Brugge...Charming Before the Crowds!

Of all the travel days we had, I was most nervous about this. We had to a 630am flight from Stockholm to Brussels which meant that we had to get the kids up at 3:30am. They were troopers though and got up excitedly in their travel pajamas that we had put on them the night previously. If anything can make a 630am flight, it would be flying business class. We flew Brussels Airlines and at the time at which I purchased tickets, business class was a fraction of economy, so business class it was! The looks that the twins were getting in their row 1 seats was pretty entertaining by all the passerby's.

We arrived to a sunny Brussels airport and then took a direct train to Brugge. An hour later, we arrived to an equally sunny Brugge. We reserved an apartment hotel room at the Hotel Aragon and the kids were going nuts playing with all the doors and cabinet doors. Word to the wise, bring your own childproofing! Our hotel wasn't ready yet and so we dropped off our luggage and headed for lunch at the markt square. We spent the rest of the day on a self walking tour of Brugge which we found to be entirely too crowded for our liking when it's prime time. Another observation that we had of Brugge, it's not nearly as kid friendly as Stockholm was. 

The next day, it was rainy but we managed to make it out to breakfast at what turned out to be one of our favorite places, That's Toast. We got to enjoy quiet and serene Brugge before the day trip crowds came in. With the sprinkles, we found it to the perfect opportunity to take a covered horse carriage ride which the kids had been asking about since we arrived. If anyone is thinking of doing a horse carriage ride in Brugge, it's cash only and they expect a tip above the 70 euros. 

On Day 3 and our last day in Brugge, we once again headed to That's Toast which we found to be one of the more kid friendly places to dine at. We then walked out to the charming outskirts of Brugge to the moat and windmills before rounding back inland to a playground called, Astridpark. Just before 3pm, it was time to take the train to Brussels where we would overnight before an early journey on the Eurostar to the UK.

We arrived in Brussels and checked into our transit hotel. Shortly after, we uber'ed to the Palace square for a quick tour before having dinner at Chez Leon where coincidentally, kids under 12 eat free. I don't know that we have to return to Brugge again although their waffles were quite tasty and we definitely don't have to return to Brussels but there are a couple of cities in Belgium that I'd like to visit in the future. One big learning that I had was that not all Uber XL's are the same. In Stockholm, when you reserve an Uber XL, it's a 6 passenger vehicle with room for luggage. In Brussels and the UK for that matter, it's just a vehicle for 6 passengers and no luggage or vice versa. 

Next up, onto the Eurostar to Alnmouth!

Stockholm... Most Kid Friendly City!

Stockholm has been on my list as a destination because I've once been told that it's a very cool city. A cool city it was but what I didn't know was how child friendly the city truly was. We didn't specifically seek out child friendly restaurants but every restaurant we went to offered child size portions of items on their menu. Every crosswalk was assessable making it very stroller friendly. In fact, there are so many strollers roaming around Stockholm that I bet they have the highest ratio of strollers per capita! Wherever you are in Stockholm, search playground in googlemaps and there'll be a handful within 10-15 mins of where you are. Speaking of playgrounds, many of the playgrounds we discovered wasn't on any "best playgrounds" list in guides and so definitely venture off of guides so find some gems. Below is how we spent our days!

Day 1- We arrived in Stockholm and hopped in what was probably an overpriced taxi ride into the city but when you have 3 tired toddlers, the cost of convenience is worth it! After a 30 or so minute ride, we arrived at our hotel, Hobo Hotel where we had booked the executive suite for our family of 5. The hotel could not have been more conveniently located. After getting settled in, we walked across the street for pizza and then off to an early bedtime. Stockholm in the Summer at least hardly gets dark but my kids are used to not sleeping in total darkness and so that was not a problem for us. 

Day 2- Our exploration day begins! We wandered down to Gamla Stan witnessing the changing of the guards band along the way and then made an impromptu decision to hop on the ferry to Skansen, an open air outdoor amusement playground.

Day 3- With the recommendation from our hotel, we walked to Ralis Parklek playground. Bring a change of clothes if you're coming here for the summer as they have a pond. This playground covers all as they have a bit of everything for everyone (ie:soccer field, wading pond, zip line, climbing wall, etc). After hours of play, we did the enjoyable walk back along the water and ended up at the main commercial shopping street, Vasagatan. For convenience, we had dinner nearby and this is where I discovered a way to ruin a fish taco. The restaurant we went to sadly used smoked salmon for their fish tacos vs fried or pan fried fish which actually brings me to another point. When the menu describes something as deep fried, it actually means sautéed.

Day 4-  Weather looked amazing today and so onto a boat and a cruise on the archipelago (in the Baltic Sea) we went with Vaxholm as the destination. There, we found another great playground, Lekplats and the kiddos spent hours there. To end the evening, we had a delicious meal at Tradition in Gamla Stan. A recommendation from our hotel and one we would recommend as well for a traditional Swedish meal. Kids size portions available here!

Day 5- We ventured to the Sodermalm area and there was another great little playground called Bryggartappen. We lunched at Meatballs For the People but it should really be called Meatballs For All Types of People as there were meatballs that I wouldn't venture with (ie: Bear).

Day 6- Rain was in the forecast today and so headed to the Vasa Museum. How often do you get to see a real ship from the 1600s?! What a tragic story as it's life ended in just seconds after setting for the first sail. The museum is captivating in that it was able to attain so many artifacts from the sailors that were on the boat. The lightlight of the day for me was finding a hidden Fika spot that isn't in any yelp review. The day wouldn't be complete with a playground! This time, we went to Krubbans Lekplats in the Ostermalm area. We later explored the entire Ostermalm area including a walk through of  Saluhaull. We picked up some very expensive fruit here but again with 3 toddlers, you might be ok with paying $15 for 3 apples, 1 cup of raspberries and 1 cup of strawberries.

Day 7-  Today we explored Ivar Lo Park. It's not known to many but one not to miss with the view points from this park! On our way back, we explored the side streets of Gamla Stan which we hadn't yet had a chance to do. Dinner was where we had lunch the previous day, Bar & Bistro in Gamla Stan next to Tradition. It's a more casual and much smaller version of Tradition and equally delicious.

Day 8- Our final day here was a bit rainy but we were able to up to another playground in the Ostermalm area, Humlegardens. 

We couldn't have been happier with Stockholm as our first international destination for our now family of 5. The hotel we choose, Hobo Hotel is where we would choose to stay again if we ever returned. Their morning breakfast which was included in our rate offered the most complete spread of American breakfast items with a Japanese influence. For example, they offered varied juices including green juice, donburi, miso soup among many other items. 

One of the things that we contemplated on the most was our stroller situation. We were going to bring the Zoe Twin and then decided to just bring the Babyzen Yoyo and the ride along board instead but ended up with a last minute decision to bring our Babyzen Yoyo, the ride along board and our Cybex Libelle. We found it to be essential to have a stroller solution for every kiddo, even our 5 yo as we were covering 8+ miles of walking a day. Besides, one thing that we hadn't considered was how much our young kiddos relied on the stroller as a safe space whenever they felt overwhelmed. Car seats wise, we brought two Safe Rider Vests, 1 Wayb and 1 Hiccopop inflatable booster. While we had it just in case, many times in cabs and Ubers, the kids were fine just sitting in the car for the short ride.

From SFO to ARN, KLM was our airline and they couldn't have been more friendly with our family! We had 8 days in Stockholm and felt like we could have lingered longer. It's such a cool and stunning city. We liked that fact that it didn't feel overly touristy, evern for Summer. Everyone just blends in and cost wise, it was on par with where we live in the Bay Area, CA. If anything, I would say plan for some rainy days as we did have 1.5 days of rain which isn't bad considering we were there for 8. And with that, onto Bruges!