Strewth, public transport, what’s that? In theory I love it, but my reality is that the TGV or Eurostar are as near as I get while enjoying the experience. The metro is a wonderful thought and having seen SUBWAY I can imagine the Paris Metro as a hot bed of something or other, but the reality is there are stairs and a need to move quickly in crowds. Neither appeal to me, because I simply can’t do them.  And both are consequently, sometimes dangerous. Love English trains but not at peak hour and especially the classics like the great Northern Line and the trip London to a Edinburgh is marvellous.

Really it’s name your poison. Planes are awful, seats too narrow and my feet swell. Too mean to buy business so I travel economy, pay for a sensibly positioned seat so that I am on the aisle thus reducing the number of people who have to clamber over me, but basically I hate it lousy view, indifferent food, inconvenient stopovers and then you need to get into the city. Compromise is that on international I travel economy but leave a day or two early, and book a nice hotel, organise a massage and sleep like the dead. Cheaper than Business.

Trains: Love them, great view, lots of leg room, space to walk around, you can bring your own food and some even have disabled facilities.  train stations not so much. research and if in doubt arrange to be met AT THE TRAIN, not at the kerb outside the station.  In extremis I use the porters no matter how many times the web tells me they are ripping me off. the last station I was at, Sofia, is a work in progress and it will be great when it’s finished but at the moment there is a huge stair case and I paid to have my cases carried. Cheap at the price.  Plus I was directed away from the two cash machines which were not working, but the tourists couldn’t read the sign, to the Bureau de Change which was operating. Helped to a taxi and got to my hotel quickly.

Automobiles: can be a blessing. it depends on the rate, distance and balance between cost, comfort and convenience. I don’t drive in Europe. It has to do with everyone driving on the wrong side of the road and from the passenger seat, frankly I am danger to myself and other road users.  What is wrong with the rest of the world??  But if I’m tired, like now, and if I’m not looking forward to a particular railway station, and if the costs of taxis either end , train tickets and porters is near equivalent to what might be charged by the likely lad driving the BMW, then I’m likely to be seduced by the Beamer. There is something to be said for door to door comfort and convenience. So I’m occasionally a wimp? Who cares!

I accept there are buses, but they have high steps, awful loos, limited leg room and they rarely stop at nice restaurants. Generally buses and I do not compute, though I intend to try them at some stage during this trip just to test my own theories, and to research the accuracy of my prejudices.

I will probably be grumpy as a consequence. This may be amusing but no promises.

It’s easy to accept what’s on the web as gospel, frequently it’s a reflection of a one off event writ much larger than it need be. Example: ATM’s in Bulgaria chew up credit cards. Not my experience, but it happened to one person. The other squillion to whom it didn’t happen haven’t bothered to write about their positive experiences.  Belgrade railway station is a dangerous spot. Not my experience, it’s busy and there were a lot of people around, but it was mostly people drinking coffee and waiting for buses, or trains. Also the French are not all rude, they’re pretty much like wherever you’re from.  And not all taxi drivers are rip off merchants.  From my recent trip, the night train from Belgrade to Sofia was interesting, but not dangerous. No Roma and not a single Balkan desperado in sight.  Just people going home or travelling; seats were comfortable and the loos were no less clean than other trains I’ve been on, though the olfactory element was an issue. I suspect it has to do with technology and the age of the rolling stock.  Bulgarian border people were also courteous and pleasant.  Assess, don’t accept!

Let’s be clear I am not into camping! I do not travel light and if required to sleep under the stars I prefer 4 or 5. That being said, I research EVERYTHING madly and hunt for bargains. Travel is wonderful and there is no reason to miss out because of disability, and disability has many shapes and sizes. It’s also not just about wheelchairs. Most websites when discussing disability will talk about wheelchair access and the assumption is that if a wheel chair can make it, so can a hobbling old lady on a cane. It ain’t necessarily so.  a person in a wheelchair has some advantages, first they are visible and the sheer size of the chair demands space. The individual is also seated, on wheels and hopefully being pushed!  And wheel chairs have brakes. Thus absent the brakes etc a person using a cane may not find a disabled ramp exactly easy to negotiate.  Hotels and public buildings generally do not tae note of this fact. I research each location for my needs, and while others may not have the same problems, maybe the ideas will assist.

Five years of Summer is an aspirational approach to travel for people with moderate levels of disability. I estimate that I’ll be well enough to travel for 5 years. If I’m still feeling confident in 2019, the name will change to “5 more years”!

I’m in my sixties, and have osteoarthritis as a whole of body experience, it would be easier to sit at home knitting, but I already know how to knit.  The objective is to see as much of the world as I can and to share travel experiences with other like minded travellers.

Life’s a great journey, please join me.