Germany and India, with a Toddler: Part I

If you saw the snapshots I posted, you know we just traveled to Germany and India. Yep. We packed up our backpacks and our kid once again, and headed off on an overseas adventure. Just like our awesome backpacking trip through Spain last year, we wanted to do something “fun” again this year, and we wanted to travel as light as possible. (Read on below for our full packing list.) And, once again, we were open to the destination. So we saved up for the trip, and prayed about it for a few months beforehand. We spent four days in Germany, followed by ten days in Chennai, India, with a few days of travel time and four long-haul flights thrown into the mix.

We were away from home for almost three weeks, which is a long time to be gone when one of you has an office job and the other one is five months pregnant and has regular checkups with her doctor. So, it had to count. And it did!

One, it was a “babymoon” of sorts as we’ll have another baby in our household come this Fall, and who knows what our life (and travels) will look like in the near future. Two, my whole family is in India and even though my mom was here when our son Johann was born, the rest of my family has been eager to meet him. While my husband has been several times now, this would be Johann’s first time to India…a big milestone for him and our family. Three:  Our connecting flight would be through Frankfurt, so we decided to stay there a few days en route so we could see Germany! Germany was a new country for us, and we were excited about that. Plus, we could get the most out of the long-haul flights that had to happen anyway, rather than planning and booking an entirely separate trip somewhere (which would also be more expensive). Four, as Johann is only one and a half years old, we’re still in that sweet spot of only needing to buy two adult tickets so it was a great chance for Johann to get to go across the world – essentially for free – and we wanted to take advantage of the timing.

A toddler who sleeps for nearly half of a ten hour flight = amazing!
A toddler who sleeps for nearly half of a ten hour flight = amazing!

Was it fun? Heck, yes! Was it a trip that gave us memories to last a lifetime? Absolutely! Was it easy? Not all the time. But no one said it would be. Traveling (and life in general) with a toddler can be as hard as it is rewarding. There were hard moments, just like there are at home. And there were moments that make you want to pull your hair out, just like at home. We didn’t go on this trip because we thought it would be easy. We did it because it’s part of who we are. Our why. Sure, there were one or two stressful situations. When we’re out of our element, and trying to figure out a solution knowing there’s a tiny person entirely dependent on us, there’s bound to be some pressure along with the unknowns. But as long as we were relaxed, calm, and not completely falling apart, Johann was fine too.

We wanted to go as light as possible. What did we take? One 45-liter backpack, an 18-liter daypack that functioned as a diaper bag, one carry-on “wheelie” bag, the travel crib in its own carry case, and my messenger-style travel handbag. That’s all! No carseat, no stroller, no heavy suitcases. We put Johann in his Ergo baby-carrier, which Ryan mostly carried on his back. The original plan was to take two big backpacks and our messenger-style diaper bag. But my 20-weeks-along-and-rapidly-growing belly meant that the weight I carried had to stay as low as possible, so instead of my regular backpack plus the separate diaper bag, I opted to use the wheelie bag (not packed full) and use a small daypack as the diaper bag, which worked out much better. (Note: I still carried Johann on my back for short stretches during the trip, but at 24lbs he still weighed less than my backpack would have for a two-and-a-half-week trip!)

Our little world traveler was happiest on the go.
Our little world traveler was happiest on the go.

Each of us still had at least one-free hand, and it was great to be able to move quickly through airports, up and down stairs, and crowded streets. We were generally headed into summer weather, but needed to pack for different environments and activities (long-haul flight days, walking days, train-travel days, hot-sweaty-car-travel days, beach days, etc). But going light meant no bulky baby gear or heavy equipment. Compared with our backpacking trip through Spain, when Johann was eleven months old, our packing list was not that different.

HERE’S WHAT WE PACKED:

CLOTHES & SHOES

  • Four outfits each, plus one extra for Johann just for plane emergencies.
  • Pajamas for all of us.
  • Our swimsuits, and Johann’s reusable swim diaper. (We would have beach and pool days in India!)
  • Extra pair of shoes for all. (Ryan and I both had comfy walking shoes – handy for the daily average of seven or so miles we walked in Germany.)
  • Flip-flops for the adults.
  • An extra pair of socks each – totally unnecessary in hindsight, as we arrived to an unseasonal heatwave in Germany – it was only early June! – and we didn’t wear socks at all in India.
  • Three extra pairs of underwear for the adults.
  • Sunglasses for the adults, and sun hats for Ryan and Johann.
  • Two scarves for myself – which were “nice to haves” that I’d thrown in mainly to get the most out of my four outfits – but didn’t use at all, due to the aforementioned hot weather throughout.

DIAPERS & WIPES

  • We used disposables for the trip, and packed enough for four days. We stocked up again before we left Germany, then replenished again in India.

HEALTH & GROOMING ITEMS

Small things that didn’t take up much room in our packs. Infant Tylenol, diaper rash cream, basic nail-clippers, disposable razors, travel-sized containers of hand-sanitizer, sunblock, moisturizer, toothpaste, toothbrushes, Q-tips, etc.

LAUNDRY STUFF

With only four outfits, we knew we’d have to wash our stuff in Germany somehow, but we would have access to a washing machine in India. If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you’ve heard me tout the glories of our Scrubba wash bag. We love this handy little thing, and you bet it was the first thing to go into our backpacks! Along with three Tide-sink packets. With space at a premium, and wanting to keep our luggage as light as possible, the Scrubba was a great tool to have at our disposal.

TODDLER FEEDING ITEMS

  • Sippy cups (two) for milk and water.
  • One reusable bib.
  • Ten organic food pouches. Mainly for our travel days. We brought a third of them back home.
  • Snacks: Three snack-sized baggies filled with raisins, cheerios, and goldfish crackers. We used some on the plane rides but brought half of them back home.
  • Burp cloth. Why? Who knows. Out of habit I guess. It was completely unnecessary.

Once we added our small electronics, iPad, camera, travel documents, plane snacks, a book each, toddler headphones, and an empty water bottle, our packing was all done.

Since you’re probably wondering about some of these other key elements, let me elaborate:

TRANSPORTATION

In Germany, we only planned to use public transportation and trains. A carseat wasn’t even a consideration for India. This meant Johann wouldn’t need a carseat for the whole trip. We’re starting to see that, with babies and toddlers, sometimes it pays to travel internationally – to places that either have a fantastic public transportation infrastructure, or a place that has no carseat laws whatsoever and anything goes! This doesn’t apply to domestic travel so when we fly within the US, if we’re not meeting family who can provide a carseat on the other end, we have to lug our own around. As much as I want all our kids to be safe, this is quite a pain.

As far as getting around otherwise, we would be walking. Ryan and I actually had a brief conversation about bringing our stroller. (We only have one and it’s pretty small and lightweight.) We decided against it after mentally reviewing images of families we’ve seen overloaded with kids’ stuff as they slog through the crowded airports. I know not everyone has the choice. And we may not either once our second child comes along. (Single parents who travel with little ones – my heart goes out to you, I don’t know how you do it.) But, as long as we have the option to travel light, we will. So we left the stroller behind, and just brought our Ergo baby carrier, which worked out really well. I love how easily we were able to maneuver through airports, crowded streets, train stations and such. Johann walked (actually, he ran) quite a bit on his own, and Ryan found it easier to just have him ride on his shoulders for short stretches when needed.

SLEEPING

Our hotel in Germany kindly provided a crib in our room. Johann’s naps mostly happened on the go, and that was fine for just four days. At night, we usually all turned in at the same time, but much later than normal which is, again, a good MO on vacations. Easy peasy. Our sleeping arrangements in India would be a bit more complicated. We expected to spend a lot of time at home in my Grandmother’s flat and needed a safe place to put Johann down for his naps and nighttime sleep (since we don’t co-sleep unless we’re camping). Plus, the whole family went away one weekend to a beach resort. I had asked a few friends who have traveled back to Chennai with their kids what their sleeping arrangements were, and most suggested bringing something like a pack n’ play. There seemed to be no easy way to get an equivalent item locally, so, before our trip we ended up finding a gently used but excellent condition lightweight travel crib on Craigslist to bring for use in India. It’s a Baby Bjorn Travel Crib and we specifically looked for it on the recommendation of a good friend. We love it! It weighs only 13lbs, zips up into a briefcase-sized thing, and is perfect for travel. It sets up in less than twenty seconds, which was awesome at 1:00 AM when we deplaned in Chennai and arrived at the flat. Johann was very comfortable in it, slept like a champ for all ten days, and didn’t climb out.

One other thing is that mealtimes with Indians are very different than what we’re used to back in the States. So we compensated by putting Johann down for a morning nap and a later afternoon nap, which is different from the one-nap-a-day schedule he’s had for the past eight or nine months. He still got less sleep than usual (around 10-11 hours total sleep a day vs. around 14-15 hours back home) but it was enough to get through the long days.

TOYS

Didn’t bring any except for a few small plane distractions and a very small set of beach toys which packed easily and weighed next to nothing. (More on how we got through the flights in my next post.) Johann would mostly just find things to play with from whatever was around him, and make up his own games. It was wonderful to see his little imagination at work in his creative play. His favorite spot/play space on the whole trip was the balcony at my Grandmother’s flat (where we stayed). He loved watching the myriad distractions on the street, and opening and closing the balcony doors (when the street got boring, I suppose). He only jammed his finger in the door once, and scooped up and ate a fistful of birdpoop off the balcony floor once. To boot, the birdpoop incident happened the morning of our flight home to the States. But to his credit, he came running straight to us when he realized he’d eaten something that didn’t taste like food, and held out his hand with the rest of the evidence still on it. Which brings us to…

EATING

Besides the Ergo and travel crib, the only other “baby gear” we brought was a small nylon travel booster seat which we had borrowed from a friend. It fit neatly in our backpack and self-inflated when ready to use. We were able to use it on most dining chairs we encountered, but it was especially useful for the meals at home. It was awesome! Johann has been a self-feeder ever since he started solids and we all do so much better at mealtimes when he has his own chair. We probably could have gone without this, and just sat him on our laps, but it was so nice to have.

So that’s all we had. One main backpack, one small daypack, one carry-on “wheelie” bag, and the travel crib. I can still hardly believe we traveled so light. Looking back at the two or three things we could have done without, we know there is still room for improvement but we were happy that we had everything we needed. We knew that if we needed something in Germany, we could find it there pretty easily, and knowing we would be with my family the whole time in India set us at ease.

Up next, I’ll talk more about the places we saw in both Germany and India, the sweltering heat of summer in the tropics, the things we did, and some of our highs and lows of traveling with our toddler. Thank you for reading!

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