Can you explore a city like Hamburg without eyesight? Can you find your way around without seeing anything? Join a guided city tour and find out about it!
I will show you “the most beautiful city in the world” from the viewpoint of a blind person. Blindfolded and with the help of a white cane you can discover Hamburg’s city centre, the harbour, St. Pauli or an area of your choice with me.
Are you blind and new in Hamburg? Do you want to explore this multifaceted city but need any guidance? In my workshops I will show you Hamburg according to your wishes.
————————————————————————————————————————-
About “blind through Hamburg”
Sighted visitors of “the most beautiful city in the world” get the chance to see and experience this multifaceted metropolis from a different point of view. In the eye of the sighted people guided city tours often only make sense when you are able to explore the surrounding with your eyes. During my guided tour I will prove that a city like Hamburg does not only consist of images but also of sounds, noises, smells and even more things you can sense without eyesight. So Hamburg can be explored blind!
Blind people who are interested in Hamburg also get the chance to learn even more about the city. They can expand their radius of mobility by doing an orientation workshop.
About me
My name is Christian Ohrens, I was born in 1984 and I’m blind since birth. I studied communication and media science. I’m working as freelance journalist, web-, photo- and video-blogger and I’ve been living in Hamburg for ten years now. During my school days in Marburg/Lahn, at the only grammar school for blind and visually impaired people, I wanted to do more than spending my afternoons and weekends in this lovely but small city. I’ve always loved discovering foreign cities and countries on my own without tour groups or special offers for blind travellers. I enjoy travelling like a sighted backpacker! Some of my former journeys brought me to Budapest, Prague, Vienna, Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Yekaterinburg, Munich or London. However, after ten years in Hamburg there are still some places left in this city that I’ve not discovered yet.
Since 2006 I‘ve been working at the exhibition “Dialogue in the Dark”. It’s an exhibition about the discovery of the invisible in which the sighted visitor can experience 90 minutes of daily routine from the viewpoint of a blind person. Many of my sighted guests repeatedly wished to gain these experiences not only in a protected area like the exhibition but outside in real life.
This wish and the fact that many other blind people in Hamburg only live and move in their well-known environment made me create “blind through Hamburg”.
————————————————————————————-
Guided city tours
The minimum age is 18 years. In order to be fully insured underage children have to be accompanied by an adult.
The tour is for one participant. Tours for 1 – 3 guests are possible short-termed except the tour “Großstadtabenteuer”. If you want to book a guided tour for more than four persons, inquire as early as possible so that I can ensure the tour with more staff. Please note that not all of the guided tours are offered all-year.
A walk through the city centre
How can you get around at the station or in the pedestrian area as a blind person? How can you find out in which shop you are if you don’t have illuminated advertising or shop windows? Does a snack or a coffee taste the same (or even better), if you haven’t seen it before? Accept this challenge!
The tour through the city centre starts at the central station followed by several stops in the pedestrian area, the town hall or Jungfernstieg. The time we need for the tour depends on the group size and on one’s own confidence. Therefore, the destination of the tour is always individual. You decide on your own if the tour ends at the town hall, the central station or at the harbour after a short trip by bus or underground. It’s possible to have a drink or a snack on our tour but that’s not obligatory. However, we recommend not missing the experience of eating and drinking blindly.
- duration: approx. 2h (30min preparation, introduction in the use of the white cane etc.; 1,5h walk in the city centre)
- meeting point: Hamburg Hauptbahnhof (central station), “Wandelhalle”, exit “Kirchenallee” (near information centre “DB Reisezentrum”)
- fee (per person): €25,00 Euro excl. tickets for public transport (to pay cash at the beginning of the tour)
- This tour is offered all-year (except on Sundays).
- Booking by phone (+49 (0) 40 / 59 35 51 59)or
- duration: approx. 2h (30min preparation, introduction in the use of the white cane etc.; 1,5h walk in the city centre)
- meeting point: Sankt Pauli Museum, Davidstraße, S-Bahn Reeperbahn or U-Bahn St. Pauli
- fee (per person): €25,00 Euro excl. tickets for public transport (to pay cash at the beginning of the tour)
- This tour is offered all-year.
- Booking by phone (+49 (0) 40 / 59 35 51 59) or email.
City tour on Sundays
This tour is for everybody who is not interested in shopping and the busy pedestrian area but who still wants to explore Hamburg blind. Starting at the central station, you walk about one and a half hour through the pedestrian area, which is surprisingly lively on a Sunday. We go straight to the town hall and by underground to the harbour because some of the viewpoints are dropped on Sundays. On one of the ferries’ top deck you can enjoy the spanking breeze without being distracted by the beautiful view. Obviously, this tour is bookable on working days, as long as you want to go for a stroll through the city centre. The time we need for this tour also depends on the group size and on one’s own confidence. Therefore, the destination of the tour is individual. It’s possible to have a drink or a snack on our tour but that’s not obligatory. However, we recommend not missing this experience of eating and drinking blindly.
- duration: approx. 2h (30min preparation, introduction in the use of the white cane etc.; 1,5h walk in the city centre)
- meeting point: Hamburg Hauptbahnhof (central station), “Wandelhalle”, exit “Kirchenallee” (near information centre “DB Reisezentrum”)
- fee (per person): €25,00 Euro excl. tickets for public transport (to pay cash at the beginning of the tour)
- This tour is offered all-year.
- Booking by phone (+49 (0) 40 / 59 35 51 59) or email.
You want more? If you want discover places or attractions like the “Hamburger Dom” (fun fair), the Christmas market or a quarter of the city of your choice? Please don’t hesitate to contact me!