Traveling by train with kids in Switzerland
And 2 short day trips around Zurich
From a distance, traveling families with little children can easily pass for happy and joyous groups of people.
Some truly are because kids have that effect of you if your take a breath and shift your mind in the right direction. Holidays are about taking a step back from the day-to-day and investing time to enjoy the moment.
One way to make holidays truly memorable with kids is to simply stop and listen when they talk, waiting for them to finish the sentence before jumping in to complete it for them. It also means observing what they are observing, then talking about it some more. Then they feel 'seen' and calm, and when the kids are calm the parents feel rewarded.
Going on holiday is also a financial investment in return for enjoying new culinary experiences, arriving to beautiful landscapes and enjoying quality time with your partner, because let’s face it, your relationship with your partner is pivotal to a happy family time too.
When all these boxes are checked, then holidays with kids can truly be a magical time. The truth for most of us is that these boxes are not checked 100% of time. And yet, we persist to travel after we have kids, probably because we need to change environments even for a day, or we want to show our offspring the world too. We insist on traveling, by car, plane, train, anything that can bring us from point A to B safely with our children.
From all the means of available transportation I admit that trains are the ones I have personally traveled the least in my life and with my kids. Ever since I moved to Switzerland, they are my regular choice of transport to go to the airport to catch a plane and that's usually where my train experience ends. I do admit however that it is the calmest and joyous part of the entire journey.
