Traveling Wild: All aboard the train!

Wilder enjoying the train! (thanks Stacy Reeves for the photos!)

Zach and I both love to travel by train. It's such a fun way to see the countryside, and it's a bit more spontaneous to plan than a plane ride. This trip was Wilder's first time to experience trains, and he was very impressed. Since then, he's become obsessed with transportation. I can't imagine what he'll think the next time we travel by train!

The wonder of a child

I'll talk about packing on another post, but long story short, I'm no good at packing minimally, especially with a baby. Between Zach, Wilder and I, we had three suitcases (One each, and Wilder's was small), a car seat, a travel crib, Zach's backpack and a diaper bag. It was a lot to lug around, especially with public transit.

Selfie! With random cokes... But the coke is so delicious in France!

The pointer finger!

Brilliant idea. You have to bicycle to charge your phone!

We got on the train with all our luggage and settled into our seats with no issues. It was a bit challenging to keep Wilder entertained on the train, but it wasn't as bad as a car ride. He ate ALL of his cheerios and puffs, and like I mentioned in a previous post, I never found cheerios or puffs again on the trip, despite looking at numerous grocery stores! So just be warned, if your child has a certain snack they prefer, don't count on other countries having it. It wasn't the end ow\f the world, but Wilder was still a bit new to eating food at 9 months, so it was handy to have a guaranteed food he'll like. And it kept him busy. :-)

Read this book 1,000 times on this trip.

We read books on the train over and over and over. Wilder will always cheer up when you pull out a book. This trip was the beginning of us realizing how helpful the sleep sack can be as a lovey. Wilder connected the sleep sack with naps, so if we put him in his sleep sack, he would nap in my arms. It got a little warm, so I'm glad I brought a lightweight Aden + Anais muslin sack as well as his regular cotton Halo sleepsack.

Love this photo so much.

Sweaty baby bed head :-)

One thing I loved about the train we took to Annecy was the awesome childcare room. Yes, you heard me right! This train has a tiny (CLEAN) compartment with a padded bench, a fold-down diaper changing table, a bottle warmer (???) and a sink to wash your hands. It was really, really nice, and I used it on several occasions because as I mentioned already, walking to another area to change a diaper offers a great change of scenery time waster for babies.

Changing table and bottle warmer

sink

comfy padded seat 

The scenery was the best part of our train trip. Loved seeing the French countryside, and we loved chatting with Stacy and Jason on the trip.

Once we got to Annecy, we rented cars. This was the only time we had a car on the trip, and the main reason we lugged along the car seat. While it's sometimes a pain to rent a car, it was handy for getting around Annecy and our day trip to Geneva, Switzerland! Zach's brother Grant and his wife Jashley met us all in Annecy and we caravanned to our lodgings.

By the end of the drive, Wilder was getting pretty fussy. I read him the same books over and over again. They helped, but as soon as I finished the book he wanted to read it again. I'm so glad we had something that could occupy him! We stopped at a market on our way to the chalet and stocked up on ALL THE FOOD. More about Annecy in the next post!

Our longest train ride was from Annecy to Florence. We left very early, which is a challenge with a baby! We made it to the train platform with minutes to spare, but no breakfast. The trip required switching trains (with all our luggage) several times and a delay that resulted in a layover. There were no seats, on the platform and we had no way of knowing how long the train was going to take, so I stood with our luggage, wearing Wilder in hopes he would nap while I held him (unsuccessful), for over an hour. All the train changing meant Wilder could never really get into a nap in my arms, so he got really tired. And bored of the toys we brought. So the only thing that occupied him was--can you guess? BOOKS. And we learned that at that point in time, when he was tired, he only wanted me to hold him.

Looking at the train station

Smiling at Uncle Grant and Aunt Jashley

Such a trooper! Love Jashley helping get a smile

Wilder trying to nap in our private car.

Wilder played with Daddy a little bit...

But mostly wanted me to hold him. Precious, precious time.

We had a private box--it was kinda like Harry Potter!

Our last train had a first-class ticket in an enclosed box for Zach, me, Wilder, Jashley and Grant. We got free snacks and drinks and wi-fi! Wilder was really getting tired, but he was such a trooper. By the time we got to the hotel, it was 6 pm and I had been holding Wilder nearly the entire day, keeping him entertained and occupied. And he was too young for a screen, so it was active on our part! I was exhausted!

I'm looking back on my journal about this trip, over a year later, and it's bittersweet because I don't get to hold Wilder nearly as much as I used to. Baby Felicity takes up my arms a lot these days. So I really am grateful for this trip and the time I got where I held Wilder for 16 hours in one day. I mean that wholeheartedly. But it is definitely challenging traveling all day with a little one! Layovers and train switches and lots of luggage--it's just really hard to be on the go with a baby.

If I could give any advice, I would suggest sticking to one or two locations if you're traveling with a kid, and know that travel days will be really hard on everyone. Once we got to places, we were good to go and had a great time. Just travel in between locations was tough.