Breakfast in Berlin

My SB and I started travelling together when we finally started living in the same town, about a year and a half ago. Since then we have been unstoppable. In fact, we like travelling together so much that we make sure never to go on holiday without booking the next trip. This July we realised we didn't have any holidays planned. Nowhere to go in the summer. After a mild panic attack we decided to follow our gut feeling and visit Berlin. Before we knew it we had booked a (cheap, but very early) flight from Venice airport and a hotel in East Berlin. We were ready to go!

The night before leaving we packed a sweater each, thinking we might be cold at night "up north". As we landed in Berlin we realised we would never need them. It was so hot we could hardly breathe. We arrived so early we could have had breakfast in Berlin (or a bratwurst and a beer at the kiosk outside the airport), but we were too excited for breakfast. We decided to drop our bags in our hotel room and start exploring this wonderful city right away.

A Slippery Slope

Berlin is definitely a cyclist-friendly city. There are cycle lanes everywhere. As a result, the curbs are low and the pavements even. The only problem are cobblestones. While some cobblestone streets have a smoother lane in the middle, others can get very bumpy. The constant tremour is quite unpleasant and tiring (who would have ever thought that sitting could be so tiring, huh?). There's also another reason why I do not like cobblestones: the front wheels of my wheelchair are quite small and they often get stuck if the ground is too uneven, so I had to constantly look out for gaps and potholes and the process involved quite a lot of swearing. Some travellers in a wheelchair attach a larger front wheel to their wheelchair. This way the two small wheels do not touch the ground and you avoid getting stuck every couple of seconds. Personally I have never used the large wheel because I often get wheeled up the stairs. Although a third wheel is definitely helpful on smooth surfaces, it adds quite a bit of weight to the wheelchair. As a result, it is much more difficult to tilt or lift the wheelchair.

The Impatient Amplemann

I am sure you have all seen the cute little traffic light guy in Berlin. He looks quite relaxed and laid back, but actually he is always in a rush. Most traffic lights change from green to red so quickly that any walking person needs to speed up if they don't want to get run over, let alone someone on crutches or in a wheelchair. I have to say that we were very pleased, almost surprised, every time we managed to cross the road safely.

Trains and Buses

I was quite surprised to see that most S-bahn and U-bahn trains are accessible. All trains have a railway-car for bicycles, which is usually also the most accessible car for wheelchairs. Of course, before you get on a train you need to make sure that the station you are leaving from and the station you are going to both have lifts, if you do not want to risk getting stuck at the station (info on accessible stations is available on the internet or on S-bahn and U-bahn apps). New trains are almost at the same level as the platform, which makes it easy to get in and out of the train. In some cases, especially in older trains, the gap between the platform and the train is wider and a wheelchair user alone can hardly manage to get on and off the train safely. We encountered some problems on our way to Potsdam since the train was so much lower than the platform that we did not dare to get on it without help. Seeing as we had been waiting for that train for quite a while it we were clearly frustrated when we realised we would miss it. The next train was in half an hour - plenty of time to ask the staff for help. We were just told to wait. Once the train arrived we got to the railway-car for bicycles, the staff put a ramp on the platform and we got on the train without a problem. While I am usually very organised, when I am on holiday I like improvising so I usually don't mind asking random strangers for help. If you are not that kind of person make sure you plan things ahead and you'll get almost everywhere safely. Trains in Berlin do not have air-conditioning so be ready to sweat a lot in the summer. On a brighter note, almost every station has an accessible WC centre (I don't know exactly what that is, but it certainly sounds posh!).

An accessible S-bahn train

A lift takes to the toilet centre

Our Hotel Room

Here are some pictures of our hotel room in a Best Western Hotel in Spittal Markt, East Berlin. Perfectly accessible. It even had a handle to adjust the angle of the bathroom mirror, but unfortunately it did not work.

Aggiungi didascalia

The Hunger Games Salute

The first day we were in Berlin a random stranger walking past us gave me the three-finger salute. Personally, I have always associated this gesture with the Scout oath. After doing some research I found out it was a Hunger Games salute i.e. "a gesture of admiration and gratitude". I am still wondering why she felt the need to show admiration. Maybe because we were baldly walking in the streets despite the heat? Rule of thumb no.1: Wheelchair users are people too. Don't act weird around them.

The Speechless Lady

Although many underground stations have a lift and are therefore accessible and clearly marked on the city map, it sometimes happens that you get off at the wrong stop or that reaching the lift is not as easy as it looks. In these cases taking the stairs may be the easiest option. On our second day in Berlin, after climbing down a long flight of stairs, sweating like a pig with my hair glued to my forehead, I realised there was a lady standing at the bottom of the stairs looking at SB and me. She was obviously in distress. When I looked at her she asked me if I needed help. After I assured her I was fine, I just needed to wipe the sweat off my face to look slightly more normal, she sobbed and went:"Aw...You are both so...amazing! I really don't know what to say!" Rule of thumb no. 2: When in doubt, don't say anything. If you want to show support to someone in a wheelchair, here's one thing to remember: life is hard enough without your sobbing and pitiful looks. So smile and move on. We'll be ok.

The Clumsy Helper

On the third day of our trip we went to Potsdam. The Sansouci park is truly amazing. I really enjoyed all the flowers, lakes and hidden paths. Unfortunately, not all the trails are fully accessible. Some of them are paved with cobblestones, which means that it gets really bumpy, while others are covered in gravel, which means that your shoes get dirty even if you don't walk. Once again, stairs may turn out to be the quickest option to get from point A to point B. My SB is a really good driver and I trust him 100%, so I had no objections when he suggested we take the stairs at one point. As he tilted me backwards and was ready to roll me up the stairs, a worried-looking visitor came up to us and grabbed the lower part of my wheelchair without asking. He clearly wanted to help, but he was a bit too vehement and ended up pushing me backwards. My boyfriend lost his balance (and his cool!) and I was this close to hitting my head on the stony stairs. Rule of thumb no. 2: Before helping someone you think needs help ASK them if they actually need help. Then ask them WHAT THE BEST WAY to help them is and LISTEN closely to what they say. Helping people is a noble action indeed, but if you do what you think is right, you might be doing more harm than good!

My top five (wheelchair-friendly) experiences in Berlin:

1. The walks by the Spree river, where you can see a great mixture of old(-ish) and modern buildings. The atmosphere is extremely relaxed. People lie on the grass or in sunbeds, drink cocktails and strum on their guitars. You don't need a beach after all. Summer is a state of mind.

2. The Museum Insel will definitely surprise you for its impressive buildings. We did not manage to visit any museum this time, but even just walking around it's great.

3. Berlin's inner courtyards will take you to another world. There are so many of them and they come in so many different styles. Getting lost in them is a truly enjoyable experience! Also: the parks. Bumpy but absolutely perfect in this hot weather.

A much needed break in the Sans Souci park in Potsdam

4. The food. There are so many different restaurants to choose from in Berlin. In fact, I have never seen so many Vietnamese restaurants in one place. In four days we had Vietnamese food twice (and it was absolutely delicious!) and Turkish and Spanish food once. German food was not bad either and beer was cheaper than water (no kidding!).

Chicken salad and prawn crackers at a Vietnamese restaurant with a super refreshing mint tea.

Soup

Seaweed salad with salmon

Vietnamese chicken noodles

German-style tapas (i.e. mainly potato-based and not as good as they look)

5. The Food Department in the KaDeWe. The KaDeWe (Kaufhaus Des Westens) is a huge department store in West Berlin with lots and lots of famous brand shops and an amazing food department on the 6th floor where you can find anything: from cheese to meat, fish, wine, spirits, beer, chocolate. It goes without saying that it is very expensive, but even just looking at all the products is worth it. Make sure you go there after a big breakfast or lunch, otherwise you'll want to buy everything and end up spending way too much money!

I hope you've all had lunch by now :) Stay tuned for more travel posts in the next few months!