Budapest Streets Not Kind To Handicapped

Q. I have an American Airlines Frequent Flyer round-trip ticket from New York to Budapest. I get around on a battery-powered electric scooter.

I am not worried about electric voltage as I could get a transformer there, but I am worried about the sidewalk cutouts that may or may not exist there.

In the United States, the curb is usually cut to allow a scooter to get on and off the sidewalk.

Almost 60 years ago I left Budapest, where I was a 400-meter runner at the university.

About 10 years ago, my wife and I returned there; now I am alone, a worn old man with an electric scooter wanting to see my birthplace and the places of my youth. - J.G., Loch Arbour, N.J.

A. Budapest would be a tough place for you to navigate. According to the Hungarian Tourist Office in New York, there are no curb cuts to accommodate the handicapped.

A few hotels have access ramps, mostly for luggage carts. A few have ground-level entrances that a scooter can navigate, including the Forum and Hyatt, both near the river on the Pest side of the Danube.

The Thermal, a spa hotel on Margaret Island, is your best bet, with some rooms as well as spa facilities equipped for the handicapped.

Buses, trolleys, trains and taxis lack lifts for vehicles like yours, and public buildings (museums, theaters) have no special entrances or other arrangements.

So Hungary would be tough, unless you can travel with a strong and willing person who’ll help you get around, or hire someone while you’re there.

The federal requirements that benefit Americans with disabilities stop at our borders.

So while some foreign nations cut curbs, require ramps and lifts and mark off parking spaces, many don’t; it’s expensive. And it’s wise to check ahead, as J.G. has done.

The Hungarian Tourist Office is at 150 E. 58th St., 33rd Floor, New York, N.Y. 10155, phone (212) 355-0240. It can provide material for Americans heading to Hungary.

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