RO: Nu mai calatorisem impreuna de mai bine de sase luni. Eram efectiv ahtiati dupa un prim zbor cu bebelusul, ne doream atat de mult sa plecam oriunde, oricum, oricand, incat ziua in care am cumparat biletele de avion catre Munchen a fost ca o eliberare. Ca o speranta ca viata noastra de dupa bebe nu este chiar la polul opus vietii de dinainte. Pentru ca trebuie sa recunoastem, ne-a lipsit calatoritul si chiar daca sase luni nu suna atat de dramatic precum ni s-a parut noua toata perioada aceasta, au fost sase luni lungi cat multe, foarte multe zile de post. Negru 😀 Despre prima calatorie cu avionul am scris in detaliu aici, asa ca in acest articol ne vom focusa pe calatoria in sine, la destinatie. Cum a fost sa ne plimbam pe strazile orasului cu un bebelus de trei luni, care au fost provocarile si dificultatile si ce-am avut de invatat din greseli (pentru ca evident, am facut ceva greseli :D). Si-o luam cu inceputul:

EN: There were already six months since our last trip. We were simply desperate for a first flight with our baby, we just wanted to go anywhere, anyhow, anytime, so the day when we bought the airplane tickets to Munich felt like a total relief. Like a hope that our lives after the baby are not completely different that the ones before. Because we have to admit it, we missed travelling and even though six months does not sound so dramatic as we might have thought, these have been some extremely loooong, long six months 🙂 About our first flight with a baby we already wrote in here, so in this article we will focus on the travel itself, at the destination. What was it like to wander the streets of the city with a three months old baby, what were the challenges and difficulties and what have we learned from our mistakes (because obviously, we made some mistakes :D). And we’ll start from the beginning:

DESTINATIA / DESTINATION 

RO: Pe langa faptul ca am avut un motiv personal foarte intemeiat ca sa alegem Munchen ca prima destinatie cu bebelusul (prietenii nostri extrem de dragi si-au marit si ei familia cu un baietel superb), am considerat ca trebuie sa alegem un oras cat mai… sigur, din toate punctele de vedere. Fara rata a criminalitatii ridicata, cu un sistem medical bine pus la punct si cu o clima oarecum apropiata de cea a Romaniei la momentul acela. Ne temeam de tot soiul de probleme medicale in primul rand, si voiam sa fim siguri ca avem totul la indemana in caz ca avea sa se intample ceva. Apoi, am vrut sa alegem o destinatie europeana, cat mai aproape de Romania, ca sa incepem timid, dar sigur, cu un zbor scurt. N-am fi vrut sa il chinui nici pe bebe, nici pe noi (nici pe ceilalti pasageri din avion :D) cu un zbor foarte lung din start. Gradual vom creste durata zborurilor, pana cand ne vom obisnui.

EN: Besides the fact that we had a very good personal reason to choose Munich as a first destination with our baby (our dear friends have also extended their family with a gorgeous little boy), we considered that we have to choose a city that is… first of all safe, from any point of view. Low level of crime, good medical system and a climate similar with Romania at that moment. We were mainly afraid of medical issues and we wanted to be sure that we have everything at hand if something happened. Then, we wanted an European destination, closer to Romania as possible, so that we can start easy, but safe, with a short flight. We didn’t want to disturb the baby, us or the other airplane passengers 😀 too much starting with a long haul flight. We will gradually increase the length of the flights until we will get used to them.

TRANSPORT / TRANSPORTATION 

RO: Desi suntem mari fani ai masinilor inchiriate, oriunde am merge, de data aceasta ni s-a parut mai simplu sa folosim mijloacele de transport in comun. Munchen sta foarte bine la acest capitol, asa ca nu ne-a fost catusi de putin greu sa ne deplasam cu caruciorul oriunde am vrut sa mergem (cu tramvaiul si metroul). Si-n plus, au trotuare perfecteeee – drama oricarei mamici de bebelus din Bucuresti 😀 Si lifturi la orice statie de metrou. Singura problema cu caruciorul a fost ca am fost nevoiti sa luam partea sport (pentru ca nu puteam lua doua componente ale caruciorului in avion), dar ne-am gandit ca este un compromis bun, avand in vedere ca Mutsy Nio se poate face complet orizontal, iar bebelusul sta in aceeasi pozitie ca in landou. Am avut insa si cateva drumuri cu masina prietenilor nostri,  insa pentru ca si ei asteptau un bebelus, aveau deja o scoica in masina. Asa ca nu a fost nevoie sa o luam noi pe a noastra de acasa, ceea ce a contat enorm din punct de vedere logistic (un lucru mai putin de carat).

EN: Even though we love renting cars, no matter where we go, this time was way easier to use public transportation. Munich is great when it comes to public transport, so it was quite easy to move around the city with a stroller (we used tram and subway). Besides, they have perfect sidewalks – the eternal drama of any mother living in Bucharest 😀 And elevators at every subway station. The only problem with the stroller was the fact that we had to take the chair (because we couldn’t take two parts of the stroller in the airplane), but we thought this was a good compromise, considering the fact Mutsy Nio becomes completely horizontal and the baby can stay in the same position as in the carry cot. We also used our friends’ car a couple of times, and because they were also expecting a baby, we already had a car seat in their car. So there was no need to take ours, which was pretty great from a logistic point of view (one item less to carry).

MANCAREA / FOOD

RO: Pentru bebelus simplu ca buna ziua: alaptat. Abia acum am realizat cat de simplu este totul in calatorii alaptand. Neavand bagaj la cala ne-ar fi fost destul de greu sa caram biberoane si sterilizator, asa ca faptul ca Alexei este alaptat este o mana cereasca. Pentru parinti insa, lucrurile au fost mai putin simple 😀 Nu mai avem parte de mic dejunuri relaxate, nici de cine delicioase in cine stie ce loc interesant (ah, si aveam o lista intreaga de localuri bestiale de mancat in Munchen), dar… nu le putem avea pe toate 🙂

EN: For the baby it was quite simple: breastfed. We now realize how simple everything seems in our trips just by breastfeeding. Not having a hold luggage it would have been complicated to carry the bottles and the sterilizer so the fact that Alexei is breastfed is like a godsend. However, for the parents things weren’t so easy 😀 No more relaxing breakfasts, no more delicious dinner in who knows what interesting restaurant (oh and we had such a long list of great places to eat in Munich), but hey… we can’t have them all 🙂

SOMNUL BEBELUSULUI / BABY SLEEP 

RO: Suntem acei parinti “denaturati” care dorm cu bebelusul in patul lor 🙂 Stim care sunt recomandarile legate de dormit, stim teoriile cum ca ar fi trebuit sa il obisnuim in patutul si in camera lui, insa noi am avut trei motive (foarte importante pentru noi) pentru care nu am vrut sa facem asta: 1. ne este tare drag de el si chiar ne face placere sa il stim mereu aproape de noi, 2. trezindu-se destul de mult noaptea la inceput, era mult mai confortabil noaptea pentru alaptat si 3. ei bine, da, a fost oarecum premeditata toata treaba 🙂 Pentru ca stiam cat de complicat este pentru bebelusi sa doarma in patuturile acelea de la hoteluri si pentru ca ne gandeam ca ii va fi foarte greu sa se acomodeze de fiecare data cu un patut nou, am ales calea simpla pentru noi in calatorii. Si adevarul e ca doarme bustean (in limitele realitatii :D) atunci cand suntem plecati, fiind mereu langa el, nu simte diferenta de mediu.

EN: We are those “distorted” parents that sleep with the baby in their bed 🙂 We know the recommendations when it comes to baby sleeping, we know the theories that say that he should get used with his own bed and room, but we had three reasons (very important for us) for not doing this: 1. we love him so much and we really enjoy always having him close to us, 2. because he used to get up very often during nighttime at the beginning, it was way much comfortable for breastfeeding and 3. oh well… all this was quite premeditated 🙂 Because we knew hoe difficult is for the baby to sleep in those hotel beds and because we thought that it will be hard for him to get used with a new crib every time we traveled, we have chosen the easier way for us. And the truth is that we sleeps very well when we’re gone, because we’re always next to him, he doesn’t feel the environmental differences. 

PROVOCARI / CHALLENGES 

RO: Pe masura ce creste Alexei, ne dam seama ca se adeveresc cuvintele prietenilor mai experimentati in ale parenting-ului. Cu cat este mai mic bebelusul, cu atat e mai usor de calatorit cu el, si asta pentru ca pretentiile lui sunt minime. Are nevoie doar de mancare, somn si schimbat. Insa cu cat creste, cu atat apar mai multe provocari, are nevoie de atentie, de joaca iar dupa sase luni mancare solida (alta distractie atunci, trebuie sa vedem ce solutii gasim). Va deveni mult mai activ, mult mai interesat de ceea ce este in jur, asa ca probabil ca vom fi conditionati mai mult de el si nevoile sale. Asa ca noi am spune ca perioada aceasta de pana in sase luni, este perioada optima pentru calatorit cu bebelusul. La trei luni ale lui Alexei, nu am avut provocari in adevaratul sens al cuvantului, ba dimpotriva chiar, am simtit ca a fost o vacanta la fel de activa ca cele pe care le faceam pana acum. A fost nevoie doar de putina grija legata de locurile de alaptat, insa fiind vreme frumoasa afara, practic ne puteam opri oriunde. Si de un pic mai multa conditie fizica :)) Bebelusul nostru nu a vrut sa stea nici in carucior, si cu atat mai putin in sistemul de purtat, astfel ca mai toata ziua era purtat in brate. Cat despre programul de mancat/dormit, pana la varsta de trei luni nu a avut o rutina formata, l-am lasat sa doarma/manance oricand isi dorea. Acest lucru avea insa sa se schimbe in viitor, vom povesti despre asta in urmatoarele articole, din plecarile de lunile urmatoare 🙂

EN: As Alexei is growing we realize that what our more experienced friends were telling us is true. It is way much easier for the parents to travel while the baby is very small, because his needs are minimal. He only needs food, sleep and to be changed. But as he grows, more challenges appear, he needs more attention, more time to play and after six months, solid food (that’s another story, we’ll have to see what solution we will have) He will become more activ, more interested about everything that surrounds him, so we will probably depend more about his needs. So we would say that this period of up to six months, is the best to travel with a baby. At three months old we did not have proper challenges, actually on the contrary, we really felt that it was a trip as active as the ones we had until now. We just had to be careful to find proper places for breastfeeding, but being such a nice weather outside, we could basically stop anywhere. And we should definitely be fitter :)) Our baby did not want to stay in the stroller, not to mention the baby carrier, so we had to carry him in our arms. As for the eating/sleeping schedule, until this age we did not have a routine, we allowed him to eat and sleep whenever he wanted. But this will definitely change in the future, and we’ll talk about this in our next articles, from our last trips 🙂

GRESELI / MISTAKES

RO: Cea mai mare greseala resimtita in aceasta vacanta a fost faptul ca nu ne-am obisnuit din timp bebelusul sa stea in sistemul de purtare. Am trecut destul de brusc de la Marsupi (care i-a placut enorm) la Ergobaby (pe care il detesta), motiv pentru care nu a vrut deloc sa stea in el. Am fost de multe ori nevoiti sa il tinem in brate, ceea ce nu era foarte confortabil. Un alt lucru invatat este ca atunci cand ai un bebelus foarte mic, e preferabil de ales o cazare cat mai centrala, pentru a minimiza timpul petrecut in transportul in comun. Si ultima greseala a fost faptul ca nu am stiut ce imbracaminte sa alegem pentru bebelus, pentru o vreme nu foarte friguroasa, insa capricioasa (vant si uneori ploaie).  Desi aveam haine destul de groase pentru el, nu nimeream niciodata imbracamintea potrivita. Ba era prea gros imbracat, ba prea subtire. Ca sa rezolvam intreaga dilema pentru excursiile viitoare (care vor fi in sezonul rece), am dat de hainele de lana, despre care vom scrie un articol separat. Cert ca ne-ar fi scos din orice impas sa avem un prim strat de lana cu matase (exista o multime de optiuni la hiphip.ro) si-apoi un overall pufos si calduros de lana. Am fi scutit si foarte mult loc in bagaj daca am fi stiut dinainte de existenta lor 🙂

EN: The biggest mistake that affected this trip was the fact that we did not used our baby to stay in the baby carrier. We suddenly changed from the Marsupi (which he loved) to Ergobaby (which he totally hates), so he never wanted to stay in it. We had to carry him in our arms, which wasn’t so comfortable. Another thing that we’ve learned is the fact that when you have such a small baby, it is preferable to book accommodation in the city center, to minimize the time spent in public transportation. And the last mistake was how to dress the baby on a not so chilly, but windy and sometimes rainy weather. Even though we had many clothes for him, we never dressed him properly. We was either too cold or too warm. To avoid this problem in the future trips that we will have during the cold season, we discovered the wool clothes and we will write a separate article about them. One thing is certain, it would have been great to have a first layer of wool and silk (there are a lot of options on hiphip.ro) and then a fluffy and warm wool overall. We would have also spared a lot of place in the luggage if we would have known about these 🙂

ITINERARIU / ITINERARY

RO: Surprinzator, am vazut cam tot ce aveam pe lista, desi initial am crezut ca nu va fi fezabil sa ajungem chiar in toate acele locuri. Bineinteles, nu a fost cazul de muzee, sau spatii interioare, desi ne-am fi dorit mult sa vedem interiorul palatului regal Residenz (este de-a dreptul fabulos!), nici macar de cafenele sau restaurante. Alexei este destul de activ chiar si la aceasta varsta, se plictiseste imediat atunci cand stam pe loc. Asa ca am parcurs kilometri intregi pe jos, in plimbare si am profitat de fiecare somn al sau ca sa vedem cat mai multe. Am descris intregul itinerariu in articolul acesta, plus cateva alte locuri in care nu am ajuns de data aceasta. De asemenea, am evitat locurile foarte aglomerate sau foarte agitate (cum ar fi Hofbräuhaus). In mod cert nu este usor sau confortabil sa calatoresti cu un bebelus mic, dar este departe de a fi imposibil. Clar ni se schimba prioritatile, modul de a calatori, ritmul, programul, tot. Insa tocmai pentru ca nu vrem sa renuntam la calatorii si pentru ca pana la urma, ne dorim sa ii transmitem si lui Alexei “virusul” acesta, vom face tot posibilul sa ne adaptam acestui nou stil de calatorie si vom incerca, in limitele realitatii, sa facem si sa vedem cat mai multe locuri.

EN: Surprisingly, we saw pretty much everything that was on our list, even though we thought that this will not be feasible. Of course, we excluded the museums or the interior spaces (even though we would have wanted to see the interior of the royal palace Residenz (seems to be fabulous!), we couldn’t even go to coffee shops or restaurants. Alexei is quite active even at this age and he gets bored right away if we do not move constantly. So we walked kilometers and took advantage of every moment when he was sleeping to see as much as possible. We described the entire itinerary in this article, plus a few more places that we didn’t get to this time. Also, we excluded the places that were too crowded or to noisy (like Hofbräuhaus). Obviously, is not easy to travel with such a small baby, but is far from being impossible. Our priorities are changed, our way of travelling as well, the rhythm, the schedule, everything. But just because we don’t want to give up travelling and because in the end we want to hand over this “virus” to Alexei, we’ll do anything that is possible to adapt to this new style of travelling and we will try to do and see as many places as possible.