Old town in Kufstein is pretty wheelchair ccessible!

Europe

Oct 24

Driving down the streets of Kufstein got me in the European mood. As we made our way into the, “old town”, (ok, the whole town is old), all the pastel colored buildings were a clear sign that we weren’t in Kansas anymore!

Our hotel

We stayed at The Andreas Hofer Hotel, which was about a 3 minute stroll to all the main landmarks.

Since we were staying in a small village, not the main city, finding accessible hotels in the, “old town” of old towns was a challenge! The hotel claimed they were wheelchair accessible, and we had booked the disabled room so it sounded promising!

We parked in the parking garage and used our key card to enter the warm hallway. There were 2 public restrooms that were wheelchair accessible, or also known as, ‘ADA’ in America. The building did have a flight of stairs, but an elevator was located directly next to it, which is a hard find in Europe.

We all crammed into the small elevator and traveled to our floor. As the doors opened, the first thing we saw was a small, lone Christmas tree and a step that divided the elevator from the hallway of rooms. Jet lagged from our day of traveling, we couldn’t help but laugh. The step wasn’t a deal breaker; it just meant I would have to be pulled backwards over the step.

As we entered our room, I noticed that the room was small and didn’t have a TV, but I really didn’t mind since we didn’t plan on spending too much time inside. I noticed my wheelchair couldn’t fit in-between the two beds, but luckily, my sister could help me transfer.

As for the bathroom, I couldn’t fit in the doorway! Face palm! I sucked it up and remembered I could use the bathroom in the basement. Thank God I have a big bladder. When in Europe!

Bathroom stall 3 floors down from my room, but completely accessible

By the time we were settled, it’s 8pm and we are hungry. We made our way to the lobby and discovered that the hotel kitchen is closed for night, and there isn’t any local delivery available. The backup plan was THE WINE, followed by bed.

The Fortress

We only spent one full day in Kufstein. In Jack Dawson fashion, we made it count! We definitely wanted to check out the Fortress. The Fortress was built in 1205 so, I knew the accessibility would be iffy. The Fortress is on a hilly area, covered in cobble stone with a funicular that brought you straight into the Fortress.

Sometimes referred to as the Kufstein castle, but don't be fooled, there are no rubies or gems here! This castle was used as a prison, a church; a torture chamber and a World War II air raid hide out. Surprisingly, Kings and Queens never lived in it. It has a lot of views of the Inn River; some which were not accessible to get to, but you could see down the whole River through arrow cutouts in the stone wall. This is where castle-dwellers would monitor the surrounding area for potential attacks back in the day.

On the grounds, they have a couple of exhibits of different forms of torture they would use. Side note***I have been to the torture museum in England and they did not use any of those same methods. People are twisted!

Where we ate

We went to a vegan restaurant, Hans I’m Gluck-Kufstein Unterer Stadtplatz, which was a yummy burger spot! I ordered the walnut patty with chutney and fries, it was crazy good! I also ordered their lemonade, which left more to be desired.

Let me first say, this restaurant was not wheelchair accessible, there were three stairs that led up to the restaurant and they did not have a ramp. This was a predicament, but the restaurant staff was so incredibly nice. They carried me, in my wheelchair, up and into the restaurant. After, I figured I’d check out the bathroom, to my surprise, it was completely wheelchair accessible (ADA). Mind blown! You can use their bathroom in a wheelchair, but you just can’t get in the building without a hand…or six!

Christmas markets
We went to two Christmas markets, during our stay. The first was in a circle, we walked around, enjoyed the lights then we spotted the most beautiful and perfect creation....NUTELLA FILLED FRIED DOUGH!!! Why isn’t this more popular and sold everywhere! I would choose that over a Dunkin’ donut any day!!!

As I’m stuffing my face and enjoying my time in Nutella heaven, a German woman approached me with a card and a picture of me in my wheelchair with a bike attachment. I was confused as to why she had this; I keep this card in my wallet. I started to put two and two together, which is when I noticed that my wallet was no longer in my lap. She said she found my wallet and she turned it in at a nearby stall. We locate the stall, which is clear across the circle, and I claim my wallet. It STILL had my US dollars, euros, US Passport, driver’s license and my credit card; that would NEVER have happened in the US, I would never have seen my wallet again.

Our walk

My sister went back to the hotel after she was done perusing the Christmas market, while me and mom walked around the lit down town area. Of course, I had my free wheel, which makes cobblestones a breeze. It was magical and we felt completely safe!