Si’s Next Adventure: Handicapped Travel in Berlin
Posted April 29th, 2010 in access guides, Accessible Travel, airlines, general news, personal and Wheelchair Accessible Attractions
The Reichstag building in Berlin
Photo by: Matthias Choules (Stock Exchange)
Hello, everyone! Today is the first post in a series I’ll be doing with an eye toward my own upcoming trip, where I’ll be visiting London, Berlin, Stockholm, Krakow, and Dublin. Now, we’ve already covered London and Dublin in previous posts, of course (and they’re known to be two of my favorite destinations) but in the upcoming posts we’ll be looking at access guides and handicapped travel resources for the rest. Then, once I’m actually on my way, a second series of posts will highlight some of my journey. We begin in Berlin, a melting pot containing residents from over 200 nations.
Of course, air travel isn’t all it should be throughout Europe right now. Thanks to ongoing eruptions of an Icelandic volcano, dangerous ash has spread across the airspace in many countries, grounding plenty of flights! Hopefully, this will be resolved soon and Berlin’s three major airports will be back to work. Schofield, Tegel, and Templehof Airports are all located in the Berlin area, and have a joint accessible travel page. If you’re starting off from London, as I will be, you can avoid some air travel with how to travel by train from London to Europe.
Luckily for us, Berlin is one of the centers of the handicapped traveler movement in Europe. Come to Germany’s accessibility page is a valuable hub on accessible attractions, restaurants, accommodations, and more; but it’s hardly the only great resource around. Also swing by Sage Traveling’s Berlin Page for a recommended itinerary for disabled travelers and information on travel agents and tour operators, among others. Just about any topic you can think of is covered within several separate topic pages.
For a variety of tips on transportation and other topics, including facts for deaf and blind travelers, drop by Visit Berlin, which provides a lot of context on the city’s many integration and barrier-free design efforts. AngloInfo’s coverage of Berlin includes more on disabled transportation. Luckily, there seems to be a lot of good public transit, and the overview on AI is thorough enough to help with planning from the comfort of home.
As for hotels, there are plenty to choose from. Sage Traveling also offers a page on accessible hotels. Disability World has a description of a Berlin hotel run by disabled people, and Accessible Accommodations has more info on places to stay. Many upscale hotels, and even some hostels, throughout Berlin have accessible features: for a budget-conscious hostel option with an accessible room, try Baxpax, which offers three locations in the city. And don’t forget the new accessibility search functionality at Hotels.com!
Though no longer updated, Berlin Eating, a section of Gablinger Berlin Tours, discusses many dining spots and includes information on accessibility. Try “The Wheels Come Off” from the U.K.’s Guardian newspaper for a perspective from disabled rights’ lawyer John Horan, who went on a quest to see how well wheelchair travelers can really get around in this historic city. The answer? Mixed results, but several useful links!
Finally, a few of our favorite tour operators have service to Berlin. Visit World on Wheelz and Accessible Journeys, both of which have organized outstanding trips throughout Germany in the past and can always help to meet your special needs. I’ll be “going it alone” this trip, but these two companies come with high recommendations.
In our next post we’ll be moving on to the next leg of my trip: Stockholm. This is one place I’ve wanted to visit for many years, and I’m very excited! Stay tuned for access guides across Europe, and some insights and pics from me once my odyssey begins! Cheers, and adventure on!
Si
