A solo plane ride to Luxembourg
After cancelling several trips to Luxembourg to visit family and friends this year, I felt like October was the last opportunity for me to take the kids away for a bit longer. The little one will start nursery in November and we want him to go as regularly as possible in the next couple of months so that he really gets used to the new rhythm. So I bravely booked plane tickets for both kids and me…
To be honest, I nearly cancelled them, after sitting behind a mother with her two kids - both a year older than mine - on our previous flight to the UK. The kids were jumping around the seats, the younger one was screaming for a large portion of the flight and the poor mother just seemed very stressed out. My husband convinced me not to call the airline the moment we got back from Brighton - but in a last minute change decided to at least take the train to the airport with us.
I’ve travelled many times through Zurich airport and know it quite well, which has helped me feel more confident about this journey. As usual, security was a breeze, we had some help with the stroller (try putting it onto the conveyor belt while carrying a baby and holding back a toddler…) and we quickly got into the airport. I had seen that Zurich airport has a family services room, but hadn’t been there previously, so that was our first stop. And it definitely made the wait much easier! It offers a big play area with toys for kids, so my toddler was occupied. At the same time, there’s tables with high chairs and changing tables - all that you could need when travelling with a baby. Luckily for us, our gate was next to the family room, so we managed to stay there until boarding had started, then walked over and could immediately hop on the bus and into the aircraft.
The flight itself went fine. The baby wanted to wiggle around and didn’t really appreciate staying belted on my lap, but luckily he only protested a couple of times and was entertained by the security instructions card for a little while. My toddler was watching some series on the iPad for take off and landing, but also spent some time drawing with the colouring book and pens that the stewardess brought us. The crew was really friendly and when we exited the flight, the stewardess gave me a stack of Swiss chocolates upon saying goodbye. A little gesture, but that made me feel seen and appreciated in that moment, because so often, I feel that as parents, we struggle in our everyday lives with our children, but are just not seen.
Luxembourg airport on the other hand was slightly more challenging. First of all, it took quite a while for our luggage to arrive and we had trouble locating the stroller - at check-in we were told it would be waiting at the gate on arrival, but in the plane they told us to go to baggage claim. And at baggage claim, it took me some time to figure out that it was at the bulky luggage counter and not on the belt.
The challenges continued on the way back. I probably know Luxembourg airport just as well as Zurich airport. Under normal circumstances, arriving 1.5h before your flight is plenty of time and you’ll still end up waiting quite a bit at the gate. Knowing that the airport didn’t offer any special entertainment for the kids, I did not want to be stuck there too long - but also not go too late. We arrived around 1h40 before departure - and it was chaos! I have never seen so many people at that airport queuing for security - never mind on a Monday morning outside of school holidays. We queued for an hour to drop our bags, but were luckily reassured that at security they would call up our flight and let us go through first. As soon as we started queuing, a security officer came to let skip the queue, and we made it to the gate with enough time to use the bathroom before boarding the airplane. It was a chaotic and stressful situation, and I was glad that my father stayed with us up until the moment we went to security to help with the lugagge and the kids, but in the end, I’m also relieved that we did not get there really early and spent all our time standing in the queue.
The flight back was similar to the flight there. There was some Netflix, some drawing, some chocolate eating, some crawling around and a little bit of screaming and protesting. But all in all, I would say it was a positive experience, even if a stressful one. Would I do it again? Yes! Because the freedom it gives me is totally worth it to me, as it means that I am able to take the kids to see my parents even if my husband is working. At this point, I’m also very relieved though that Luxembourg is less than 1h flight away. Longer would definitely feel quite stressful, especially with a mobile baby. The solo trip to Singapore with two little ones will have to wait another couple of years :)