Toddler Travel

Earlier this month we took our first family mini "vacation" in Europe. Keep in mind that vacation is a relative term with a toddler. It was planned around Ben's work so it required me to fly solo with Brie to Munich. No sweat, I thought as I've traveled many times with her over the past year. What I failed to recognize is with Brie's newfound mobility (as of 18 months) all bets are off. Here are a few travel reminders based on my latest experience:

1. Always carry a spare shirt/sweater (or two) in the diaper bag: While I have normally done this for fear of a major poop explosion in mid-air don't discount food related mishaps. Brie managed to squeeze the remainder of her purple-brown pouch contents all over my white sweater and scarf right before boarding.
   
2. Ask for help and accept it when offered: I like to believe I have most things under control and proudly wear it as a badge of honor that I can juggle a child, diaper bag, purse and stroller by myself (in heels as an added bonus). Screw it, let the guy next to you or the nice woman nearby take your bag or push your stroller. I wouldn't have made it on the plane if it wasn't for the kind souls near me that schlepped the stroller down a flight of stairs to the bus that shuttled us to the plane.
3. Let them judge: As Brie wailed and thrashed (in full Exorcist mode minus the pea soup) on my lap during take off and landing, I could feel the stares and eye rolls from the German travelers around me. I realized that there was nothing more I could do. My kiddo just couldn't come to terms that she had to be seated and belted in. Note, most EU airlines have a special lap child seat belt that connects to yours so kids truly are belted in. #safetyfirst
4. Do what you have to do to survive: This may require setting off the emergency alarm (literately and figuratively) as I found us locked out between exiting the jet bridge and entering the airport gate area as we were the last ones to disembark. This move got us out rather quickly as a German gate agent came racing after us.  Needless to say, my glass of wine that night was well deserved.

On the bright side, traveling with a child has  benefits. We had countless grandparents and tourists come up to us throughout our journey just to say hello and share a smile. It's heartwarming to see the laughs that Brie can generate as she quickly toddles about exploring her surroundings. At the Neuschwanstein Castle, she had tourists snapping photos as she gleefully traversed the road to the castle chasing after a stray cat. She even hugged a sweet tourist at dinner.
At this age, they can move at a surprisingly fast pace giving us an added cardio workout. Kudos to Ben who carried Brie up multiple flights of stairs during our castle tour and down the winding road on our walk back. We call it Brie's Kettlebell workout. Cheers to earning that extra glass of wine!