Neither here nor there

This blog post is well overdue. I must admit I am a very lazy blogger. Partly because September was crazy busy with work and deadlines (involving quite a few all-nighters which left me absolutely shattered), and partly because - believe it or not - our latest trip went quite smoothly as far as accessibility is concerned. I was not addressed by weirdos / random admirers, there were no broken lifts and all the hotel rooms we stayed in were reasonably comfortable. When you are so used to thinking about everything that could go wrong, it is almost unbelievable when things go smoothly.

My SB loves German-speaking countries. Since I cannot speak German (yet), I was more inclined to travel to a country where I could communicate with the locals. After some brain-picking we finally found the perfect location: Alsace, a French region just across the German border. The right mix of German cleanliness and French cuisine. A place which is neither here nor there (sorry Bryson, for borrowing the title). We decided to go for the fly and drive option once again, since we knew it works and it is possibly the easiest way to travel if you are in a wheelchair (unless, of course, you are the owner of a private jet). Starting in Stuttgart, where we rented a car, we travelled to Freiburg, Colmar and Strasbourg to then close the circle in Stuttgart where we had a lovely wee reunion with a very good friend from university who now lives in Germany. Since we did not want to overdo it, we decided to stayed in each of these places for two nights, so we could take it easy and relax a little without having to rush on. However, while we were at it, we decided to stop in some more towns and picturesque villages along the way, including Mulhouse and Riquewihr.

As I said before, things went really smoothly this time. (Un)fortunately I don't have much to rant about except for cobbled streets and the occasional inaccessible toilet. Since I can finally be economical with words, I have decided to use photos to show you the highlights of our trip Are you ready?

Alsatian houses - they are scattered all around and kind of all look the same.

Snails in Munster. They look yummier than they actually were.

The largest cloche à fromage in the world. Great!

The picture above was taken in Strasbourg where my boyfriend and I treated ourselves to a cheese tasting session. It was definitely worth it! The toilets even had sound effects (mooing cows). Funnily enough, when we ordered coffee at the end of the meal we were told we couldn't have any milk because they didn't have any in the restaurant! 

A wheelchair-accessible post at the Mercedes museum in Stuttgart

Perfectly accessible tramways in Strasbourg

Accessible trail to the Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle. The castle itself is actually NOT accessible.

Disabled lane?

If you take my place, take my disability, too. 

And these two! 2.5 years after our first picture we still have the same smile!