#travelfriday
#travelfriday Feb. 28, .2020 - What has Braille to do with the Oslo Opera House?
A few days ago the Viennese public transport was covered by the media for being sued for renovating metro stations inaccessibly.
So I thought about telling you about a "good practice" example I came across in Norway.
I was using the metro in Norway, in Oslo and was positively surprised when I exited the stop “Nationalteatret stasjon” (National Theater) and I had to take a picture of it.
Actually you find metro stations having location plans in Braille for visually impaired and blind people - I have never seen anything like it. I only know that in Vienna blind people were part of the planning and implementation of the routes for blind people - and even that was progressive. But these kind of location plans are next level.
Another Braille highlight in Oslo is the extraordinary opera house - it´s an accessible roof top/house with a front full of Braille patterns. I recommend visiting the Oslo opera house highly!
What support systems for visually impaired and blind folks do you know as "good practice" examples? Can you share with us what and where you find it?
#travelfriday 21.2.2020 - Travelling with Personal Assistance
It's #travelfriday again! That means, every friday Homeswap-On-Wheels will post informations on accessible travel, stories and anecdotes from our trips and recommendations.
It also means: we don´t just write #travelfriday blogs to share exciting travelling stories and practical insider information that is worth knowing with you, but also to share our very individual, private experiences with you. Totally real.
Today´s blog is about travelling with Personal Assistance. Some of you may travel with family members or friends, that assist them, some of you may not want or are not able to travel without Personal Assistance.
I always travel with Personal Assistance, wether I am travelling alone, as a couple or in a group.
A trip with a Personal Assistant needs quite some preparation, good mutual communication and boundaries.
The Assistant should generally be a person who is able to take care of themselves, their abilities and limits and also be able to communicate them.
Same applies to myself of course. Best is to talk about the process of the trip and possible eventualities in advance.
It has to be clear that a Personal Assistant is never a replacement for friends or partners - neither on vacation. Neither when there is more closeness while travelling. Neither when you share quite some nice moments together.
Experiencing more closeness with your Personal Assistant during a trip can this way of course become a challenge - roles might get blurry.
My rule of thumb on trips is: once a week we explicitly do something nice with/for the Personal Assistant and I invite them (e.g. having nice dinner somewhere). And once a week they have more free time for themselves. This way I show them my appreciation for their work and at the same time it relieves me as well to fulfill my roles as employer and be clear with my boundaries.
It also happened a few times, that I planned the end of employment relations directly in advance to travelling assistance. This way closeness during the trip was easier possible and the parting was easier.
Are you travelling with Personal Assistance?
What are your strategies in terms of boundaries and closeness while travelling?
Photo Credit: Chona Kasinger.
#travelfriday 07.02.2020 - eine Rampe auf die Terrasse mit Meerblick in Norwegen
It’s #travelfriday again! That means, every friday Homeswap-On-Wheels will post informations on accessible travel, stories and anecdotes from our trips and recommendations.
After January in Ireland, I will tell about Norway in February. The first thing is to find an accessible accommodation. Especially for wheelchair users it’s almost impossible to find a suitable accommodation when travelling. Apart from the fact that there are hardly any accessible options in the middle or lower price segment, the information about accessibility is very often not detailed enough or even correct. How often are there nasty surprises on arrival at the holiday destination? Over the years I have learned to rearrange myself every time. I have learned to find creative solutions and for example never travel without strong adhesive tape.
This was also the case with my trip to Norway. However, the accommodation was actually accessible ~ except for one "small" detail: the terrace directly on the water was only reachable via a step. There was another terrace and it was accessible m. But it was on another side of the house and therefore without sea view.
The landlord apologized for this carelessness and rebuilt the terrace. Within three hours, one of the terraces had been partially converted into a ramp. I could then have breakfast for two weeks on a terrace covered with roses. Below me the sea bouncing against the posts, in front of me the sea glittering with rainbows, sunbeams and seagulls.
Thanks Kai from Sjøberg Ferie in Rennesøy!
What are your surprises when you arrive at your holiday destination?
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#travelfriday 31.01.2020 - Retourflug mit Aer Lingus
It's #travelfriday again! That means, every friday Homeswap-On-Wheels will post informations on accessible travel, stories and anecdotes from our trips and recommendations.
Last January's post is - one last time - about Ireland, but about the journey itself. Especially as a powerchair user it's always a lottery game to find out whether the wheelchair still works or is broken after the flight. Getting on and off the plane is also always a challenge.
We disabled people can tell you a thing or two about our experiences in terms of 'flying'. Over the years I noticed big differences in accessibility between airlines and countries.
Today I would like to share a particularly beautiful experience I had on the return flight from Ireland with Aer-Lingus. Still a bit wistful that this beautiful holiday is coming to an end, I sat in my seat and waited to be picked up after landing. I also knew that now nobody will ask me beforehand about where and how I would like to be touched when I was transferred to the onboard wheelchair. (In my experience, this has only been done by service personnel in Ireland and Scandinavia.)
A stewardess tore me out of my thoughts when she sat down and started talking to me. We chatted for a while and at some point I said "You're lucky, you can go back to Ireland." She smiled and said enthusiastically that we should just switch. I would do her job and she would stay in Vienna. We sealed the deal with a handshake and we both laughed.
For me, this meeting was an enchanting conclusion to a wonderful journey, where I always felt welcome and appreciated. Thank you Ireland!
What are your flying experiences?!
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#travelfriday 17.01.2020
It’s #travelfriday again! That means, every friday Homeswap-On-Wheels will post informations on accessible travel, stories and anecdotes from our trips and recommendations.
You may remember our last blog about Ireland. We will be talking about travel experiences in Ireland all January.
This time it's about accessibility. I was in a small town on the west coast and I really wanted to be close to the water. When I went to the tourist office to find out where I could possibly go to the sea with my power-chair, I got incredulous looks. First I thought it was because of my English. But that was not the problem. It was only the question itself that caused confusion. The woman almost had pity on me, because I even get the idea to ask something like that. She proudly told me that I could get to any beach, directly to the sea. That's exactly what happened.
This attitude prevailed throughout my entire trip to Ireland. Not everything was always perfectly accessible, but there was always a possibility.
It's not just the money that makes it accessible. It is much more about the will not to exclude people. And nowhere else did I feel this will, this feeling of welcome, as strongly as in Ireland!
On which trips did you feel particularly welcome?!
To make more good travel-memories register on Homeswap-On-Wheels and swap your home: https://www.homeswap-on-wheels.com/en/user/register
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