Many young people dream of spending a gap year after graduating from school or university. Backpacking, exploring, seeing the world—all of these adventures are a little more complicated for those with severe disabilities.
Two young Germans, Alexander Kallner and Lovis Wiefelsputz, decided to face those complications head-on when they began their round-the-world journey in October 2022.
Kallner, 25, has a severe physical disability; he depends on constant assistance. But this has not stopped the couple from fulfilling their dream of seeing the world. Along with his travel companion and friend of 26 years, Kallner has visited countries such as Singapore, Malaysia (specifically Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi in Kedah), Australia, Vietnam, Oman and many more.
Kallner and Wiefelsputz have spent five months together, without interruption. The longest they have been apart throughout their adventure was six hours in Sydney, Australia; a longer separation is not an option for Kallner, who needs help brushing her teeth, getting dressed, eating and doing other basic things.
Wiefelsputz often carries his friend upstairs, a chore he says he enjoys doing. Fortunately, it doesn’t weigh much,” says the young man. Kallner, who studied in Hamburg, Germany, says she first realized that world travel might be possible during her semester abroad in Spain. A fellow student had helped him during his stay there.
I realized that I wanted to go abroad even more and that something like this (being assisted by a fellow traveler) was possible. That had never even crossed my mind before says Kallner.
He then asked his best friend if he thought there might be more ambitious travel plans for him. The couple had already been on vacation together before. We thought a lot about how a trip around the world might work says Wiefelsputz. taking the obstacles
Kallner has arthrogryposis, or AMC, a rare disease present at birth that causes stiff joints and muscle weakness. To enable him to walk, Kallner wears leg braces. “You could say that they are stockings of steel that support me when I stand up and walk he says. He cannot carry a heavy backpack, his hands can only hold very light things, and he has limited use of his arms. But the friends were determined to try to make their travel plans a reality.
Wiefelsputz was studying media management and journalism in Oldenburg, not far from Hamburg, at the time. Therefore, he had the idea to document the year-long world journey on social media and in a blog called “Hurdle The World.
The goal was to encourage other people with disabilities to travel, Wiefelsputz says. “Travel should be possible for everyone he stresses. Both say the trip has opened their eyes to the accessibility of cities around the world. The most accessible city is Singapore,” says Wiefelsputz. “We didn’t have to climb a single flight of stairs there.
The two friends also say they found people in Asia more willing to help. “Sometimes people would run up to us on the street to help us,” Kallner recalls. It was a different story in Vietnam, which, according to the two men, still has a long way to go in terms of accessibility.
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