Sorry, this entry is only available in Deutsch.
Posts Tagged ‘Frankfurt’
Christmas Tree 2010 Part I
Saturday, December 18th, 2010Christmas Party 2010
Friday, December 17th, 2010Sorry, this entry is only available in Deutsch.
Eigude Shame Part X
Saturday, December 11th, 2010
Frontpage 
As wheelchair user you are happy about each lowered curb which is not blocked by a parking car.
The city of Frankfurt/Main has its own ideas about the construction of this curb lowering.
At the riverside with the museums the street and pavement were re-built quite costly.
The rain channel of the street now consists of three rows of cobble stone.
Looks nice, but nothing more. I usually call such spots
“Wheeler’s death”.
You descend the anyway rather high lowered curb, the front tyres get stuck in the joints of the cobble stones, and you empty yourself like a pushcart onto the street.
Thank you Frankfurt!
Translator BL
Eigude Shame Part XI
Thursday, December 9th, 2010Frontpage
The perspective is a bit misleading, but this is a lowered curb with wheelchair catching device.
This new
gully cover
has probably been sponsored by the shoemaker who has his shop in 20 meters distance. The 30 broken heels per day will help him easily through the economic crisis.
(Mörfelder Landstraße / Stresemannallee Frankfurt a.M.)
Now in the winter when the gully cover is covered with snow the profit doubles.
Translator BL
Eigude Shame Part XII
Wednesday, December 8th, 2010Frontpage
This extremely steep
“lowered curb “
is representatively next to the main entrance of the youth hostel. It has 600 beds and a special wheelchair apartment.
It makes immediately a great impression on each wheelchair using tourist if you need help already at the first curb when you are heading to town. The other side of the street is equally “wheelchair friendly”.
Thank you Frankfurt!
Translator BL
Crazy Flash IV Addendum
Friday, October 29th, 2010
Frontpage
The fire department in Frankfurt has upgraded and switched to
Emergency vehicles with pedals
Please note the blue fire water bucket on the front.
Translator BL
Signs Part IV
Thursday, October 7th, 2010Frontpage
We wheelers are often treated a little childlike.
I am not annoyed with anybody if he is patting my head in the last moment of saying goodbye.
That’s just the way it is if you are just 1,38 m small.
But if it will ever occur to anyone to spit on a tissue to wipe a spot off my face then only steel-toed boots protect him from my wheels.
For the city of Frankfurt all wheelers seem to be like children.
In the zoo a playground was built especially for us active wheelers. Actually this signage can’t be interpreted differently.
active wheeler’s playground
Translator BL
Wheelchair Tuning Part XV
Sunday, September 26th, 2010Frontpage
Every now and then even I am speechless.
It’s not a secret that I am football fan of Eintracht Frankfurt.
My cousin has given the official
Eintracht Frankfurt Fan Rucksack
to me as a present. Of course I have positively noticed that the rucksack has plenty of reflectors.
This rucksack has additionally two hangers on the side.
The only logically use of these hangers is to be able to hang the rucksack over the handles of a wheelchair.
Simply great, it fits!
Wheelchair hangers
Was it a manufacturing error, or did they have a wheelchair driver as designer?
This rucksack is of course “not“ available for other football clubs.
Translator BL
Sometimes you have to be lucky!
Tuesday, September 14th, 2010Frontpage
Some days ago I made a ride on my hand cycle.
(see older blogpost, trade hand cycle off for therapy pony).
My wife accompanied me on her bicycle.
I was more than positively surprised that the city of Frankfurt eventually managed to tar the old gravel path on the river Main after centuries.
It was going downstream, the cycle was rolling and rolling…
Unfortunately there is an express highway between the bicycle path on the river and two districts of the city. Because I can’t take the pedestrian bridge with my wheelchair and wanted to go to the street fair in one of the districts I had to ride further until after perceived 20 km, probably really 3 km, there was eventually a traffic light.
I had fairly shot my bolt.
After a bratwurst and a hop blossom ice tea * my motivation for the return ride was shattered.
When I was slowly riding home, I already fancied using the tram, I coincidentally met a former colleague, let’s call him Harald, with his
Didi Thurau – Memory Bicycle.
(translator’s note: famous German road bicycle racer from the 70’s and 80’s)
We had rather the same destination.
He pushed me sitting on his bike!
Without breaks, we reached a top speed of up to
26 Km/h on the 8 km way home.
My electric wheelchair tractive Speedy-Elektro only makes
max. 6 Km/h, otherwise it would need a license plate.
If Harald should have had a license plate???
Thanks again from this side.
Comment of my wife:
I am not used to such a speed any more as I usually roll with perceived 5 km/h behind the hand cycle and my biggest sporty challenge is not to fall from the bike at this “speed”, so that today my muscles are kind of sore for the first time. 
*(In a narrower sense, beer is an alcoholic and carbonated beverage which is gained by fermentation mostly from the basic ingredients water, malt and hop). (Source: Wikipedia)
Translator BL
Apologies!!!
Monday, September 13th, 2010Frontpage
On Sunday a young lady parked with her black New Beetle on my disabled parking place. I have completely overreacted and insulted this poor lady in the worst way possible when she came strutting with her noble handbag around her arm and the car key in her hand.
I would like to officially apologize for my slightly risen voice at this stage.
She explained that she hadn’t seen neither the signage nor the labeling, and she didn’t understand my reaction at all.
Retrospectively I am sorry that I didn’t believe her affirmation of innocence.
She had only parked for 10 minutes.
Kind of strange when shortly afterwards her mother, aunt or so came along and told that she stated at her visit that she was parking with her car on a disabled parking place.
A little suspect!
Perhaps she takes the same pills like me and is slightly confused as well.
When she was driving away she must have accidently slipped from the clutch with her foot, otherwise her racing start is not explicable for me.
As excuse I would like to offer her to please send me an e-mail before her next visit so that I drive away my car on time to make my disabled parking place free for her.
Comments requested!
Translator BL
Signs Part III
Wednesday, August 25th, 2010Frontpage
Although I am in possession of a valid driving licence for a car adapted with hand throttle (see older blogpost), I have never made a
wheeler driving test,
otherwise I would know this
floor labeling in connection with a parking restriction sign
in the middle of the street for sure.
“except ambulance vehicles”
I don’t understand it.
It is not a labeled disabled parking place.
Could it be the parking position for an ambulance vehicle driven by a wheelchair user?
Is a wheelchair a vehicle for the sick?
Help me, I’m confused…
Translator BL
Disabled Parking Permit
Monday, August 23rd, 2010Frontpage
Since I belong to the users of
disabled parking places
I have noticed that very often the drivers of
SUVs and Cabriolets
forget to lay out their parking permit if they park on a disabled parking place. I don’t want to accuse anybody of the intent to park unauthorized on these parking places, only out of laziness, or because they can’t park, but I am always a bit astonished. The width of the parking places makes sense if you transfer from wheelchair to car, and the door has to be opened completely.
A friend of mine, wheelchair user as well, is driving a SUV, a Jeep Commander with 7 seats. It’s always an experience to watch him jumping in and out of his car.
He has always laid out his parking permit.
Free disabled parking places are scarce!!!
Every now and then I find a free one.
Here next to the “Old Opera” in Frankfurt
When I was at the opera “Aida” in Bregenz (Austria)
at the lakeside stage at Lake Constance I got hold of the last disabled parking place.
There was actually parking a
BMW Cabriolet
with a
disabled parking permit valid in California
and this with a
license plate from Vienna
behind me on one of the 6 disabled parking places.
I would have liked to meet the driver!!!
If he would have been American he probably would have hung the parking permit – as it is common in the USA – on the inside mirror. Thus the form like a door hanger in a hotel.
Translator BL
Simply Great! Part II
Monday, July 5th, 2010Frontpage
Until my accident I was working as service technician at Frankfurt Airport for a widely known broom yellow logistician.
The building is one of the largest at the airport with a great view onto the airfield.
In the topmost floor there is a big room,
The Sky Lounge
in which management meetings, press conferences,… are held.
I have been once a year in this room just to inspect a ladder.
On 24.06.2010 I received in the Sky Lounge an official
Farewell!
At this point many thanks again to the initiators of this event.
I still can’t believe what happened there.
I know, I am lagging behind for a few days with this blogpost, but I needed some time to let it sink in.
Translator BL
Eigude Shame VIII
Tuesday, June 29th, 2010
Frontpage
The attendance of concerts of all kinds is always an event in itself before you even have heard the first sound.
In Frankfurt in the „Jahrhunderthalle“ („hall of the century“) you have to cross the heater room and then up with a freight elevator to reach your seats.
This is even topped in the „Alte Oper“ („Old Opera“). One gets barrier-free through the main entrance to the box-office which is located next to the foyer. When you then have bought your tickets it is not possible to get over the three stairs to the foyer. Then you have to leave the opera house again through the main entrance to drive up a ramp in zigzag at the side/rear entrance, where you have to ring a bell, and an employee accompanies you to the foyer.
The creativity for the appearance of wheelchair admission tickets is unlimited.
Here a special curious example:
Inner standing room (Stehplatz) (for wheelchairs?)
With wheelchair hidden object
and
Escort Service
Maybe it was just a typo, and it should have been called staying room
Translator BL
Eigude Shame V
Monday, June 14th, 2010Frontpage
I have reported already several times about disabled parking places and their frequent misuse.
Here is a particularly nice spot.
Recyclable Disposal Area
Probably a wheeler has emptied his backpack there.
Translator BL
