Deutschland, Goldfish, and Planes

On a random day in March, my mom and I were on the phone, and she exclaimed “let’s go to Germany this summer!” Huh? Germany? What? My mom is a little impulsive, it’s actually quite a great trait that I have picked up from her, especially when it comes to going on trips.

It goes like this: 1. we get an idea, 2. get super excited about it, 3. book it.

But I was taken a little aback, because why Germany of all places? Well it turns out my mom’s childhood friend has been living in Germany for years and has been inviting my mom to come visit so they could reconnect in person. So I thought about it for approximately 34 seconds, and I exclaimed right back “YES! Let’s do it”. We booked our flights for early July, and began planning all of our day trips and adventures.

Ideally these types of posts would tell you in detail all about what to pack, and what to prepare for when traveling with a toddler. I am most definitely not your girl when it comes to “what to pack” part. I have issues when it comes to being practical with clothes. My guideline is two outfits per day. Two for my daughter, two for me. We were in Europe for twelve days… so you do the math…24 outfits for my babe, and 24 outfits for mama, equals overweight luggage. So I’m not your best bet for “great packing tips” {did you read my previous post!?}.

As for what to prepare for when traveling with a toddler… prepare to say goodbye to any kind of routines and schedules you have in place.

First, the time difference is a ‘you know what’, and there is nothing you can do about it.

Second, we didn’t know where we would be and at what time. I always had about 10 pouches stuffed into my purse, along with a Family Size box of goldfish. This worked for us. Don’t judge. We ate balanced meals of french fries and gelato for the rest of the trip.

As for naps, the little one napped wherever and whenever. Sometimes it was in the car, sometimes in the stroller, and some days there were NO naps. There, that’s my advice, no routine and plenty of snacks.

You’ll read all sorts of stuff about flying with a little bub. Everyone has the fear of “what if they cry?” This was not my fear… because A. my child doesn’t cry (HA HA), but really B. I was most nervous about her staying put.

As many of you mamas know, these little hurricanes are nonstop at that age, so I was afraid she would take off running into first class. I mean I would gladly stick around, but I don’t think we would’ve been welcomed.

It turns out, the plane was so darn entertaining, that she was perfectly happy in her seat. Between opening and closing the window 8,273 times, flipping the tray table up and down 5,196 times, and playing with the remote control {resulting in a frozen screen for the remainder of the flight}, we were all good. Plastic bags are also quiet entertaining.

One thing that was not so fun: we did have a layover—which in all honesty was the hardest part, because I had to wake the little one up and carry her around the Dublin airport, since our gate-checked-stroller decide to not make the layover with us.

Elle threw up all over me {quick advice—bring extra clothes in your carry on), but in the end, we changed our clothes, grabbed some 3 a.m. (our time} lattes, and carried on.

Head over to my next post to hear all about my tippy top FOUR favorite spots on our trip!

#Germany #Flyingwithkids