First published in Travel & Leisure India & South Asia, April 2024
Are we incredibly brave or unbelievably stupid?” my husband and I look at each other as we travel with our toddler, asking ourselves the same question for the fifth time in four hours as we attempt to control an overtired child at Istanbul airport where we’re catching our connecting flight to Vienna. I secretly hope that it’s the former so that my husband doesn’t blame me for pushing him to travel with a 19-month-old hurricane for our summer holiday. Little do we realise then, that like many other things in post-baby life, the way you travel changes too.
To warm our son to long days outdoors, we begin the first morning of this scorchy European summer at Schönbrunn Zoo, the world’s oldest one that’s still in operation. Alternating with pushing the stroller and letting our little one guide the way with the waddle of his tiny feet, we head through enclosures of giraffes, lions, zebras, flamingos, seals, and our son’s favourites—pandas and monkeys—all straight out of the many picture books he’s read since he was an infant. “Mumma, roooooar!” Jahaan says excitedly as he sees a tiger lazily stroll in and out of its small cave—and both my husband and I go crazy with our cameras to capture our own eager monkey! After a taste of his life’s first frankfurter from the zoo café, Jahaan decides that it’s not time for more animal spotting yet, but some playtime at the vibrant children’s play area nearby.
Finding Joy in the Little Things
As he explores the multicoloured mosaic-tiled steps and slides, I’m constantly checking my watch wondering how to fit all that we’ve planned to see in Austria’s capital into three days. But the sound of his laughter bring me back to why we’re here—we want our child to explore the world’s joys as much as we have, and some playground time under the sunlit Vienna skies sure does the trick for him.
Post lunch, we head back to the city towards the Haus der Musik. This interactive sound museum spread across four floors provides a fun way to learn about the history and science of sound through its various exhibits, and we’re eager to see our son’s reactions to discovering musical instruments from up close. We learn what the outside world sounds like to babies inside the womb, compose our own tunes, walk through a permanent exhibit on the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, try our hand at virtually conducting an orchestra performance, and even sit in on a concert recording where our music-loving baby claps along as he watches a performance of Beethoven’s works. But his favourite? Climbing up the ‘piano’ staircase that plays a note on every step.
As we relish some traditional Wiener schnitzel and pork belly with some local beer at the Restaurant Bier & Bierli, we toast to getting through our first day without any accidents, meltdowns, or toddler tantrums as we travel, and reward Jahaan with his first teensy lick of beer for that. “More!” he demands, as we gulp down our Austrian meal pretending not to hear him.
Travel with a Toddler: Balancing History and Fun
You can’t leave Vienna without exploring the gorgeous palaces of the Habsburg Dynasty that ruled Austria for 800 years, and day two is set aside for some museum-and-palace hopping. But as we learn the hard way as we travel through Vienna, royal residences and toddlers aren’t the best mix. At Schönbrunn Palace—the 400-acre main summer residence of the Habsburgs—the better part of our 40-minute tour of the imperial abode is spent carting our stroller up and down medieval wooden staircases, rather than focussing on the commentary on our audio devices. We however enjoy our lunch of hotdogs and sandwiches in the sprawling palace gardens abundant with lush rose bushes, while Jahaan jumps around fascinated by the crinkle of fallen leaves as he walks on them.
The Hofburg Palace, one I’m truly eager to see, includes a museum dedicated to the life of Empress Elizabeth, better known as ‘Sisi’, the wife of Emperor Franz Joseph I along with a tour of the residential quarters. From her regal gowns and exquisite jewels to personal artefacts and glimpses of her exercise room and private bedroom, this palace is a delight for history aficionados. The evening spent at the Burggarten (Court Garden) behind the Hofburg Palace proves to be more fruitful, as our child gets to run around in the grass chasing pigeons while we take a leisurely statue-spotting stroll through the park.
Exploring the City at a Toddler’s Pace
On our final day in the city, we join a free walking tour of the historic centre where for 2.5 hours, we learn about the culture, history, and politics of Austria from our friendly and knowledgeable guide, Christina. Walking through the pebbled pathways, we cross off several monuments, statues, the Opera House, the royal treasury, the parliament house, and the glorious St Stephens Cathedral with its distinct bright-coloured roof. Jahaan stays soundly asleep in his stroller for most of the walk—something that he’s rewarded with that evening as we spend several hours at the Prater Amusement Park learning to be children with him.
The smell of marzipan filled Mozartkugels permeates through every street corner, with tunes from The Sound of Music playing in your head as you walk through the baroque city of Salzburg. Mirabell Gardens, where Do Re Mi from the famous musical was shot, is our pick for an evening stroll after our long train ride from Vienna. We stop at the Rose Garden for several family photo ops, before heading to the Grand Fountain where Jahaan enjoys dipping his tiny fingers in the splashing water. We spend our evening taking turns running behind our toddler (post long travels that too!) and people-spotting from a bench. Our day ends with a six-course meal at the city’s Michelin-star rated Esszimmer restaurant.
Jahaan once again sleeps through our 90-minute walking tour through the uphill pathways of this cultural town, although my husband has to occasionally take his stroller to a side to calm him when he stirs or whines. A small price to pay, when you’re surrounded by cultural and architectural wonders at every corner, from Mozart’s house along the busy Getreidegasse shopping street to the Sphaera and Woman in the Rock sculptures by German artist Stephan Balkenhol. A quick funicular ride takes us up to the most majestic symbol of the town, the Hohensalzburg Fortress, 504 metres above ground level. Known to be the biggest fully preserved medieval castle in Central Europe, the fortress offers some unmissable panoramic views of the city below. We savour these vistas at the cafe atop the fortress while enjoying a lunch of spaghetti Bolognese, steak, and French fries, with a Sacher torte to satiate my sweet tooth.
Footsteps of The Sound of Music
Although we’d rather not move our muscles after the rich food, we head out by local bus to the Hellbrunn Palace, another site where my favourite childhood musical was shot. Jahaan has a whale of a time calling out to the ducks and fish in pond at the public garden. Playing at the swings, slides and sandbox in the palace children’s park, talking to locals, and the inner child in me jumping in delight when I spot the gazebo from the song, I Am Sixteen—the evening turns out to be one I will always cherish.
If there’s one thing I never thought my almost twenty-month-old child would do at his age, it’s climbing the winding path atop mountain by himself. But he proves me wrong when we head by cable car to the Top of Innsbruck, the 2300-metre high viewing point at the top of the Hafelekar Peak that offers a 360° view of the city below. I decide to take a break from the long ride by finding a spot to park myself, while Jahaan decides to follow the people trekking up to the higher viewpoint, with my husband behind him. Soon enough, they’re halfway to the very top before his tiny legs give in and they walk back down to the cable car station where I wait for them.
Our 1.5-day halt in Innsbruck is incomplete without a visit to the Alpine Zoo, two cable car rides below the mountaintop. Jahaan is delighted to feed the goats and cows at the petting zoo, squealing without abandon as the baby animals excitedly jump up for some pellets of food.
Our last stop of this summer sojourn is Hungary and we are eager to learn more about our first Eastern European country. Our longest walking tour of 2.5 hours takes us through the Parliament House, the old streets of Buda town, the historic city centre full of statues, monuments and Soviet as well as neo-classical buildings, and offers clear views of the hilly Pest area and the Gellart Hill, with the 14-metre tall bronze Liberty Statue prominent in the distance. We’re mightily surprised that our toddler stays quiet inside the Dohany Street Synagogue—the largest Jewish house of worship in Europe—and the St Stephens Basilica as soon as we tell him we will travel to “God’s house”. We then take an elevator ride to the dome of the Basilica, where we’re treated to unbeatable views of the red-tiled building roofs dotting the scene below us.
I sit in a boat cruising along the Danube as the sun sets on our final evening in Europe, with my two favourite boys for company as the violinist plays Que Sera Sera to serenade us. As part of this dinner cruise, we relish a traditional Hungarian meal of goulash, roast duck leg with crushed potatoes and stewed cabbage, and apple and sour cherry strudel. As we cross under the Elizabeth and Széchenyi Chain Bridges several times, the monuments around us slowly light up as the evening gets darker. “Moon!” “Stars!” Jahaan points up excitedly. Was this the hardest vacation of my life, managing a trip with a toddler? By far. But I would do it again in a heartbeat. Sure, they may be too young to remember anything, but seeing the world through your child’s eyes and learning to find joy in the little things are a part of your travels with a toddler that one can’t put a price on.
Huzan Tata 