Poland under the microscope: Tri-City

Poland, Tri-City, Gdańsk, Sopot, Gdynia, electric wheelchair, accessible travel, accessible traveling

If we put Poland under the microscope, we would certainly see a diverse country filled with interesting places and Tri-City is one of them. Tri-City – in other words, a group of closely-tied cities – is composed of Gdańsk, Gdynia, and Sopot. These are cities located in the northern Poland, just by the Bay of Gdańsk and throughout the years I’ve been a frequent visitor there. Sometimes I visit because due to business matters, sometimes because of my personal desires. Either way, I’ve become familiar with Tri-City and I keep coming back for years. High prices and crowded streets should be enough to keep me away, but there’s something charming about the place that I can’t ignore.  Considering a visit? Great! Below I’ll be talking more about places to visit, things to do and general accessibility of Tri-City!

 

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Adventure of a lifetime: South Africa – Part II

South Africa, RSA, travel in a wheelchair, accessible traveling, safari

Adventure of a lifetime and South Africa go together very well, just like peas and carrots, or me and my Blumil elctric wheelchair :). The story of my South African escapade told in part I   has barely covered half of what I would like to tell you about this wonderful country. Cape Town, as breathtaking and fascinating as it is, is just a part of the beautiful mosaic of RSA. Garden Route, filled with many wonders in just under 300 thousand kilometers, is the focus of part II. You must know that my trip was divided into two parts: one week of intense road exploration and one week of relaxing in Cape Town. This post’s covering the road trip, and what a road trip it was!  Below you can find out all about South Africa’s must-dos, must-sees, and accessibility!

 

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Adventure of a lifetime – South Africa: Part I

Adventure of a lifetime- South Africa, accessible travelling, travel with a wheelchair

Adventure of a lifetime – that’s how I would call my trip to South Africa. I hope to experience many more beautiful moments and explore various new places thanks to my Blumil electric wheelchair, but I know wherever I go, South Africa will remain engraved in my heart. I always talk about my love for Barcelona, and I  call it my favourite place, but there’s a simple reason behind: South Africa’s just too far away to become my go-to travel destination. Still, if I were to choose my favourite place on the Earth, South Africa would be on the top of the list. It’s the most diverse country I’ve seen: I found everything I was looking for there. I spend two weeks there and these were, hands down, one of the best weeks of my life. RSA has so much to offer that two weeks seemed like two days – diversity and abundance of life around us was astonishing. Since I have so much to tell, it’s the first part of my South Africa story – one post wouldn’t be enough to describe all wonders I saw there. What to do, what to see and how accessible South Africa really is – all about it below!

 

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In a touristic paradise – Thailand (on a manual and electric wheelchair)

Thailand, Thailand, Thailand… every time I see the rating of travel destinations, Thailand’s somewhere in top 10. Overrated? Underrated? That was a question I asked myself back in 2010 when I decided to visit it. What did I find? A touristic paradise – and I mean what I say. Stunning landscapes, lively metropolises, sandy beaches? Thailand has it all! From the moment I set my eyes on the diverse mosaic of Thai world, I knew I would fall in love with the place.  Friendly people cropped up in every corner, and the word “accessible” was more than an empty promise, so manual and electric wheelchair users can enjoy it as much as I did.  What are the flavors of Thailand? What can you discover there and what does accessibility mean in the Thai hotel industry dictionary? More about it below!

 

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Living the resort life in Tunisia

Accessible travelling, Tunisia, resorts

Living the resort life in Tunisia is full of the sunshine, long beach days and cocktails by the pool. There’s no flavor of the adventure and no trace of the emancipation for something exciting to come. There’s something entirely different on the menu: relax. Nobody’s rushing, nobody’s drinking their tea in haste: all that matters is here and now. Sounds pretty amazing, right? I’ve never been a big fan of the resort life, but I’ve always been in love with the sunshine, so I decided to chase the sun in Tunisia. It was October of 2005 and resort holidays in Tunisia were rather cheap, since the vacation season ended – the timing seemed to work in my favor.  What did I do in Tunisia? How accessible it actually was? More about it below!

 

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Where to eat in Warsaw? Top 9 places to visit

Mirror, mirror on the wall – what’s the best place of them all? Where to eat in Warsaw? Poland’s capital city might not be the largest European metropolis, but it’s vibrant and abundant in restaurants and cafés, and quite a lot are accessible. Anywhere you go, there’s a food heaven waiting for you. Since I’ve been living in Warsaw for years, I’ve eaten in many places. Cooking is definitely one of the things I truly enjoy, but from time to time it’s good to change something. As they say: variety’s a spice of life. There are lots of wonderful dining places in Warsaw, but the degree of their accessibility varies. Since I have Blumil, my all-terrain wheelchair, accessing less accessible places is not a problem, but I decided not to mention them here. Accessibility’s never out of style. Below you can read about my top 8 places to visit if you want to eat out in Warsaw!

 

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Tourism without barriers

Tourism without barriers is not just an idea we hold on to until the better tomorrow comes.  It’s more than a dream flickering in front of our eyes when we let our minds wander. It’s the vision we can bring into life if we work together. One voice may be only a whisper in the crowd, but the crowd of whisperers will be heard, and perhaps listened to.  Watching beautiful Polish mountains and cities full of history, I was filled with a sense of regret. Why? Most of these lovely places are impossible to access on a regular wheelchair. Even electric wheelchairs cannot be transported easily, due to their significant weight. Since I have become a proud owner of my Blumil, I have been able to experience freedom when I travel, but not everybody’s that lucky.

 

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Under the Italian sky: Part II

Under the Italian sky, the history’s coming back to life in thousands of colors. Every road is filled with memories of the Roman Empire and as you drive further into the country you can almost feel the Roman infantry marching behind you. It’s a wonderful experience, but Italy has got much more to offer. Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the past and forget the gifts of the present and that’s why I decided not only to taste a little bit of history but also explore the Italian motorization and nature. If  I was to make a list of things I absolutely love motorization would make it to my list, and it would probably be in the top 5.   Since Italy’s famous for Lamborghini and Ferrari, I knew I would visit their factories. After all, Italy and cars go together exceptionally well, but me and cars… even better! That’s precisely what you can accept from this post – it’s going to be all about cars and nature. My inner architecture lover had its time in the first part of the post, but now my need for speed’s taking over! Discover another face of Italy and get surprised  – accessibility, to-dos, and travel tips are all waiting for you below!

 

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Under the Italian sky: Part I

Under the Italian sky, everything feels fresh and evergreen. The colours come in different shades, but they blend into a spring-like mix of vibrating life and laidback vibes. Rushing under the Italian sky is against the rules; you have to stop by, even if just for a second and appreciate everything that’s around you. Trust me: been there, done that. My trip to Italy started in a lovely Bergamo, where my plane landed. The city’s a stone’s throw away from Milan, so it makes quite a great stop, especially considering it’s popular among low-fare airlines. Wallet-friendly travelling’s always in style, especially in Italy. My main objective – as always – was to explore as much as I could, but there was a specific theme: landmarks. The land of pasta, The Roman Empire and Ferraris has a lot to offer, but I wanted to check the hype behind the most famous, the most loved, the most photographed Italian touristic attractions. Leaving Bergamo, I headed straight to Milan, stopped at Pisa and Florence and that was just the beginning. What did I do and where did I head? How wheelchair friendly Italy actually was?  All answers are waiting for you below!

 

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Relaxing spa – weekend in the countryside

Blumil rides in the countryside

Once upon a time, my countryside trips would be limited to exploring whatever was a stone’s throw away from the hotel. Going off the beaten track was impossible: both my old manual and electric wheelchair wasn’t cut out for country adventures. While my friends were off to enjoy the nature, I would be looking at everything through a window.  Luckily, everything changed once I got my Blumil electric wheelchair. You see, unlike regular wheelchairs, Blumil’s very light and it’s easy to navigate it – even when the terrain’s  challenging. That’s what freedom feels like – I can go anywhere and do about anything. Most of the times my friends are the ones who need to catch up with me –  my Blumil’s faster than you would think. Doesn’t it sound perfect for countryside trips?  I thought it did so I packed my bags and headed to “Herbarium”. What’s that?  It’s a hotel and spa centre located in Chomiąża Szlachecka, Poland. Not too close, yet not too far away from Warsaw where I love, it made a perfect weekend getaway destination.

Let’s put it under the microscope!

 

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