On Azura’s first trip with her newly walking toddler, she traveled to Warsaw, which she loved and found extremely baby-friendly. Beware of those stairs, though! Also, calm parents, make calm babies.
Your baby’s/ babies’ age and name/s:
Gunn Arissa, 16 months
Your nationality/ies:
I’m Malaysian. My hubby and baby are Norwegian.
Were you traveling with anyone?
The three of us: baby, hubby, and me.
Where did you travel to and from?
We traveled from Stavanger, Norway to Warsaw, Poland
What mode of transportation did you take?
We flew to Warsaw and took taxi and buses while we were there.
What airline did you fly and would you recommend them?
We flew with Norwegian, which we frequently travel with. We’ve never had any problems with them and found the flight attendants to be quite helpful. I should add though that it’s a low cost airline, so you do need to pay extra for everything and the max checked in luggage is only 20kg.
What was the most difficult part of the trip?
This was our first time travelling with our bebe who just started walking. She refused to get in the stroller when we needed her to.
What was your greatest success during this trip?
Bebe was super excited and happy throughout the trip despite us all catching the flu. It didn’t stop her from running around and playing.
Can you share with us a baby-friendly (bébé voyage approved!) tip on Warsaw?
The Chopin airport has several changing and nursing room for bebe.
Zlote Tarasy shopping mall in the city centre also has a changing and nursing room on every floor. The mall also has an indoor playground that you pay per hour or half hour. Our little one played in it for just 30 minutes since it’s quite small to spend more time than that.
I would recommend a light stroller or a baby carrier to walk around the city because at times you’ll need to go through the underground pass to cross the big roads that often does not include a lift. With a light stroller or a baby carrier, it will be easier to manage the stairs.
Saxon garden park has a nice playground for kids. It is located near the tomb of unknown soldier in Warsaw centre. (picture to come)
Restaurant Pierogalnia na Bednarskiej (cash only!) in old town Warsaw serves the best dumpling in town and it is also bebe friendly (coloring papers, color pencils and some toys).
Empik bookstore has a nice big area on the third floor for baby to run around, plus smaller areas such as Lego section, small cinema section and others.
What is the best tip you have for fellow traveling parents?
Relax and don’t stress out. Bebe is easier to handle if the parent is calm. Make sure you have enough water and snacks to keep bebe happy.
What is your favorite travel app/ item/ accessory?
I use TripIt as my travel app. You can plan your trip in that app and save all the flight details and hotel reservations in one app. I find it easier than to open several apps to check my bookings.
The iPad kept my daughter busy at least until she fell asleep while traveling.
We love our babyzen yoyo, which is light, easy to fold and folds up very small. We were able to store it in overhead bin and used it right away as soon as we leave the plane.
Anything else we should know?
We found a convenient pharmacy in the city centre very easily. The first time we were there (yes we had to go several times!), our little one was coming down with a cold and we had to buy nasal spray and paracetamol (in case her fever reach 40 degrees celcius). It was just a five minute walk from the hotel to the nearest 24-hour pharmacy (we had to get it around 2am since baby was a bit uncomfortable at that time).
