helpful came up with an ingenious idea to put a rubber ring around me which, with the support of one of my pa’s helped me stay afloat. However, it is worth noting that they have a hoist in the indoor area to help the disabled people to enjoy the spa in comfort but we decided to stay outside to get maximum benefit. We decided to stay in for around half an hour to avoid paying the taxi driver the extra fee but we could have stayed in for much longer!

Overall, the blue lagoon is a really good place for disabled people and, as I said the staff are really helpful.

We returned to the hotel after driving back down the motorway and this is the second time I am writing this blog as it seems not to like me and the wifi keeps cutting out, a great combination! After posting this we are going to hunt food again hopefully not having takeaway 3 nights in a row.

Tomorrow there’s another early start back to the airport to catch our flight back to Bristol, let’s see if super bunny gets tied up in Nordic rope again…

See you tomorrow

Day 2 in Reykjavik – Rain and snow and a bit of sun!

So we decided to have a Chinese take away last night, actually that’s a lie because it was the closest take away to the hotel and we were starving! It’s worth mentioning that as I type, bits of grit or something are just randomly falling off of super bunny but I will explain that later!

After a good night sleep I was woken up by housekeeping like America at 8 o’clock, for some reason there are no do not disturb signs which is rather intriguing. Anyway we went down and had breakfast and, like I said yesterday, the plan was to go whale watching in the afternoon and the northern lights tonight but this is me nothing ever goes to plan! As you might have seen on Twitter it has been raining and blizzarding so subsequently the whale watching boat tour was cancelled so we had to come up with a new strategy for the day.

We devised a walking route around Reykjavik that included the rest of the buildings on my to do list. I haven’t talked about accessibility in and around the city yet but as Iceland is renown for its snow and ice I was expecting it to on the pavements and wasn’t wrong! The pavements in the centre are fine as they are gritted but as soon as you go down the side streets there are massive lumps of ice for your delight.

Anyway, back tour our strategic walk, at this point it was now blue sky and sunshine so we enjoyed a walk through the park and super bunny got to play in the snow….

To get to this building called the Valsvollur, we had to navigate through housing estates (my favourite thing) and across the only motorway in Iceland. After getting rather lost, trying to find a safe point to cross we began our assent up a massive hill which I think is some kind of energy plant. Super bunny had a had time getting up there due to the path being made up of black volcanic grit but it was worth it as the views from the top were awesome…

…oh and saw some weird statues…

We then then made our descent through the forest on a hill taking the most suitable path that we could find, however, when we reached the bottom the motorway was separating us from the city centre so it was time to go through some more housing estates. We returned to the hotel to pick up my camera that I accidentally left on last night. The one thing that I noticed whilst trying to find a restaurant for lunch is the amount of shops that have steps leading in to them meaning that if you are in an electric wheelchair, you are kind of screwed! It’s kind of weird though because everything else seems to be accessible.

We ended up at a fish bar where I tried some lovely traditional crab which was lush! Whilst we were waiting to hear if the northern lights trip was going ahead we decided to go along the sculpture trail on the sea front which was is pretty pants because there was just three sculptures, however super bunny got to chase some snow so that was fun!

We returned back to the hotel windswept from the Atlantic Ocean and discovered that the northern lights boat tour wasn’t on again and looking at the forcast it won’t be on tomorrow either…! The search for food then commenced, resulting in us having Dominos in the hotel which was much easier than it was in Cologne two years ago as we couldn’t find an accessible restaurant with anywhere to sit.

The hotel saga continues as someone went down this morning but the managers still said that there was no room available next to the only accessible room in the hotel, luckily the walkies talkies work between floors 🙂

Tomorrow we should actually do what we planned to do which is to go to the Blue Lagoon and there is a slim chance that we will go to see the northern lights.

See you tomorrow,

Nath 🙂

Nath