Interrail with a wheelchair? How we made it to Poznan

Anybody who’s given Interrail a try will tell you that it isn’t quite as simple as rocking up to any train station, waving your pass, and then hopping on the next available train to wherever you want to go. More often than not you have to make reservations ahead of your journey, so that you may book a seat on any given train. Naturally, there are some exceptions to this rule, and some trains and train operators do allow Interrail ticket holders to get on without a reservation – but these opportunities are sometimes few and far between. 

It was this very need – to make a reservation – that saw my friend Emilija and I almost caught short over the festive period of 2014. We were heading to Poland, and though we’d awoken that morning in Berlin, we were now making our way to the city’s Hauptbahnhof in search of a train that would take us to the Polish border and where we’d then take another train to our first destination in Poland – Poznan. 

We had assumed that because our Interrail passes were for Poland, we may have still been able to reserve all the seats we’d need to eventually get to Krakow, whilst still here in Berlin. It transpired, however, that we in fact needed to book and pay separately for a ticket to Frankfurt an der Oder, first, before we’d then be able to enact our passes and use the Polish trains solely via Interrail. This information was slightly different to what we’d understood when checking the Interrail website, and this confusion as to whether we could travel directly from Berlin on our passes, almost caused us to miss our desired train altogether. This, coupled with the fact we seemed completely incapable of using the automated ticketing booths, meant in total we lost a solid half an hour trying to arrange everything before our Interrail adventure had even really begun. And that was without considering what alternative arrangements we should or should not have been making for travelling with a wheelchair!

Once we paid for a ticket to the border (Frankfurt an der Oder), we rushed as fast as we could to our platform, where we literally had seconds to spare before our train departed. Luckily, this train had level access, and there was no reason to wait around for assistance, which would have certainly meant the train would leave without us. 

We made it to Frankfurt an der Oder without a hiccup, and from there it was mercifully easy to find the correct platform for our next train. Though that was after some arguments with Emilija over which train was in fact ours (I was right, not that I took any pleasure in pointing it out, of course…). I think it helped that there was a great big sign on the front of the train that read ‘POZNAN’… but I can’t be too sure. If I’m not mistaken, it may also be a good moment to point out that one of the train stations on the journey from Frankfurt an der Oder station to Poznan was not wheelchair accessible. If my memory serves me right, I believe I had to climb down a flight of stairs and then up another just to change to a different platform. I could be wrong, as it was several years ago, but this is definitely something to consider as a possibility, and something which definitely happened at least once over the course of the entire trip. 

The train journey to Poznan was rather quite enjoyable. It took a little over two hours to get there, with the route cutting almost a straight line across the West Poland countryside. As I watched the green fields, dense woodlands, and occasional logging station roll by the window, I thought to myself – for the umpteenth time – that I must travel by train more often. Perhaps if governments and activists encourage more people to take the greener option for travel, then those same governments should consider reducing the prices of rail fares (I’m looking at you, United Kingdom!)? How can something which takes twice as long, cost twice as much?

Is Interrail accessible?

If you’re interested in trying Interrail and you either use a wheelchair or have any other form of mobility needs, then it’s worth noting that each country that you travel in will have different procedures and levels of access at their respective train stations. For all the Interrail passes do give you (relatively) blanket access to trains in either a specific country/set of country’s, they do not guarantee smooth accessibility throughout your trip. I would say that some countries will be better than others. For example, some of the trains we used in Poland (particularly on the leg between Poznan and Krakow) were completely inaccessible for me as a wheelchair user. Not only did I have to get out of my chair and crawl to our carriage cabin at one point, but Emilija had to disassemble my wheelchair and carry it above her head, in order to squeeze through the gap. It wasn’t dignified and the train was extremely full – much to my embarrassment. Generally speaking, in most Western European countries – such as France, The Netherlands, Spain, etc, when sticking to the more major cities and stations, where assistance ought to be available and the trains should be generally quite accessible. 

Arriving into Poznan

Finding our hotel once we had arrived in Poznan was no easy task. Neither of us had access to the internet and so, as had become customary on a lot of my travels, I resorted to pen and paper – sketching a vague map and listing some important landmarks to watch out for which should signal that we were headed in the right direction. I find that by sticking to these more ‘old fashioned’ means of travel, I end up seeing a lot more than I would if I was otherwise staring at my phone. It forces you to engage more with your surroundings and be far more attentive to what’s in front of you. It also enables you to get a little sightseeing done before the citybreak has even officially begun – and could throw out some hidden gems that you otherwise would have missed. 

My first impressions of Poznan was that it looked a little run down and in some cases, dilapidated. However, it soon became apparent that what we’d wrongly assumed was Poznan’s city centre – near the train station – was, in fact, the outskirts of the town. As soon as we got deeper into the city centre, the scene changed significantly for the better. Powerful Polish architecture dominated picturesque streets, with stunning Catholic churches adorning old cobbled streets (the latter of which not being ideal for my wheelchair). There seemed to be a communal square at the end of each new street, with cute buildings housing restaurants and terrace bars. As I mentioned earlier, it was Christmas time, and so there was lots of lovely smells in the air, including the aroma of roast chestnuts and mulled wine. Little lights hung from almost every archway, street lamp, and tree that we passed – which really added to the charm of the place.

I have a terrible habit of falling head over heels for a new place and not wanting to move on and keep to a scheduled itinerary. Poznan was pulling me in at a rapid rate of knots and I muted the idea to Emilija that we should maybe change our plans and forget about Krakow. It’s narrow-sighted of me, and I consider it now to be a bit of a flaw of mine. Thankfully, on this occasion (and on several other occasions) Emilija has managed to get me to snap out of it, think better of it, and continue with the original plans – almost always to the betterment of my enjoyment and overall experiences. 

After a quick power nap at the hotel, we set about trying to find a place to have dinner. We made our way to Stary Rynek (Old Market Square) and entered a gastro-pub in one of the square’s many colourful terraced buildings. Each of the buildings were at least three or four stories high, and each with its own unique character and design. As we sat there, the clock atop an impressive renaissance style turreted Town Hall, stuck on every hour on the lead up to midnight. I’d seen on the internet ahead of our trip that the clock tower featured some famous fighting goats, which appear every day at noon. It’s a tradition which has been held in the centre of Poznan since as early as 1551, and apparently has something to do with some overcooked deer meat?! Bizarre, but quirky and interesting none-the-less. 

We spent the rest of that night getting comfortably drunk, whilst people watching in the square, and keeping warm under one of the restaurant’s many heated lamps. It was a great way to not only decompress after a busy day, but also soak up some of the city’s rich ambiance. It’s also the exact moment where I acquired my deep love for Poland’s national dish – Pierogi. There’s just something so wholesome and delicious about little boiled (or fried) dumplings, filled with potato, goat cheese, herbs, and/or whatever else is on the menu that takes your fancy. I honestly felt like I ate my own body weight in those things on that trip. They served as a fine substitute for Christmas dinner, anyway. 

Eventually, once we were suitably full with Polish beer and warm Pierogi, we made our way back to the hotel in search of some sleep ahead of our onward journey to Krakow in the morning. Or should that be ‘we stumbled back to the hotel’? But, not before first taking some time to look around the centres incredible Christmas market.

If you enjoyed reading this blog post, but would like something with a little more accessibility in mind, why not check out my latest post – Accessible Brussels: Top 10 Things to See and Do?