It is with much joy (and a tiny bit of terror) that I announce to you that we are taking both the kids on a huge trans-Atlantic airplane in less than a month!
What are we thinking?
Hooray! We are heading to Copenhagen to stay with a a dear college friend along with her tall husband and little son.
Oh dear! We are traveling day and night with two preschooler boys.
In the process of preparing, we’re buying guidebooks, downloading apps, making lists, and considering purchases (kid-size neck pillow worth it or just more crap?). See, I love packing almost as much as traveling.
I also love research and tips, so this is where you come in, oh wise readers. What are your favorite kid-friendly destinations in Copenhagen, daytrips worth visiting in Denmark, travel guides, products, and web resources that I must know about in the 18 days before I leave?
And now the back story…
On my first date with Alec, we talked about travel. We wooed each other with the exotic destinations that we’d visited that the other hadn’t yet. Thailand, Turkey, and Greece were under my belt, but Alec had me impressed with Kenya and Australia.
After about a year of dating, we started plotting our big adventure around the world. I posted a large map on the wall of our apartment and we circled any and all regions of interest. Some days, I would circle a city. Other times, a whole continent.
One thing led to another and our great journey became the MonsterMoon after our wedding. We chucked all our possessions in storage, gave up our adorable rent-controlled apartment, and went on indefinite leaves-of-absence from work to take our six month honeymoon around the world.
{Side note: thanks to many years of business trips, we only had to pay for one ticket}
We made it all the way to Swakopmund, Namibia before we discovered our little embryonic stowaway. Only two months into our trip. Ugh. And also blech. To this day, South African tea reminds me of my occasional morning sickness.
After falling asleep at dinner, puking behind gas stations, and being kicked off our safari leaving our safari early (for being a Malaria risk), we decided to end our trip early. In three months of travel, we explored parts of many countries (UK, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, South Africa, Namibia, Singapore). It would take years to go everywhere we wanted to.
So, we made a gentleman’s agreement that we would leave the country every year of our marriage. Then we gave ourselves a free pass for 2005 on account of the newborn. We barely made it to Mexico in 2006. Then we gave ourselves a free pass for 2007 on account of the second newborn. 2008, we almost went to Paraguay to visit my cousin. 2009 we didn’t quite make it to New Zealand because we added a second bathroom to the house. At this rate, we’re basically amortizing our honeymoon rather than actually taking trips.
No more! I booked tickets. We’re doing it. We may regret it, but we’re going.
Taking the boys overseas
When in doubt, just add cocoa. Right?
Good luck! Unfortunately I’ve never been to Denmark but you should probably scour DeliciousBaby.com for travel tips. I’ve traveled plenty, but her tips kept me sane when I traveled to Mexico by myself with my stepson (then 4) and son (then 2).
My husband and i met in Denmark. No kids at the time of course. But I can tell you that it is VERY cold! So pack your warmest clothes. The heat in Denmark is not nearly as good as it is here (Though sometimes there are heated floors in newer homes and that is AWESOME!) The food is different for sure, we don’t care for danish cuisine, but you will always be able to find toast, butter, peanut butter and nutella
That’s what we lived off of. Have fun!
I love Delicious Debbie. I’ll definitely be bugging her.
You will do great! We live half-time in Vienna, Austria and just got back with our nearly two-year-old. I have to say that what sucks the most is not the flight (shoot, that only last 10 hours) but the jet-lag. Jet-lag with an 18-24 month old is no fun! It was easier when he was younger, just plop him between us and he play for an hour then went back to bed. At 18 months he was up playing in the family room, watching tv, running around like a crazy kid!
My advice for packing stuff on the airplane: think less. Two favorite books, two sets of crayons (one for each) two sketch books (amazing how much crayons can accomplish), little toys (matchbox cars for my boy) that you wrap up and they get to open during the flight, lovies, healthy snacks: trail mix with m&m’s, Larabars, juice boxes and if you have a picky eater pack their lunch/dinner. Finally, a portable DVD player with some stand-by DVD’s and a new one. We do “Little Einsteins” and at least once during the flight we break it out. Get them a kid’s backpack (at least your older one), even if you end up toting it around they feel very important packing it, watching out for it and adding their own toy or book. When I write it out it sounds like a lot, but really the first time we flew I packed ten books, so many little toys, and the only thing he played with was this little book box that he dumped out four mini books and repacked them over and over again. It was all I really needed.
Not sure how old your youngest is, but I highly recommend getting him a seat if he is any where close to 2 years old. I am so glad we got my guy a seat even though he was 18 months when we left and 22-months when we flew back. Good luck, and even when you are wiped and exhausted, think how crazy it must feel for them. My guy is a trooper, but I know all kids don’t travel as well as him. If all hell breaks loose, know that it is only 10 hours, and it will end eventually! Have a great time.
@Aimee, thanks for the ideas. My little guy will be turning 3 right before we go. And my big guy will be 4 and 3/4 (but who’s counting).
We have flown cross-country many times so I guess I’m most nervous about the overnight aspect. It seems more challenging than just blowing off a nap.
We are so excited you are coming and so excited to be featured on RMs!! I love the story of your MonsterMoon. Elliot has slept on the floor of many planes – if you can bring a thin blanket (or a familiar sheet from home) and lay it on the floor in front of your seats, at least one of the boys could sleep there and the other stretched out on the seats above. Just one idea. They can’t sleep on the floor during take-off or landing but they might get a few hours that way. Toddler jet-lag does suck, but don’t worry, we’ll get through it!
How exciting! I travel frequently between Japan and the US and have 2 little guys who really only like to sleep in their beds. So sleep is the hardest thing for me on the long flights. It usually ends up my oldest pushes on watching Thomas the Train over and over until we try to “help” him fall asleep. Usually this is about 5-10 minutes of us holding him thrashing and yelling on us until he falls asleep. But then he’s out. So 10 minutes of hell for 5-6 hours of sleep…not so bad. Hopefully you’ll have better luck! I found out that I don’t like to sit right in front of the bulkhead on the 747 because the big screen is too bright and distracting for them to sleep. Kind of negates the positive of the extra leg room. And the CARES harness is wonderful if you can rent or borrow car seats on the other end. Good luck!