Friends, Do you remember at the end of April we told you about the arrival of accessibility experts from St. Petersburg Natalia Demyanenko and Lana Berezkina to our city?
They visited Nizhny Novgorod as part of the project “Available. Hospitably”, implemented by the NRIO “Invatur”.
Yesterday Natalia sent me her impressions of visiting Nizhny Novgorod.
I want to share them with you:))
“The city is, of course, first of all people, who live in it. I don't want pathos, but, believe, Nizhny Novgorod is a city of good people.
Because I don't remember this, so that the representatives of the city, which you are about to enter, started helping already in St. Petersburg.
Girlfriend Lana, with whom we conceived this self-guided adventure, fragile petite girl, and she had to not only carry changing, but also translate what is happening around into dactyl.
So Nizhny Novgorod began to help even then, when I got out of the taxi at the Moscow railway station. From this, perhaps, and began our communication with the city.
Here they ask me, as, actually, was smart enough, or, rather, recklessness to go together to an unfamiliar city? One does not see, cannot hear and uses a wheelchair, the other hears with the help of an implant and does not see very well, especially in the dark. And how did you decide?
This is a huge merit of my coach., head of the tourist club for people with disabilities "Scale Plus" Andrey Yuryevich Gostev. Andrew is not only a personal unique example of a tourist, which the, despite poor eyesight, not afraid of any obstacles, made us want to travel, learn something new, and at the same time test the available environment. Besides, joint training and trips around St. Petersburg showed us, that in one bundle we can do everything. The main thing here is not to underestimate your strength., but don't overestimate them.. Do not abuse the help of others, but don't give it up. Briefly speaking, always positive and only forward.
That's what we did.
Getting off the train, we decided not to take a taxi, and ride the subway, using the escort service. By the way, I have never had such an experience in St. Petersburg. Now I will be a scientist. How my Ferrari and I were fixed on each other for a long, long time, and then attached to something else, will be remembered for a long time. The service guys did a great job.. I remember, a year ago, in our subway, I was lifted onto the escalator and ordinary stairs solely by the strength of male muscles. And at the same time I experienced quite a thrill. Why didn't I get the idea to contact a special service at home?, why did you have to go to another city for this, I'll try to understand later.
After the long-awaited good, warm meeting with friends, where we lived all the days of our stay in Nizhny, went on the first walking tour of the city. They wanted a park. Lost and ready to go home, when a passer-by approached us and offered to help.
Thus, we still visited Svetloyarsky Park.
And in the park Svetloyarskoye lake, with ducks, by the way. The feeling of spring is exactly the same as ours.: barely.
And the lakeְ and the park with such a beautiful name I found on the Internet. Turns out, Svetloyarsky park was opened for the 750th anniversary of the city, in 1971 year. And Svetloyarskoye Lake is considered one of the cleanest reservoirs in Nizhny Novgorod..
The next day. 1 may. We are going on a tour. Also walking through the historical center of the city.
We learn about hostels, about the once booming fish trade. They talk about fish, that these days it is very expensive. But every now and then I catch the smell of fresh fish.
In St. Petersburg at this time, the situation is the same with smelt. In my childhood they sold at every turn, somewhere now, sometimes too expensive.
Lana and I noticed - I won’t lie ְ that with delight – on the road surface. Almost always up, then down. Lana was especially hard, when they went up, I tried to spin the wheels, to help her. And for me it was more and load, and emotions during the descentְ here I am the wheels, vice versa, how could she hold back. And sometimes it was not easy. It was even scary., because I know firsthand, what if you let the wheels roll down as they please, my BMW will definitely roll over and it can be unpleasant. But, Luckily, cost.
After the tour we walk around the city, Lana reads the signs. We were glad to get acquainted with the historical and architectural pride of the city - the Nativity Church, which he founded and built at his own expense in 1696 merchant Grigory Dmitrievich Stroganov. An interesting situation with the closure of the church during the life of Peter the Great. Peter did not like the similarity of the features of the savior on the icons with the features of Stroganov. In that sense, even, that he will not pray to a serf.
Whoa! Peter Alekseevich's character!
Further, our walk led us into the midst of the May Day holiday. Ribbons, Balloons, music, calls familiar from pioneer childhood "Proletarians of all countries unite.".
At one not the most beautiful moment, the wheel of my stroller caught on something. I was slightly shaken, why bag, lying on her knees, flew down. Bag – a good thing in itself, but the main thing is that it contains my iPhone - my means of communication, connections, information and God knows what else.
– Lana, – screaming, – wait, the bag fell!
Feel, that we keep moving away from the scene.
Maybe, Lana didn't notice..
– The bag must be lifted, – already yelling.
The bag returned to its place and then Lana explained to me, something, what caught the wheel of my fucking "Zaporozhets", was nothing but tram rails. The tram could appear at any moment. AND, shorter, when prioritizing, Lana decided, that you need to save me first. I am very grateful for this to my friend, how grateful and tram, who still didn't show up.. My iPhone has seen a lot of nasty things while talking with me.. They have been repeatedly tested for strength as the floor in the house, and in the apartment, and dog teeth. But the test of tram wheels he would, I think, hardly survived”.
To be continued later
