This summer, while traveling by train with our children and talking about the different means of transportation, they told us that they had never gone by plane and that it was something they wanted to do "more than anything in the world" (my children's favorite phrase). We made accounts and in the end we prepared a small three-day getaway from which we just returned.
So here I am, sitting in front of the computer, with half-unpacked bags and still fresh memories of what has been Our last getaway with children.
The idea
As I said, we wanted them to experience the sensation of going by plane at an age when one is more aware of emotions and sensations than of the technical and logistic aspects. Also a small break in the middle of classes and routines, in short something different that was the most important.
What to do?
We considered several options at the beginning: spend a few days in the Canary Islands, go to Disneyland Paris or do something more tourist like visiting a city both inside and outside Spain. In the end we discarded the Canary Islands (we had already satiated at the beach in the summer) and Disneyland thought that the little one was not going to enjoy 100% of everything, so we had the option of become tourists for a few days. And now the dilemma, inside or outside Spain.
In the end we decided to go outside and now it was the most complicated, What destination do we choose? Because it is not the same to go two adults on a trip than to take behind two small children who were not small enough to give them equal where to go, nor old enough to be able to go anywhere. I already know that many will say that they have gone here or there with the children, that they have been phenomenal and have never had problems, but I am one of those who prefers to sin in advance and there were several premises that the fate of our short vacation had to fulfill:
The time on the plane should not be excessive. I do not know any child who likes to be in a car for 6 hours and it was about going by plane, where you can not stop and go down to stretch your legs and travel with many more people. So seeing more or less the time that my children stand still in a seat we decided that it should be maximum of three hours, which to be an airplane is already enough distance to have a wide range of destinations.
Europe with English: As an initial test, we prefer that it be a country where English is spoken, where we could minimize the problems (those that never happen but that you never know ...) and with a culture similar to ours. So Europe was perfect and I prefer to know the Spanish Consulate because they invite me to a dinner than for problems with my children.
City adapted for children: For us, most European cities meet this premise, after all there are children anywhere and my children are quite calm, considering their age. So here I worried more about "tourism for them" than for us. What I mean by this: Well, we can spend the morning in the Louvre, but my children at two hours are able to get on the Gioconda box or use the pyramids in the courtyard as slides. So better something that will please almost everyone.
Price: Let's be clear, no option was going to be cheap, but there are destinations that were going to budget.
Preparations
Documentation: DNIs, I still do not understand the need for a minor to have a DNI, but it seems that the airlines like this to have everyone listed and there was nothing left to go through the hoop. Considering that it was the first time we did them, I spent two months looking for the Family Book (which of course seemed when I was not looking for it), that you have to pay and that at the police station you can ONLY pay in cash and that we had to repeat the photos of the child, we can say that the thing could have started better.
Avoid checking luggage: If there is something I do not like to travel is everything related to luggage, from penar what to carry, packing and finishing with the tetris of putting everything in the trunk and of course, check the flights much less, apart from the envelope The cost involved must add a waiting time in the queue to children that will be added to the flight, so the fewer you wait the better. Currently a ticket entitles you to carry a cabin suitcase and a small bag or backpack, here we have to see what each one understands as small. It could be four suitcases and four bags in theory, but in practice it was not going to be a good idea for everyone to carry their own suitcase, especially when running from one place to another. So in the end we managed to put everything in two suitcases and a backpack. Believe me, it is possible. There is no need to carry 20kg of clothes (especially when you go to a destination where you probably bring those kilos in cheeses).
Check-in online: If there is a great invention in the world of airlines, it is possible to check-in from the sofa in your home. From 30 hours before the departure of the flight you can take out your tickets and choose your seats avoiding an uppercase tail. Another advantage is that it allows you to be at the airport three quarters of an hour before and not two hours, something that is much appreciated.
Baby carriages and step preference: It was not our case, but seeing the time you save was to think about it (just kidding). Normally, when passing the airport controls take preference the baby carriages or wheelchairs. In the case of KLM, which was the company we flew with, I don't know if the rest do it or not, when boarding, families with children under two years of age also have preference. If this is your case here you can read some more advice.
- Elements of distraction for the trip: the tablet with the memory full of movies and the 100% battery was going to solve the problem for us. Although it is possible that with younger children it is not so simple and you have to resort to other tricks.
With all this, there was only waiting for the day of the trip to arrive.
Trip. First flight being four
The date of our departure to Dutch lands finally arrived. At this point the kids had been talking about something else since the previous weekend and the oldest acknowledged that he was "a little" nervous (somewhat unusual).
I must say that the experience was quite satisfactory, especially with regard to children. Despite leaving late in the afternoon, after a day of class and taking longer than normal to place the cabin luggage of all passengers (what surprised me is that the plane did not present any dent of so much as they packed their suitcases some to enter the cabin). But the excitement of the first plane flight helped us a lot and there were only a couple of "but when we left." And here came the great disappointment and is that except for the first roar of engines that put the little one on guard, otherwise the takeoff passed without sorrow or glory and certainly is not even in the top-five of the things to remember about this travel.
Amsterdam
We were finally in Amsterdam, a new city, a new country, streets that have nothing to do with those of Madrid, a new hotel room with a bed for each and many things to do, but for today (we arrived at half past eleven night) the whole family went straight to bed until the next day.
If anyone believes that the kids were already jumping since six in the morning, I'm sorry but it wasn't. Moreover, we had to insist enough to get out of their beds, at the moment Amsterdam did not call him as much as the Dutch pillows. (It has noses that then the first ones get up at home weekends)
While we have breakfast we decided what we wanted to do and what things each one wanted to see. We had been recommended to move around the city by bicycle, it is flat and there is a bicycle lane in most of the streets. So we look for a bike rental shop near the hotel and leave at your address.
Our problem is that neither we nor our children are very accustomed to cycling and we were not sure what to choose, but in the same store they advised us on which bike models would be the best for us and let us try them without problems. We chose a special tandem bike for adults and children, where both can pedal but only the adult runs the bike and another with an adaptable chair where the child fit perfectly.
Amsterdam is the city of bicycles and you can find different shapes and colors, especially to bring children. The most typical is one that has a compartment in front for one or two children and you can even find them electric and with hood, but we found them very large and difficult to handle.
There are many bicycle rental companies So look for the one that best suits you, both in model and price.
As the store and the hotel was very close to the main park in Amsterdam, the Vondelpark, a perfect place to walk around and let the children play at their leisure, with small lakes with a variety of ducks to watch and wide walks where to deoxidize our legs and tomorrow with bicycles there we went to see how the thing happened before getting fully into the traffic and if I know it would not have left the park.
Amsterdam is a city that travels with relative ease, it is flat and with wide streets, with the exception of the most tourist area, with a lot of corners with which you find yourself without waiting for them and that make that difference with other cities. You can not miss its museums and of course or recommend a cruise on the canals and especially walk the city and get lost in its streets (with Google hand in hand, of course) and take strength in a cafe enjoying their desserts (id forgetting the diet because sugar, chocolate and cheese assail you at every step).
But something I didn't find in any of the guides and articles I read, is the chaos that for someone coming from outside is the traffic in the center of Amsterdam. To summarize the situation a little, I will give you some small clues / tips:
The most dangerous element of the city for pedestrians, the bike lane: It is clear that much of the problem was ours as I was not used to having a bike lane in all the streets and that the first day I got inside continuously (they must have called me everything in Dutch) but it is that when crossing the street you had no choice but to cross the lane and there prevailed the law of the jungle.
If you have a bicycle you are the master of the cotarro: the problem is that there are three hundred just like you and that the masters also feel. One believes that being a Nordic country people are calmer and more orderly than here, that they are more responsible and civilized. Well, they must be the ones who go by car or maybe we got the bridge "do what you want" because of course the situation was not for less.
If you go by bicycle the prohibited direction signs are not for you: More than one scare we took when crossing a street and I almost passed a bike over because it was coming forbidden direction.
Helmet, what is a helmet ?: The only helmet I saw, both on bicycles and motorbikes, went to a tourist.
The bikes also go along the bike lane: The problem is not only that they can run you over when you ride a bike, but also when you walk, so be very careful.
Tourists were easy to distinguish, they are the only ones who go for a bike ride: Do you know what they say that a second is the time that passes in Madrid from when the traffic light turns green until someone whistles you? Well, the same happens in Amsterdam as you do not accelerate. That I understand that they already have the city in sight, but the rest of the world does not.
It is not a city for children to go alone by bike. At least it's the feeling I got. In spite of seeing many children in the street and parked children's bicycles, fathers and mothers carrying one or even two children in them, what we did not see is children riding alone outside the parks and it is clear that the pace that impose adults is somewhat dangerous for the little ones.
The areas for adults are not marked both the coffe-shops and the famous "showcases" of the archipelago Red Light District are not marked and if you have not been careful to mark the area on the map (as happened to me) you can face it and despite that Watch more on TV or in the hundreds of sex shops scattered throughout the city, if you don't want to answer complicated questions ahead of time it is better to be attentive.
No problems with English: I have to say that we had no problems to make ourselves understood with English, even many of the people we met with were chattering the Castilian.
Despite all the above, the kids had a great time and we returned with a pleasant memory of the experience that of course I recommend.
Photos | Istock, from the author In Babies and More | How to entertain children during the trip, Parents give the passage an "emergency" kit in case their baby bothers on the plane
