Auschwitz is located around a 45 minute drive from Katowice. Prior to visiting Europe, one researched the accessibility of the place and concluded that it would not be suitable for an electric wheelchair hence the manual wheelchair it was. For a conventional taxi to take us to Auschwitz at 10.45am and return at 18:30pm, it cost one 410 zlotys (which is around £69).
One arrived at Auschwitz to be greeted by a long queue line for tickets for the guided tour. It was interesting to observe the amount of wheelchair users considering the poor accessibility of the place. Disabled individuals can enter for a discounted price.
There are two sites within Auchswitz, Auchswitz 1 and Auchswitz 2. We began the tour at the former. Although the paths running through the site are a little rocky, one believes that it would be possible to explore the outside portion in an electric wheelchair…
The issues arise when the tour enters the blocks. Due to the historical status of the site, steps lead into the various buildings…
Granted, this obstacle could be overcome using a large portable ramp. However, once one enters said blocks, only the ground floor is accessible. Despite this, it’s possible for wheelchair users to wait at the bottom and listen through the head set. One must say that it is very eerie once you are left alone…
Next, one was transferred to the Auchswitz 2 site via a shuttle bus which has folding ramp as you would find on any modern European bus..
Auchswitz 2 is slightly larger than the former and the main path running alongside the famous train track is a little smoother for wheelchair users…
At certain points during the tour, it is necessary to cross the railway tracks. One did note a semi-accessible point to do so. A large portion of the memorial located at the end of the track is wheelchair accessible, however, there are steps to reach the top…
Of course, if one strays away from the main path to, for example, visit the individual huts, its back to rocky surfaces…
Tomorrow is a day of R+R at the Novotel in Katowice (involving the jacuzzi) in preparation for our 14 hour trek back to Heathrow via Warsaw.