Hey, everyone!
I am putting the finishing to touches on this email from my home, but wrote it while traveling on a train last week, somewhere between Munich, Germany and Innsbruck, Austria. You can expect lots of reporting on our family trip and the Aircraft Interiors Expo over the next week (I had more than 20 meetings with airlines and seat manufacturers!), but I'd like to share this newsletter with you now.
Buckle your seatbelts as we go back in time...
I started the morning in Nuremberg, Germany, where a few days ago I faced a (practically) unsolvable accessibility barrier that I will cover in a future newsletter. That whopper of a story will definitely be worth a read.
Here, I would like to reflect on the start of this European trip, where Stevie, Robert and I spent a few days in London, England.
We flew on a non-stop Virgin Atlantic flight from Atlanta to London in economy class (the total cost for the three of us was 22,500 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points and $217 in taxes — a smashing good deal). The flight was lovely and we felt well taken care of by the staff in Atlanta, at London-Heathrow Airport and onboard the aircraft.
London is one of my favorite cities in the world, and one that I seem to love more each time I visit. It was a joy to share the British capital with Stevie and Robert, who were visiting for the first time. I approached this trip differently than I have previous visits to London — as a solo traveler, I can dart from one thing to the next, skip meals if necessary and maintain a packed schedule, but that's not wise when traveling with others and especially with kids. As such, the itinerary for this trip was more relaxed and it proved to be quite enjoyable.
Fish & Chips and Jet Lag
We arrived in London on a Friday morning and, after collecting our bags, riding the wheelchair accessible Elizabeth Line train and checking-in to our hotel in London's Stratford neighborhood, it seemed a great time to try one of Britain's most iconic meals — fish & chips!
You can find fish & chips at nearly every restaurant in the United Kingdom, but I decided to return to a place I have visited many times — a pub, Sawyers Arms, which is located about a block from Paddington Station. The pub has a wheelchair accessible entrance, but the bathrooms are accessible only via staircase (not to worry, as an accessible toilet can be found at the train station).
We all ordered the fish and chips, which is served with peas (yummy!) and I really enjoyed the meal. Our tastes vary, though, and Robert was not wowed by the fried cod fish. My first restaurant recommendation in London had fallen flat (ouch!), but I was determined to make up for it later (we ended up finding a fish & chips stand that night near our hotel in Stratford that he loved).
After lunch, we walked/wheeled the short distance to Hyde Park and, although I had hoped to tour Kensington Palace, exhaustion from our long travel day began impacting us — it turns out that my simple tips to defeat jet lag are harder to follow on a flight with kids! I have a lot to learn, and perhaps a rest day will be in order on future family trips to Europe.
The Charging Debacle that interrupted my London trip
Some background: A few years ago, Permobil introduced a new wheelchair charger (VoltPro) which accepts a single input voltage of either 110 volts or 220 volts, depending on the market in which the chair is sold. The company's previous chargers had been dual voltage, a perfect feature for global travelers.
When traveling in the United States, I use the new VoltPro charger. When journeying abroad, I take the legacy dual voltage charger that can be used anywhere in the world. On this trip, I mistakenly packed the wrong charger — a faux pas that I did not realize until my first night in London!
Plugging the 110 volt U.S. charger into the British outlet would have caused a short (thankfully I caught the mistake before doing that!), so I needed to do one of two things in order to charge my wheelchair:
- Purchase a new, 220 volt Permobil VoltPro wheelchair charger that is designed for the European market
- Purchase a step-down power transformer to reduce the wall outlet's current from 220 volts to 110 volts
Since it was late on a Friday night, I didn't anticipate it would be easy to secure a Permobil charger, and I instead focused on locating a power transformer. I found and ordered one for next-day delivery from Amazon, which has a large operation in the United Kingdom.
The step-down power transformer was delivered to my hotel Saturday afternoon, which gave me time to charge the wheelchair and reconnect with my family for an evening show in London's West End. Crisis averted!
When planning how to charge an electric wheelchair abroad, please be sure to check that the specs of your charging device or power transformer will meet your needs. Thanks to Amazon for saving the day (and my trip!).
Breaking London and the patchwork of accessibility
While I was stuck in the hotel room charging my wheelchair, Stevie and Robert set off to explore the city — they used London's public transportation system and explored Battersea Park, visited the Children's Zoo, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and more, before traveling to the West End for dinner and to meet up with me. Here's a funny text message Stevie sent me that day:
We may have BROKEN THE BUS 🤪😬😂🥸 but all is fine.
As you can imagine, I needed more than that, so she sent me a longer explanation in multiple texts which I have condensed here:
Getting on the bus was messy but manageable - Robert despised the fact that the button for the ramp makes an alarm sounding noise, so he’s scoffing at that as I tried to lift his wheelchair onto the ramp. Yes, lift… the bus driver opened the ramp onto the base of a light pole (completely defeating the entire purpose!).
Once we were successfully in the wheelchair spot, I couldn’t find the correct button to let the driver know we needed to get off with a ramp. Robert and I strategized that I would push a regular button to exit the bus first, where I would then push the wheelchair button located on the outside of the bus. We waited awkwardly for a few seconds before the driver began closing the doors! I panicked, afraid of being separated, and shoved myself through the tiny gap. The other passengers came to the rescue asking the driver to open the ramp, which did finally happen.
For those of you new to London, like Stevie (and me at one time many years ago!), the driver has to close the door before extending the wheelchair ramp. Once the ramp has been deployed, the doors will reopen!
Stevie's texts continued:
In order to avoid the growing number of stares we were receiving, I rushed off without checking my map directions. Of course, I realized we were going the wrong direction and turned around. We walked back past the bus stop and the bus was still there with the ramp stuck halfway out!
Robert is hoping the other people didn’t have anywhere urgent to be, and I’m hoping I remember to read your travel guide before our next family trip. 😅
While I was on my way to meet them, I broke something of my own. Outside the Tottenham Court Road tube station, I rolled my wheelchair over a pedestrian cable protector (one of those rubberized covers placed over wires on the sidewalk), but it got caught on my rear casters and I needed the help of passersby to free myself.
As I surveyed the aftermath, a man tapped me on the shoulder and asked, "What happened, mate?" I told him the cable had been stuck under my wheelchair. He shook his head and pointed to a busy falafel stand a hundred or so feet away, saying "you've cut the electricity to my stand."
Seeing 5 to 10 people in line at his darkened stand, I felt bad for the impact on his small business, but also thought — why do we have cables running across sidewalks that are not temporary, but deliver power to businesses on a daily basis? The cable protector is a (clearly inadequate) patch for accessibility, rather than a true solution. The time that the man's falafel stand went without power on a busy Friday night — about 10 minutes — is just one cost of the patchwork approach to accessibility. It's unfair that the cost of inaccessible infrastructure was leveled on him, but the liability should rest with the city and certainly not myself, a disabled tourist who encountered an accessibility barrier.
We are just beginning to share our adventures (and misadventures!) as a family, and we'd be honored if you supported our work to open the world to people and families with disabilities.
Hello, Poppets!
Attending a West End musical — London's equivalent of Broadway — is on the quintessential list of things do in the British capital city, and it's something that I wanted to share with Stevie and Robert.
We considered a variety of shows, including The Lion King, Matilda and Back to the Future, before settling on Mrs. Doubtfire, which will end on April 26 after a two-year run at the Shaftesbury Theatre.
The show was billed as being family-friendly and, save for a couple of suggestive jokes, it lived up to that. We experienced many laughs and were amazed by the performances of Gabriel Vick and Bleu Woodward, who played the roles of Daniel and Miranda Hillard, respectively.
I purchased tickets about a week in advance by calling the Shaftesbury Theatre's ticket office (accessible tickets in the West End are not sold online), and we purchased three tickets for £115 GBP (approx. $147 USD). Disabled people are permitted to bring a carer free of charge, so Stevie's ticket was free.
The Shaftesbury Theatre had designated wheelchair spaces, an accessible toilet with grab bars, a lift to the stalls, and an accessible route to concessions. Robert sat in a traditional seat, and staff kindly stored his manual wheelchair nearby. We had a wonderful time and look forward to seeing another show whenever we find ourselves in London.
The Paddington Bear Experience and a ridiculous dessert restaurant
I have previously shared my fascination with the Paddington Bear movie, and it's a story that Robert enjoyed reading — it seemed natural, then, to visit The Paddington Bear Experience, which is located next to the London Eye and SEA LIFE London Aquarium.
The experience team did a good job making things accessible for us, and I enjoyed the "adventure" of the day — but it was definitely designed for kids younger than Robert, who at 12 years old was a bit too old. If you are traveling with children between the ages of 4 and 8, I think the experience would be worthwhile. I observed many (younger) children having a fantastic time, and it's a family-friendly experience. As for me, I was happy to meet and snap a photo with the costumed Paddington Bear, who forgave me for driving over (and breaking) a hula hoop in the play area.
Pro tip: Don't purchase the £5 GBP Marmalade Sandwich at the end of the tour, as it lacked taste and was mostly devoid of marmalade. A disappointing end to the Marmalade Festival with our fuzzy bear friend!
To make up for the disappointing marmalade snack, we stopped by Heavenly Desserts at the Westfield shopping complex in Stratford. The shop blew my mind — it was a restaurant-like experience with table service and a menu with a hundred or more desserts.
We ordered two treats — the Strawberries & Cream Cheesecake Lolly with fresh strawberries, crushed meringue and vanilla cream, and the Rose & Raspberry Cheesecake with fresh raspberries, pomegranate, rose petals and a passion fruit sorbet. While we didn't think the over-the-top desserts met the high price point, I did enjoy the sorbet and might stick to that in the future.
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Looking ahead
Coverage of our family trip will resume soon (we're excited to share our experiences in Germany and Austria), but I will first pivot to reporting on the happenings at the Passenger Experience Conference and Aircraft Interiors Expo. The first article from AIX will be sent tomorrow, so be sure to check your inboxes!
The first Wheelchair Travel Group Trip of 2025, to Athens, Greece, is less than three weeks away! Due to some unexpected cancellations, there are still a couple of spots available on the May 3-12, 2025 and June 4-13, 2025 tours to Greece. If you wish to join one of these groups, please contact me right away via grouptrips@wheelchairtravel.org.
If you fancy visiting Spain, I have ONE accessible hotel room remaining on the September 9-18, 2025 Wheelchair Accessible Group Trip to Barcelona, Spain, which will be one of the best tours that I have ever offered. The group is booked in a luxurious Michelin Key hotel and will visit iconic sites like Montserrat and the Sagrada Familia before venturing to the Costa Brava, where we'll see picturesque coastal towns, the Dalí Theatre and Museum and the Ruins of Empúries. Please fill out the interest form at the link above and I will be in touch.
Thank you as always for your continued readership and support!
— John
