Rolling Traveler

Winter has taken a firm grip on northern Europe this year. The last couple of weeks have been colder than usual for the area and the time of year, with temperatures below 5°C (in the low 30s F) during the day, and below freezing at night. We’ve also had snow. I’ve gone winters in Dusseldorf without seeing a single snowflake, but this year it seems we’ll be getting more than our normal share.

On Sunday, I went to Dusseldorf’s Museum Kunst Palast with two friends from Hannover, and while it was particularly chilly, there was a bit of blue in the sky that made it feel less wintery. However, while we were inside, snow-laden clouds rolled in, and we emerged into a particularly heavy snowfall: clumped flakes in a strong wind leaving next to no visibility, and a completely white courtyard.

Snow and wheelchairs don’t mix. Moving through deep snow is like moving across sand, because the casters (the small front wheels) get stuck, cutting your momentum to nothing and forcing you to make an effort for every foot you want to move forward. Rolling over shallow snow isn’t difficult in terms of physical effort, but because the wheels can’t get proper traction, you have to go slow. Then there’s the snow melting on your gloves, soaking through so your hands go numb… there’s nothing wheelchair friendly about snow.

However, the snow never (knock on wood) lies long in this part of Europe, and sure enough, it was all gone by Monday lunchtime. It was nothing like the foot-deep snowdrifts I had to deal with living in Wroclaw in south-western Poland. There were winters when I never left the house on my own. I remember trying to cross Wroclaw’s Grundwaldzki bridge, and actually considering going out onto the very busy road, which had been cleared, and hoping the drivers would slow down, because Marcin and I were both exhausted from forcing the chair through the snow. We made it across in the end, and vowed to take taxis from then on until the spring thaw.

 I wonder how wheelchair users in climates like Canada’s manage: I can’t imagine it myself, dealing with such snow on a daily basis for so long, I really can’t. So there you have my take on snow. Lovely to look at when it’s outside and you’re indoors with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book, but a pain in the wheels to get around in.

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