Success! We traveled from Washington, D.C., to Vienna, Austria with an active 15 month old toddler. It was our second airplane journey with him. The first was to Oregon when he was about 7 months old. As excited as I was to eat the famous Viennese pastries and see the Klimt paintings, I'm mostly proud that we made it without any trauma.
My biggest tip? Purchase and use a zillion ziplock bags. No, your toddler shouldn't play with them, but you can still use them for everything. They help to keep the luggage organized, any liquid or gel safe from leaking and are great for small packs of necessary items, like a tiny diaper changing kit or snack kit. Or dirty diaper collection. Or really anything else. I was glad to have extras on hand.
I packed every possible medicine or cream or clothing item I thought we might need. Of course I was wrong. The bambino developed a rash that needed a prescription, which we received from a doctor we visited. The U.S. embassy, as well as the hotel, had a list of English language doctors and the one we saw had an amazing bedside manner. We were glad to be able to solve the immediate problem and see our pediatrician when we returned.
Our toddler, like every other one, is a picky eater. While we figured we'd find diapers and food for him in Vienna, we weren't sure what we could find for a smooth plane ride home. We packed an extra snack pack (long lasting small containers of milk that didn't need refrigeration and food) for the flight home. That proved useful, since I couldn't find smaller containers of milk and there wasn't any available on the flight home.
I had very low expectations for the entire trip. My husband was invited to give some talks and there were periods of time the bambino and I were on our own. My goals included sticking to our regular napping and eating schedule. I was hopeful that we could take some walks and maybe even visit a famous cafe or museum. The bambino and I had our first solo dinner out in a restaurant and visited a cafe for treats one afternoon. All in all, a success. Of course there were some toddler melt-downs, but there were also a lot of giggles and fun. Just like at home.
Did he like it? He loved the regular croissants and all the elevators we took with the stroller. He seemed to particularly like the colorful Hundertwasser paintings. Will he remember the trip? Probably not. But his parents, who hope to continue traveling as they did before becoming parents, have more confidence and look forward to more trips with him. And he will learn to become a confident, flexible traveler himself.
Jet lag is (still) the biggest hurdle. There's this Slate article with some tips, but I say to just give yourselves time on both ends. Try to get some sunlight and keep to a regular schedule, but... you'll all be exhausted and need to do what you need to do. We're still slightly off, but I'm sure we'll settle into (a new?) schedule soon enough.
A few pictures:
My biggest tip? Purchase and use a zillion ziplock bags. No, your toddler shouldn't play with them, but you can still use them for everything. They help to keep the luggage organized, any liquid or gel safe from leaking and are great for small packs of necessary items, like a tiny diaper changing kit or snack kit. Or dirty diaper collection. Or really anything else. I was glad to have extras on hand.
I packed every possible medicine or cream or clothing item I thought we might need. Of course I was wrong. The bambino developed a rash that needed a prescription, which we received from a doctor we visited. The U.S. embassy, as well as the hotel, had a list of English language doctors and the one we saw had an amazing bedside manner. We were glad to be able to solve the immediate problem and see our pediatrician when we returned.
Our toddler, like every other one, is a picky eater. While we figured we'd find diapers and food for him in Vienna, we weren't sure what we could find for a smooth plane ride home. We packed an extra snack pack (long lasting small containers of milk that didn't need refrigeration and food) for the flight home. That proved useful, since I couldn't find smaller containers of milk and there wasn't any available on the flight home.
I had very low expectations for the entire trip. My husband was invited to give some talks and there were periods of time the bambino and I were on our own. My goals included sticking to our regular napping and eating schedule. I was hopeful that we could take some walks and maybe even visit a famous cafe or museum. The bambino and I had our first solo dinner out in a restaurant and visited a cafe for treats one afternoon. All in all, a success. Of course there were some toddler melt-downs, but there were also a lot of giggles and fun. Just like at home.
Did he like it? He loved the regular croissants and all the elevators we took with the stroller. He seemed to particularly like the colorful Hundertwasser paintings. Will he remember the trip? Probably not. But his parents, who hope to continue traveling as they did before becoming parents, have more confidence and look forward to more trips with him. And he will learn to become a confident, flexible traveler himself.
Jet lag is (still) the biggest hurdle. There's this Slate article with some tips, but I say to just give yourselves time on both ends. Try to get some sunlight and keep to a regular schedule, but... you'll all be exhausted and need to do what you need to do. We're still slightly off, but I'm sure we'll settle into (a new?) schedule soon enough.
A few pictures:
Cafe Central our first day
Very European view from the crib
Great park near the Naschmarkt
Miro' exhibit at the Albertina Museum
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