Written by Eleanor, MA in Education, Health Promotion and International Development
It’s hard to think it is August! With my dissertation and shielding since March, not to mention the rather variable weather, it is starting to not feel like summer at all (apart from this very very hot, sunny, humid week!).
Like so many of you, a lot of my summer has been spent doing my dissertation and also dreaming up adventures to go on once the world is a little safer for those with underlying conditions like myself. As part of that dreaming, I set up a travel Instagram aimed at disabled and chronically ill travellers (@wheelietravels). I have been really enjoying having this avenue to not only relive some of my travel memories, but to share my experience of travelling in a wheelchair and with health requirements - with tips for others that often get left out the guide books! How many of you know where you can have rest breaks in Budapest? Or whether The Acropolis in Athens is actually wheelchair accessible?
My top tips for a rather unusual summer:
1) Be proud of yourself for surviving, however that is. My Mum and I have started having daily afternoon teas and I am loving it – whatever the consumption of cake! Though for gluten free, high protein and refined sugar free cake recipes, hit us up!
2) Remember this experience is different for everyone. For every person out and about in the pubs, there is someone who is scared and nervous heading out the house. For every fresher struggling with moving back home, there is a tutor trying to juggle their job, homeschooling and an elderly parent. Be kind!
3) Try to have something you want to achieve outside of your uni work. You might not being able to get out and about as much as you want to, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun, or set your mind to something. Set up a tiktok, write poetry, learn to cook, run that quiz night, read that book, do couch to 5K – whatever it is, give it a try.
4) Be cool and follow the health advice – wear a mask, wash your hands, social distance, get tested and look after those who are at a higher risk!
The answers to those travel questions? There is a very reasonably priced AirBnb right next to the St Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest – perfect for rest breaks and stopping off at Gelarto Rosa! And there is a rickety lift right up the side of the Acropolis – not great for my vertigo, but it got me and my wheelchair up there safely! Check out @wheelietravels for more – with 24 hours in Prague coming up this week!
