Efficient packing tips for family travel

We have been traveling a lot recently and some people noticed that we travel light and asked us to share our tips. If you are a seasoned traveler, then these aren't really tips for you but rather no-brainers. However if you are undertaking your first trip with little children, some of these might help you reduce your stress a bit.

We generally never pack clothing for more than 5 days and plan on doing laundry along the way. We stay at airbnb apartments that usually have a washer on site and a kitchen. This has transformed our traveling experiences with children. 

We prefer to use backpacks to keep our hands free for wrangling and carrying our children. Roller bags are good but you lose a hand and dragging it through Europe can be extra difficult. They call it, "backpacking through Europe" instead of "roller-bagging through Europe" for a reason. 

Most of my time packing is spent during the pre-packing phase - taking the time to consider the types of events (fancy dinners - haha, these are family packing tips. Nobody's enjoying a fancy dinner for a while), modes of transportation (train, bus, car), city vs country landscape, number of days and the weather for the trip. 

We pack our clothing into our favorite Kelty backpack (large) and our immediate necessities into our medium backpack. We keep bribes/toys in a handy front pocket for the inevitable meltdown after a 17 hour travel day. I prefer the rolling method for packing clothing:

Tips for kids and babies

We also only pack enough diapers and snacks for the travel day and buy diapers and other large liquids (e.g., sunscreen and toothpaste) on site. 

Kids and babies look cute in everything and can get away with wearing the same thing day after day. Most days, my 3 year old demands to wear the same shirt day after day so there isn't a need to pack a gazillion different outfits. 

I wear our 10 mth old in a baby carrier, the Ergo, and she and our 3 year old swap out time in our travel stroller. It folds up easily and is super light. 

If your toddler will wear a backpack, put their light toys and books in that. Time to earn your keep, kid!

Tips for women

Pack colorful scarves to dress up plain tops and/or to cover your shoulders if visiting religious sites or fancy dinners 

Pack tops that can mix and match with all of your bottoms. Steer away from "outfits" that only match each other. Being able to recombine your clothing means you don't need as many separate items. 

Never pack one-off clothing or even worse, clothes you may never wear on your trip. Your goal should be to wear every article of clothing at least once. Space is wasted packing for events that are unlikely to happen. Do you need those bulky rain boots for one day of rain? Probably not. 

Go light on toiletries and makeup. My hair never looks the same as it does at home - the water and humidity are different so I don't worry about hair products. Hotels always provide those little soaps - just use those or pack a small bottle of conditioner. My hair can withstand any shampoo but the right conditioner helps to keep it tamed. 

Tips for men

Your clothes are probably the largest in the group so be strategic in your selections

Mix and match your tops and bottoms 

Pack only one pair of shoes 

General tips 

Wear your largest, bulkiest clothing and shoes on the plane

Baby cribs can be checked for free along with your travel stroller (on Norwegian anyway).  You can stuff some small things into the baby crib bag if you need. 

Print off all tickets, itineraries and receipts before your trip and place them in a folder. I print off our overall itinerary (day by day) and tape it to the front of the folder for easy referencing train coach numbers, seating arrangements, etc. I get very nerdy and label everything with sticky notes that are in chronological order for when we will need them. 

Remember, the less you pack, the less you need to keep track of and repack at the end of your trip. 

I know "pack less" is kind of a flippant tip but it really is an exercise in restraint. I used to pack "something for every occasion" or an extra "just in case" item but found that it was rarely ever used and just took up space. Most airlines charge for checked luggage so traveling lighter saves you money that you'd rather spend on dessert or wine. 

At the end of the day you aren't going to care about what clothes you wore on your trip. However, lugging less stuff means you are physically less tired, resulting in less stress during your travel. It will enable you to enjoy your trip while you are actually on it. 

Now, if only you could pack an extra pair of hands that would be great! Enjoy your trip!

Roman ruins, water fountains and incredible food - Lyon, France is perfect

Ahh, Lyon. Only Lyon.

I sigh every time I think back to our time in Lyon, France and can't help but smile as I reminisce about Calvin exploring the Roman ruins with boundless enthusiasm and squealing with delight as he splashed in the fountains with the other children - all running around in their underwear.

We were fortunate to have the most perfect weather imaginable - around 29C, sunny, no clouds and a light cool breeze. Lyon is one of the few European cities to have 2 rivers surrounding it, La Saône and La Rhône, so it has double the waterfront space, double the number of tree-lined walks and so many gorgeous bridges to cross. At night, the rivers reflect all of the beautiful lights and I wonder why Paris is called the City of Lights when Lyon is just as entitled to it. Lyon also boasts its own, though somewhat smaller, metal (Eiffel-like) tower, that is up next to the Fourviere basilica and is all lit up at night.

We wandered through the old town of Lyon. So charming with it's quaint street, cobble stones and boutique shops. Some might call it a tourist trap but it is so beautiful that you can forgive it a bit and still enjoy your delicious ice cream while watching the street musicians play in the shade, slowly dragging on their lit cigarettes in their mouths. Lyon also boasts a strikingly high number of playgrounds sprinkled throughout the city. We had no issues finding playgrounds for Calvin as it seemed there was one around every corner. There were two large playgrounds (one for older children and one for smaller children) that preceded a string of fountains and wading pools. It felt so warm and welcoming, that we couldn't resist taking off our shoes and wading in. While perhaps very un-French of us to do so, we really didn't care. After a day of lazily wandering the city, we felt so relaxed that standing in the water and letting Calvin splash on a hot day seemed like the best idea of all.

Running through the old town

Lyon is most known for its delicious food and a Lyonnaise special is the quenelle. I can't describe it well and the Wikipedia link doesn't do it justice. Basically it is delicious and worth a try. I had the poultry quenelle and it was so rich and creamy. Lyon specializes in offal (organ meats) and while I was a bit put off, Jon was brave and tried and LOVED pressed pig's head tureen (head cheese). If you are going to ever try it, Lyon is the place to do so.

The Roman theatre that sits atop Fourviere is also a must-see if you are in Lyon. Anytime I see Roman ruins, my mind is just completely blown by the mastery of their construction. The site is still used for cultural events and the stage crew was working busily while we were there, adjusting the lighting and stage platforms for an upcoming performance.

Only a 2 hour train ride away from Paris, I would return to Lyon in a heartbeat to spend more time. The weather was consistently beautiful for our entire stay, the people were extremely friendly and helpful and it was the perfect place to roam for a family with young children.

Happy to take part in:

Fjording in Bergen, Norway

Bergen, Norway is known for being extremely beautiful, extremely rainy and extremely expensive. Somehow, we didn't let reasons 2 and 3 scare us off from experiencing Bergen's natural beauty and we booked a quick (4 day) trip with the plan to picnic our way through Bergen to save some pennies.

Bergen is right on the water and for the weekend we were there,  its harbor held beautiful tall ships in addition to some old WWII ships. Calvin felt like a salty sea captain when he was allowed to man the wheel and "steer" the docked ship in the high seas.

Though we didn't have much time, we managed to squeezed it all in - a trip to beautiful Flåm on the Flåmsbanan, 5 hour fjording boat ride, the touristy fish market, funicular to a spectacular view of Bergen, a troll forest and a few requisite playground stops. We were very fortunate and managed to have 3 sunny days out of 4 - quite remarkable, actually. There is a joke that it rains 275 days a year in Bergen. The locals don't laugh but they make a ton of money selling ponchos to the tourists.

If you want any tips on how to do the Bergen-Flåm-Bergen trip, let me know. There are about a gazillion different ways and TripAdvisor reviews were only partially helpful and mostly confusing.

In short, Bergen is extremely kid friendly (though the cobblestones were rough on the stroller) and can be done on a budget (kind of) if you buy local groceries and bring your own picnics everywhere. It is a small enough place to explore in a few days and is well worth the natural beauty - just don't forget your umbrella. We rented an Airbnb apartment which was very centrally located and on one of the stops of a walking tour. It doesn't get much better than that!

We happened to be on the Flåmsbanan at the same time as the professional photographers who were updating their new catalog. They took a picture of me and the children sitting on the bench under the Flåm sign so we may be the new poster family for Flåm in 2015!

The fjords we saw during our 5 hour boat ride back to Bergen were absolutely breathtaking. I love being on the water and there is no feeling like the wind rushing through your hair, sun on your face and breathing the cleanest air Norway has to offer while looking out onto the bluest sky and water. If we had more time, we could've explored a World Heritage Site fjord Nærøfjord but our boat only drove past the opening. I managed to get a picture of it (see below) and it is probably as close as we will ever get. In short, Norway is majestic, impressive and breathtaking.

An Accidental Homebirthing Experience - Lucy's story

"You know... not everything we do needs to be extraordinary..." Jonathan said this to me as he was loading me into the back of the ambulance outside of our house while I held our newly born daughter in my arms.

We never intended on having a home birth.  Our plan was always to head into the hospital as soon as my contractions were 5 minutes apart, lasting for 1 minute, for 1 hour (basically the 5-1-1 rule).  There are people who do plan on birthing at home and they have a midwife on call and a general plan for emergency back ups in case something goes wrong.  Some women seek out home births because they feel more comfortable in their familiar surroundings or because they want more control over the environment.  There are the rare occasions we all hear about where a woman doesn't make it to the hospital in time and has to give birth in the back of the car on the highway or in the back of an ambulance.  For most people, this is a "worst case scenario" and it freaks people out. Rightly so.  Not being in control of your situation can be a scary thing and most people have zero experience delivering babies.  Shockingly,  WE ended up being one of those families who didn't make it to the hospital, or even out our front door, because we underestimated well...everything.

Passport Update: Munich, Germany + Bavaria -- a surprise birthday adventure!

Once upon a time in a faraway land there was a tiny kingdom, peaceful, prosperous, and rich in romance and tradition."

Those are the opening words to the classic fairytale, Cinderella.  As a little girl, my "princess phase" lasted about 7 or 8 years before I discovered that wearing dresses in an upstate NY winter was neither comfortable nor practical.  After that point, I traded in my dresses for jeans and pursued bike riding, tree climbing and snow fort building with my brother in a vain attempt to win and keep his attention.  I was never super girly in high school or college and I'm still learning how to apply makeup in a semi-competent way.

First grade Halloween party, 1990

But sometimes, old, forgotten about wishes DO come true.  Dave and Joann were in town in April to celebrate Calvin's second birthday when another gift bag comes out of nowhere and Jon tells me to open it.  Inside was a Cinderella DVD and a card telling me to pack my bags because we were headed to the castle that inspired Walt Disney to create his own Cinderella castle.  What?!?! Really!?  I was floored!  I had added Neuschwanstein castle to my "hope to see it someday" bucket list a few years ago after one of my Facebook friends posted pictures of it to her profile.  It's a beautiful, if not crazily inspired, castle nestled within the Bavarian Alps in Germany.  Since it isn't the easiest place to get to, I figured that it was one of those places that I would just never get to see (sigh).  Not only had my wonderful husband planned an amazing trip, but we would get to travel toddler-free (i.e.,  much faster and easier).  Dave and Joann would get some great bonding time with Calvin and we would have a few romantic days to ourselves.  What a great surprise 30th birthday present!

We hopped on a quick plane ride to Munich and rented a car to set out for Bavaria.  Jon was the first to drive on the Autobahn and was a little nervous with the high speeds.  We haven't driven in over a year so getting behind the wheel again on a highway with competent, high performance drivers and vehicles, was a bit daunting.  

Calvin and Daddy's Excellent Adventure

The child’s screams echoed throughout the airplane.  Passengers were giving each other looks that said “ wow, that parent can’t control their kid – what are they doing taking a toddler on a trans-atlantic airplane flight??”.  Flight attendants tried unsuccessfully to bribe the child with crayons and coloring books.  There was nothing they could do…

At the same time, I looked at Calvin, happily watching Ice Age on the in-seat screen and thought again of how lucky I had been so far and how good of a boy he had been.  I also reminded myself of the 4 as-yet-unseen matchbox cars I had hidden in my bag just in case I ended up in the same predicament.

And so began our 2 week trip to ‘merica!

How to fly across the world with a 2+ year old by yourself

Jon and Calvin left for the US yesterday for a little family reunion and more importantly, a beautiful wedding in Maine featuring two wonderful people.  I'm really too pregnant to fly (8 months) - Icelandair won't allow pregnant women to fly in the last month of their pregnancy without a doctor's explicit clearance of health.  My midwife wasn't crazy about the idea and the risks of me delivering in the US without health insurance with a premature baby seemed too much.   Sadly, the boys have to go on this trip alone...

Regardless, in preparing for the long trip for Calvin (2+ years old) (and Jon as his only caretaker along the way), we developed a fairly solid game plan.  I've outlined our plan for the 15 hour trip in case anyone is traveling with a toddler in the future.  The red text is what actually happened.

The plan:

• 11:30am-12:15pm -- Calvin would (hopefully) nap in the taxi ride to the airport (40 mins) -- SUCCESS!
• 12:15pm - 2:30pm -- Arlanda Airport Terminal 5 has a children's play space, Junibacken, that could serve as a good place for Calvin to work out some energy for the 2 hours before their flight departed -- SUCCESS!
• 2:30pm - 5:30pm - first flight -- Calvin would stay awake on the flight to Reykjavik and play with his toys, books and possibly watch the kid movie, Ice Age III -- SUCCESS!
• 5:30pm - 7:00pm - layover - Calvin would play with his toys or explore the Reykjavik airport a bit  -- SUCCESS!  Warning, Reykjavik airport does not have a good food selection (see snacks suggestion below)
• 7:00pm - 12:00am (Stockholm time) - Calvin would SLEEP on the flight from Reykjavik to Boston.  This was by far the trickiest part because it is Calvin's bedtime but we worried that he wouldn't be able to sleep well on the flight and would be over tired by the time they landed -- PARTIAL SUCCESS - he slept 3/5 hours, so not too bad
• Calvin and Jon would meet up with Joann and Dave at the airport around 6:30pm ET, which would feel like midnight for the guys.  With any luck, Calvin would have some fun with his grandparents for a few hours and crash out late at night and "re-set" his internal clock and wake up a little later than normally. -- Calvin fell asleep between Boston and Rhode Island and woke up in a good mood. He buzzed around from 7pm-9pm ET and slept until 4am ET.  

He was a happy guy on a 7-hour block of time, so now the trick is to try to maintain a new schedule of napping and bed time.  Good luck with that everyone!

Also for the plane...

• Pack in a small backpack that is easily accessible:
• a variety of new and old toys and books -- Jon brought out the new cars when the seatbelt sign lit up just before landing on each flight
• bring a cozy blanket for the plane
• grab or bring a small pillow for extra coziness
• pacifiers (if your toddler still uses one)
• kid headphones -- Calvin didn't really need them as he was happy to watch the movies sound-free but always good to bring
• Additional non-electronic toys -- PlayDoh, find-and-seek books, cars, memory cards (with Cars on them, of course), lots and lots of stickers, washable markers, coloring book
• snacks!
• Jon said that the toughest times were when the fasten seatbelt sign lit up and Calvin had to sit in one place during takeoff and landing without any movies or electronic distractions
• It was helpful that the main travel times fell around his usual nap time and bed time.  Even still, Calvin only slept a fraction of what he normally does.  He managed to survive through long lines at customs and baggage claim but it was fairly rough.

Jon was pretty nervous to go on such a long set of flights on his own but Calvin is an easy kid. He is really flexible and was able to sleep well and watch movies quietly.  I also had every confidence in Jon that he can easily handle Calvin completely.  He took care of Calvin solo for 2 weeks total while I was in Cote d'Ivoire and Geneva for work, so he knows what to do.  Jon did ask me what would happen if he had to go to the bathroom.  To which I replied, "Either take Calvin before he falls asleep or hold it. You have 2 options."

We also spent about 2 weeks talking with Calvin about the details of the trip. I told him explicitly that he would be flying on a big plane and he could wear his headphones and watch movies and play cars on the flight.  We talked about all of the family members he would see and we spent a lot of time looking at pictures to familiarize him with everyone again.  I kept emphasizing how much fun it would be for him and all of the fun things he was going do and see to try to make it as positive as possible.

He hasn't seen most of our family since Christmas 2011, so it wouldn't be a surprise for him to be a bit anxious.  Calvin really understood the situation and he was excited about the plane but sad that I wasn't going with him.  He kept asking for cuddles for the past few days and would get really stressed out if I left the room without telling him.  He waved goodbye to me in the taxi and said, "Bye Momma" for a few minutes after they left.  It broke my heart to say goodbye but I know that he will have so much fun with everyone.  We plan to Skype regularly so I get to see them everyday.

             

So, what am I doing all day without my full time partner-in-crime, Calvin, and my teammate-in-life, Jon?  I'm getting some much needed work done without distractions - it is glorious.  I can schedule conference calls at any time of the day, not just after Calvin goes to bed or is napping.  It has opened up my entire day.  I'm also giving Bessie lots of snuggles because let's all face it, she will be a little neglected when the new baby arrives. It always happens in those first few months after a baby arrives.  She deserves some special attention too.

Samantha is coming to visit next week and we are headed to beautiful Gotland for some rest and relaxation.  We went to Visby, Gotland last year with the Missildines and it was one of the most beautiful places in the world.  Jon and I rarely ever want to return somewhere we have already traveled, but this was one of those special places.  We could walk the streets of Visby all day and still discover new little crooks and crannies that are just so special.  Sam and I are renting a car and will be exploring ALL of Gotland, so there is even more to discover.  I am so excited to not only return but to see more of the island.

We are coming for you Gotland!