Eating at Tivoli

So.tired. Taking a break before my back collapses.

Dek  enjoys some of the Danish Ballet at the Peacock Theater

Finally Dinner in Groften - complete with a Cap!

We suffer from this need to do EVERYTHING on the first couple of days. Usually this is what crashes the trip. For example, we wanted our money's worth so we went from Tivoli Gardens and then took a bus to take a boat tour (20 minutes for the bus and an hour on the boat), then decided to go back to Tivoli so we could continue to rock out and eat dinner. Tivoli does have a Michelin star place and some amazing eateries, but all the walking left me completely drained. I went from feeling sad for those babies abandoned in their prams and happy to have Quinn snuggled to me to feeling completely envious of everyone pushing around a gigantic granny cart and wishing I had one so that Mike could tote me around.

No matter. We had a hard time deciding where to eat because 1) we didn't plan to take the boat tour detour and 2) everything was so expensive. I could not bring myself to pay 175kr (30 USD) for a kids meal. It was ridiculous.  Finally after gathering some energy from sitting stationary, we decide to head to Groften, a Danish family restaurant. I had some reservations because its early in the trip and I don't know what the protocol for eating with young children is.  Though it is family friendly, most of the children are at least 8 years old. Much of the trip, I spent worrying about the possibly ruckus and dirty looks that I would get from eating out, when truthfully, most places were very accommodating.  This place was so awesome, they gave out hats and high end markers to color with. Dek's kids meal was priced at 75 kr (15 USD) which was more manageable and Quinn was asleep so I could kind of just eat over her head. 

Dek's Tivoli Obsession

We rode Vintage Cars at least 25x.

/

Derek loved.loved.loved Tivoli Gardens. Often referred to as Europe's oldest amusement park, it boasts a 100 year old rollercoaster (no, we didn't ride it -- "too scary" for Derek), beautifully manicured playgrounds and lots of overpriced foods. We only intended to go once. We went 5 out of 7 days - 3 included on Copenhagen card and an extra two days because Derek loved it that much. Yes, he is spoiled and overindulged.

En Route to Copenhagen

At least one of them is sleeping.

Timeline
2:00pm Leave House
3:00pm Arrive at Dulles Airport  (which was a zoo)
5:00pm Boarding

[Sit on Tarmac for 2 hours due to lightning storms]

7:30pm Plane finally departs
(3:30am EDT/9:30am) Arrive in Frankfurt
 10:30am Depart Frankfurt for Copenhagen
 11:30am Arrive in Copenhagen

The first part of the trip is always getting there. If you can survive that, you can survive almost anything. Being Quinn's first flight and Derek would be traveling sans nap (typically an essential ingredient for a disastrous flight), I was prepared for the worse. I will admit that given our luggage constraints, I did not pack as many toys/snacks/things to amuse as usually. I was hoping that the ban on TV the last few months would lead Derek to see the screens on the back of the seats as the best thing since sliced bread. Derek did relatively well to. We used the Lego Movie to placate him most of the time and he eventually fell asleep half way into the flight.

I would highly recommend *paying* for Economy Plus. The extra leg room in invaluable for a Transatlantic (or Pacific) flight. In my case, I actually upgraded to a bulkhead to get the infant bassinet seat, which is reserved for those traveling with small babies in many cases, so Mike and Dek actually got a middle seat to enjoy between the two of them. Who am I kidding, Derek sprawled into that thing immediately. The challenge is that Mike and I sat apart on the flight, but it was worth having the extra space.

Earlier in the afternoon, there was forecast for lightning storms all night so we started off the flight with a 2 hour delay on the tarmac. To be followed immediately by a blowout diaper. We have learned the hard way, pack at least 3 extra outfits for a baby in diapers. In some cases we use none, in others we use all three and are washing a dirty outfit in a lavatory (lovely, really).

Its hard to get both kids to sleep at the same time, but it helps that at least one of them sleeps so you can juggle back and forth.  I called ahead to secure the bulk head set that includes an infant bassinet. It was really nice to have somewhere to put Quinn - though it was just a little basket mounted to the wall, it came in quite handy. I was a bit nervous about putting the required "cover" over top which made it look a bit coffin-like, but I peeked in every 20 minutes or so while she slept and all was well.

I've flown a lot for leisure and business before I had kids and always prayed that I would not be the person seated next to the infant. I've seen some pretty bad stuff with toddlers who kick the crap out of the back of a chair and parents too tapped out to do anything so I'm very cognizant of my responsibility when I fly with a small person I have little control over. However, I am very vigilant in meeting my baby's needs swiftly and often to help reduce the possibility of melt down. If she's just about to whimper to signal hunger, I feed her. Heck, sometimes I just nurse for as much of the flight as possible, especially when they are young and the nursing helps them feel sleepy. 

It was worth it. When the 10 hour flight (remember we were on the tarmac for 2 hours in addition to the 8 hours in the air), Quinn had not made a peep the whole flight. It was miraculous. All the passengers who had previously avoided eye contact with me finally smiled and my proudest moment of the trip (since it had just started after all) when a well-dressed man who sat just across the way said, "That was the best baby I've ever had on a flight." I beamed. Its all luck, but I'm glad the universe got me back so quickly after that very.very.very long delay. 

Packing Down

Derek finds a new reading nook

Where to start?
In the weeks leading up to the trip I had a few big concerns about what to bring and what to bring it in.  Maybe I'll provide some thinking on that first ...

Picking the Bags
There is the sheer logistical exercise of figuring out which and how many suitcases/bags to bring that we can carry and also be able to carry both kiddos. I figured that I would either wear Quinn in a sling and Derek would walk or be pushed in the stroller. We decided only to bring one umbrella stroller that reclined (which meant that Q would possibly be able to sit in it from time to time). I found a McLaren Quest off Craiglist for $70 - a good deal when brand new ones retail around $250 and this thing would be pretty eat up.

Note: difference in taking a stroller internationally is that most of the time we could not gate check it. Meaning that even if you brought it past security and to the gate with you, it would not be delivered plane side and would instead meet us at baggage claim. Even when we didn't gate check it, bringing it was a bigger pain than we imagined since Dek could ride on the luggage cart, or in Copenhagen they have loaner strollers (truly child-friendly!)

Back to what luggage to bring:

1 large suitcase (the big one from this Costco Samsonite set)
1 carry-on bag (our loyal B&R bag that has amazing expansion powers)
1 B&R small duffel (that fits on top of the carry-on backpack)
1 extra duffel (packed away for end of trip)
1 diaper bag
1 umbrella stroller + 2 soft baby carriers (Ergo and Maya Wrap)

Lugging it Around
Airports have luggage racks, but if you are using public transport - you'll need to be able to carry everything without elevators (there is always the possibility there won't be elevators, or they will be broken - which happens alot in Europe)

We figured Mike could wear the backpack, and roll both suitcases. I would be in charge of wearing and pushing the kiddos. Later, I'll discuss how its VERY important to determine how far away your apartment/hotel is from the hotel as you will need to drag all of this with you as well.  Though taxis are possible, I am a bit of a nervous nelly since we didn't have car seats for most of the trip (except for when we rented in Paris, more on that later). We did break down in Lyon and started using Uber since our backs and legs were killing us at that point.

The Big Journey - European Vacation!

At Dulles at the beginning of the 16+ hour journey

Hi all, we've returned from 23 days of travel with the children to Copenhagen, Zurich, Paris and Lyon. Yes, we are crazy. It was quite the adventure and a different travel experience, especially with both the kiddos. I will be slowly posting blogs on...

• What we did and ate (a very important thing)
• Observations and considerations for planning, packing, traveling with two kiddos in tow
• Highlighting things I might have done same/better/differently if we actually can get away and travel again (tricky since alot changes so much from trip to trip as the kids' maturity level can change so much)
• How the kids fared in different parts of the trip - adjusting to the time change, surviving naps on the go, experiencing different food, etc.

I tried to take notes on different parts on the trip since I constantly want to improve on how I would do things or do things slightly differently if I had just known a few more things - so bear with me as I gather thoughts so the posts can be somewhat coherent rather than the usual stream-of-consciousness incoherence.

Meltdown Mode after 2hr delay + 8 flight + transfer at Frankfurt + 2 buses and then arrival in Copenhagen.