The Neris River runs through the heart of the city and then meanders through the various parks/forests leading out into the suburbs. Like many rivers, a level cycle path runs beside it (providing that you know how to enter onto said path). Despite having roads either side, it was rather peaceful as we walked/rolled along it, a nice change from the noise of the city! The thought of food directed off the path and into a rather run down suburb, however, the highlight of this area was most definitely UNO Park, if you know of Go Ape in the UK, it’s exactly that but mostly free (albeit not accessible at all!)…
As one approached the restaurant that Google Maps directed us to, the realisation dawned upon us that this may just be a conventional supermarket! Fear not though as another restaurant was bolted onto the side providing the best service thus far (the usual wait for food in Vilnius seems to be between 45 – 60 minutes), it’s the unusual places that are the best!
Tomorrow afternoon, we head down to Vilnius railway station (which YouTube has kindly shown has minimal facilities) to catch the train to Minsk in Belarus. Now, according to YouTube, the train is fitted with lifts, whether it works is another story…
Today one headed to the Vilnius TV Tower. Now, an able bodied individual would have two walking options to reach this landmark, the easiest being through the lush green forests (Vingio Parkas) that seems to be of plenty in the city, the other one being to follow various dual carriageways. You can immediately guess which option one had to take…don’t be stupid, of course the forest walk isn’t going to be accessible! It is with this that we set off on our quest coincidentally straight through the financial district…
Like many European cities, as soon as you step out of the city centre, the pavements aren’t exactly smooth? It’s not all doom and gloom though in Vilnius, rather than having steep ramps to access underpasses, many have elevators down from street level akin to a metro station…
One of the reasons why a visit the TV Tower (bar it having an observation deck/restaurant) was important was due to its tragic role that it played in the opposition to the Soviet military seizure in 1991 where many were injured for which there is a museum in commemoration.
Disabled individuals can enter for a discounted price of 9 euros. However, it is worth noting that to enter said structure, its necessary to seek signs that show a wheelchair and a Lithuanian phone number. One presumed that you could phone that number if you required assistance, however, we chugged on our own. The reason for the phone number became apparent when the signs began directing us towards a flight of steps. Once inside, one was approached by a member of staff (who talked little English) basically telling us that there is in fact an accessible entrance around the back but fenced off (hence the phone number being displayed) which we got to experience when exiting the building.
The plan was also to visit the restaurant strangely named the ‘Milky Way’ which, unbeknown to one consists of a rotating dining area providing a 360 degree view of Vilnius as you eat (very cheap too!)…
One decided that the bus would be the best option to get back to the hotel afterwards. The majority of buses in Vilnius are low floor with a conventional pull out ramp (as 95% of the bus stops don’t have ‘humps’).
Tomorrow is the last full day in Vilnius before one catches the train down to Minsk on Sunday afternoon. On our short walk on Wednesday evening, we discovered that a footpath runs for miles along the River Neris out of the city (which isn’t too far anyway) so the plan is to roll along said path and see where we end up.
The weather forecast wasn’t wrong, today the city was not only much cooler than yesterday (when it was around 32C) but was also being drenched by torrential downpours. For us, this meant running for cover from time to time in the most unusual of places…
Anyway apart from sheltering from downpours, the aim for today was to explore The Gediminas Castle Tower followed by a wander around the Old Town. Now, The Gediminas Castle Tower is perched on top of a rather steep hill, however, luckily for us, a funicular railway has been erected providing a hassle free passage.
One was rather intrigued to see its accessibility given the one in Prague which is completely inaccessible to even a manual wheelchair, however, was pleasantly surprised to discover that this one is fully equipped and free for wheelchair users! The best way to describe the railway car is that to an elevator. Essentially, the car comes flush to the door (enabling level boarding) and then a large space presents itself and some majestic views can be seen when riding…
It is a completely different story once at the top, large cobble stones (as you would expect from a Castle Tower) makes it impossible for even a manual wheelchair to roll about, at least one receives a free panoramic view of Vilnius!
Rolling around Vilnius, one is constantly reminded of its past but also how it has rebuilt itself since the dissolution of the Soviet Union…
Vilnius Old Town reminded one a little of Tallinn in Estonia in terms of its cobbled streets and buildings. Like Tallinn, the majority of shops and restaurants have multiple steps, even McDonald’s (one was searching for a level entry disabled toilet at this point) hence an electric wheelchair may take quite a while to navigate this area!
The traditional food here is rather interesting also…honey and fruit atop of a crispy dough base!
Another interesting event that one stumbled across n the way back to the hotel was a Lithuanian university graduation ceremony. If only mine was introduced by an instrumental orchestra playing Bruno Mars!
The weather forecast for tomorrow looks slightly better than today as we enlist the assistance of Google Maps to direct us towards the TV Tower, a scene of tragedy in January 1991.
At the time of writing (2019), London City Airport is undergoing a major refurbishment, the centrepiece being a new terminal. The probable reason for this became clear as you enter the existing terminal, it’s just too small for todays demands! Despite this, the staff are probably one of the friendly that oneself has come across either that or a shift change had occurred meaning that everyone was happy and jolly (even security were smiling!). The only downside of the existing terminal is the lack of disabled toilets, there is only one in the main concourse!
Anyway, due to the size of the airport, jet bridges were replaced by conventional stairs up to the aircraft and the usual scissor lifts were nowhere to be seen. This meant not only were we escorted down on to the airfield but a chair was needed for one to navigate the stairs element, quite a fun experience!
The flight of just 2 hours and 10 minutes (albeit we were delayed somewhat leaving LCY) soon touched down in Vilnius Airport, one of the places that I have been looking forward too. Almost immediately, you could see a stark contrast to the airports in the UK; bar the obvious Soviet styled buildings, the airport is also used for light aircraft and flying schools for which people were simply standing around chatting like it was this small airport in addition to staff relaxing on grass a few hundred metres away, clearly the definition of health and safety differs here!
One enlisted the assistance of the ‘Maltieciai’ service (the only publicly known wheelchair accessible taxi service in Vilnius) to transport us to our Ibis hotel in the centre of the city. Two very friendly guys met us outside the airport and escorted to a minivan kitted out with the usual ramp and wheelchair restraints. Now, an accessible taxi from the airport usually costs between 50 – 100 euros, this service costs 9 euro (the charity is of course funded elsewhere)!
What to say about the hotel then? Well, it’s just your standard Ibis really, the ‘special’ room is a little small but at least it has a shower with a seat!
The plan for tomorrow is to head down to the Old Town via the Gediminas Castle Tower which stands proud over Vilnius.
Today was ones last full day in Bratislava and indeed for this trip. As mentioned yesterday, the sole aim of today was to explore the UFO Tower which stands proud over a dual carriageway.
N.B. I thought I would mention that a car has just drove straight down the tramway outside the hotel window…whoopsie!
After a short walk across the River Danube, we reached the base of this majestic structure which, at the time of writing, consisted of a wooden shell with a porta cabin alongside. What was more concerning was the fact that a big step was present to enter, however, we later discovered that a wooden ramp had been constructed around the side. The temporary walkway to the elevator from said porta cabin can only be described as an entrance to a rather strange rollercoaster; walls and ceiling painted entirely black with a rather concerning whirring noise emanating from the end (the elevator!).
Once inside the ‘UFO’, you are presented with stunning panoramic views of the city including the famous Castle. If you are lucky enough to experience the restaurant also, don’t expect large servings of food, it’s one of those posh places where you are required to sample the tiniest portion and then pay a bomb for it…
There seemed to be an upstairs section, however, one isn’t quite sure if it’s accessible as we didn’t venture that far.
Tomorrow, we head over the Austrian border to fly back to the UK from Vienna. For the next adventure, one will be exploring Vilnius in Lithuania followed by Minsk in Belarus. However, before that, simply appreciate the view from ones hotel room…
The capital of Slovakia, Bratislava is a city not necessarily on the conventional tourists bucket list, especially if you are a wheelchair user but you may be surprised by this place! If one thinks of a quaint city that is a cross between Czech and Austrian styled architecture, that’s Bratislava.
Today we ventured into its historical centre, the majority of streets have been revamped from conventional cobbles (unlike Prague) to a very smooth surface whilst maintaining it’s authentic appearance thus making for a smooth roll…
As one only has 2 days here before heading back to the UK, we enlisted the help of a very handy city map marking out the location of the major sights such as St Michael’s Gate and the Man At Work statue…
The city centre itself is quite walkable meaning that one can see the majority of the sights in a matter of hours (it took us around 3 and a half hours including a half hour stop!).
For the next few days, one is staying in the Ibis Hotel. Situated on the slopes of Bratislava Castle, it is pretty much what an Ibis stands for. The only downside is that the accessible rooms contain a bath rather than a shower.
The plan for tomorrow was to trek up to Bratislava Castle, however with Superbunny out of action and the slope up being near vertical, think we will give that a miss! Instead, a well needed chill morning is the plan with a meal up the UFO Tower (essentially a UFO atop of a road bridge) to round off the trip!
The aim of today was to visit the Žižkov Television Tower (or the ‘crawling babies’ tower, the reasoning I will explain shortly). The journey from the hotel was a little hair raising to say the least as construction work around the Florenc area meaning risking life and death attempting to cross 3 or 4 lanes of traffic which is no mean feat especially with Superbunny. Anyway, a few more roads and steep hills later, we reached our destination.
The Žižkov Television Tower was constructed in 1992 towards the end of the Soviet era and was subsequently dubbed the worlds second ugliest building (although one has seen much worse in my opinion). In an effort to boost it’s appearance, a Czech artist was commissioned in 2000 to design fiberglass ‘babies’ which would ‘crawl’ up the tower giving rise to its nickname…
The entrance to said tower is actually sunken down below street level with steps surroundings its perimeter. How do you access the lower level you may ask? The answer to that is practically pretending that you are a car by going through the underground car park…
Disabled individuals and companions can enter the Žižkov Television Tower for a discounted rate of 100 CZK. For the best views, one would recommend visiting the restaurant albeit a little overpriced…
Tomorrow, one heads down to the capital of Slovakia, Bratislava. Unfortunately, Superbunny had a little accident today rendering it undrivable meaning that one has had to fork out for a wheelchair accessible taxi to take us over the border. Thank god that we are in Europe!
As I mentioned yesterday, the primary aim was to visit the Petrin Tower using the Prague Metro system. Luckily for us, Florenc station (which is fully accessible) is a mere 5 minute walk from the hotel! Now, Florenc is an interchange station for both Line B (the one we wanted) and C and if you have used such transportation systems before, you will know that there is usually one lift for the overall station, not here! At interchange stations in Prague, you have different lifts for different lines, even have street signs directing you to the different lifts via an accessible route, why can’t we have a similar system in London, it’s simple yet effective. This continues all the way down onto the platform meaning that all you really need to know is the colour or letter of the line you want, if the stations are accessible and the destination. Prior to any trips that involve catching public transportation, one YouTubes the actual transport whether that be a bus, metro and tram to see how accessible it is to get on and the size of the gap between said vehicle and the pavement or platform! As usual, Prague uses different rolling stock dependent upon the line, each with varying gaps between the train and the platform edge. In the case of Line B, Russian metro rolling stock are still in service after all these years (the country was previously within the Soviet Union) albeit a little updated with regards to technology and as such the gap is quite substantial meaning that Superbunny had to do some wheelies to get onboard (if you have a wheelchair that can’t do wheelies, you have no hope unfortunately).
An able bodied individual wanting to visit the Petrin Tower can simply hop onto the metro, get off and straight onto the Funicular Railway essentially taking you to the tower entrance, simple right? If only it was with muggins and Superbunny! Despite the popularity of the Petrin, neither the Funicular or the closest metro is accessible (even with a manual wheelchair, one did have a quick gander!). Now, the Petrin Tower is on top of a decent sized hill (Kinsky Garden) which overlooks the city hence it was necessary to trek up the side of this thing, however, the views were majestic (better than the tower in ones opinion!)…
An hours trek later, we finally reached the summit where the Petrin Tower stood in all it’s glory…
On first glance at this majestic structure, you would assume a large lift going up its core but no! Upon entering the base, we were informed that Superbunny was too wide for the lift hence the staff bought out a very dusty manual wheelchair for one to transfer into and the reason for this became evidently clear once the lift was presented! Words can’t describe how small this thing was, even a normal sized manual wheelchair had to be bumped and scraped to fill in! We were then informed that this box lift could only go to the second base hence these views had to suffice…
After the prospect dawned that one could potentially get stuck in a lift the size of a box for eternity, we set upon finding an accessible restaurant which we know by now doesn’t tie well with Europe. Luckily, we discovered, what can only be described as Soviet styled apartment blocks with a restaurant benefits. Who knows what it was previously used for as the toilet doors appeared to be akin to chunky jail doors!
The plan for tomorrow is to visit the Žižkovská Tower tomorrow afternoon before stocking up in preparation for the 4 hour train journey to Bratislava on Friday. It is hoped that this tower will have a decent lift!
For those who follow ones blog, you will know that a trip to Prague was booked in 2017 only to have the flight cancelled! Anyway, after a short flight, one touched down at Václav Havel Airport in Prague where the wheelchair accessible taxi that I booked prior awaited us and was a suitable size meaning our experience thus far seems to be plain sailing.
Over the next few days, one is staying at The Grandior Hotel, which, I must say, is ideal when it comes to accessible rooms, plenty of room to manoeuvre plus a rather large bathroom/wet room complete with a shower seat!
Today was all about exploring the heart of Prague and a little route was formed taking in the famous sights such as the Prague Astronomical Clock and Old Town Square. Granted that the area is a little cobbly but it is still manageable for wheelchair users…
The next stop was The Charles Bridge. Akin to The Old Square, the area is a little cobbly in keeping with its historical status but still manageable…
Now, during the numerous trips to Europe, one has come to realise that, particularly in older cities such as Bruges, indoor restaurants pose an obstacle to wheelchair users due to the building having steps. Luckily for us, a few minutes from the hotel, a shopping mall is located with every restaurant you can think of meaning our meal times are sorted for the next few days!
The plan for tomorrow is to attempt to navigate the Prague metro system with Superbunny, ultimately to visit the Petrin Tower.
Today was something of a ‘make it up as you go along’ type of day as the majority of the ship decided to coach it off down to Gdansk (which is 14.5 miles from the port) whereas one thought it best to stay in Gdynia where the ship is docked. From prior research on YouTube, Gdynia is just your average port city and that’s what it essentially is! It’s better sometimes to visit places that are not necessarily on the tourist trail, that’s how you can get a real feel for a country.
It must be said that if you are visiting Gdynia via ship, it is probably best to follow the road signs as the outskirts, let’s just say, could be better, nonetheless it’s all accessible! Now, when you think of a small port city, do you think of skyscrapers? Your answer is most likely no, however, come to Gdynia and you will see the Sea Towers towering over the city…
Why the barbed wire you may ask? When one saw the area, instant had flashbacks to the Quattro Towers in Madrid came to mind. The complex comprises of apartments, restaurants, Polish banks and a Marriott hotel and appears to have been plonked down in a best effort to rejuvenate what looked like a run down area. Now, this is OK providing that the buildings surrounding it do not have barbed wire protecting them, makes for good photography though!
Aside from the Sea Towers, the city also offers a harbour where a few vessels are permanently docked, a small beach and just your typical Polish city centre all of which you can probably see in 2/3 hours…
The primary reason that we returned to the ship early, however, is that as of 4pm, we won’t have any internet access until Saturday morning when we return to Southampton bringing our Baltic cruise to a finish!
