I was smiling from ear to ear when I opened the birthday present from my husband last year: A trip to New York City for the three of us (not counting yet the little new life growing in my womb).
Christmas time in New York is legendary, not just since I watched Kevin Lost in New York and Sex and the City. For a long time it was my dream to visit this metropole and so the city ended up on my personal top 10 travel wish list. However, when I wrote this list years ago, I did not imagine myself walking around the city together with my 1.5 years old boy. So, this city trip turned out somewhat different than I originally had in mind, but certainly not less exciting. Now, I have learned how to see this city with the eyes of a child.
How long
10 days including the flights
The flights
We chose to travel with Iceland Air via Reykjavik. This connection allowed us to have two medium long flights and a break at Reykjavik Airport in-between. During the break, our son could play and run around the airport and after two hours of action he was ready for a nap on the next flight – perfect!
Accommodation
We stayed in a private apartment in in Brooklyn, Bedford–Stuyvesant near the Kosciuszko Station. We found it via Airbnb and were quite satisfied with the price-quality combination. A big plus was that they had a high chair and baby travel bed for us. Only later, we found out that this neighbourhood is apparently not the safest and some reviews recommend avoiding it, but to us it appeared as a normal residential area with an African American background.
Local transportation
We used the metro almost every day. We wished our metro station had an elevator, and that there were dedicated areas in the metro for prams and strollers, but we managed. Unfortunately, busses were not an option, as we were not allowed to take our stroller inside the bus. Honestly, I am wondering how mums and dads travel around the city with public transportation, I did not see many.
New York is big – yes, this should be no surprise, but still I did not expect that it would take about an hour from our place to the Central Park. Please keep this in mind if you are searching for accommodation.
Christmas mood
Oh, yes. We went to the Rockefeller Center where we admired the famous Christmas tree with its beautiful decoration and all the lights around. This moment was so special that a shiver went down my spine when I saw it. What a pity that the place was extremly packed, so we had to flee again after a few minutes. At Macy’s we met Santa Claus and after we have been standing in a queue for 45 minutes, we were so lucky to shake his hand and take a picture together with him. Our son was not so amused; he thought that Santa Claus looked frightening, but at least we got our picture. :)
Food
We have been to China Town twice for lunch, while one restaurant even was vegan (recommendation of Tripadvisor). Our son was not eating so much apart from some dumplings with meat/tofu, but we simply loved all the food we ordered. We could take our stroller inside and generally, the staff were child-friendly. Another great experience was Tom’s Restaurant, where we had delicious pancakes. Which 1.5 years old does not like pancakes? He ate a huge portion and got his sugar intake for the whole week in one meal… I also need to mention the Chelsea Market! The variety of organic cafés, hip restaurants and alternative, small shops was overwhelming. I am sure there is a cuisine for every taste.
Green parks
Strolling through the Central Park was a highlight for our son. He loved to play with all the dry leaves, throwing them into the wind, looking for squirrels in the trees and running after the pigeons. We also liked to spend one day in the Prospect Park Zoo in Brooklyn. I would not say there is something special about the zoo, but there was a lot to see and discover for smaller kids. The zoo also has a nature playground where students show the kids how to find worms in the ground, shuffle dirt around or staple stones.
Playground
We have been to at least one playground every day and unfortunately, all looked the same. You could check out a few good webpages, which list the best playgrounds in the city. A good alternative to a playground is for example the Brooklyn Zoo or the Central Park. The best playground of all is the Brooklyn Childrens’s Museum. On our last day, our son had an amazing joyful time there. If you have a child 1-6 years old this is a must-do!
Culture
I am a big fan of museums. Unfortunately, most museums are not especially interesting for kids, but we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art anyway. Luckily, the admission is free (or you can pay what you want) as our son was tired and had a hard time falling asleep while we were inside – we did not stay long. It might be worth to mention that it is allowed to take your own stroller inside, which is quite convenient.
When it comes to cultural experiences, I must admit that we have learnt so much about the diversity and development of the city by just walking around. We did this in our neighbourhood Bedford–Stuyvesant, walked along the High Line and on one day, we walked all the way from the Financial District via China Town to Soho, Greenwich Village to the Empire State Building.
History
Which little boy does not want to go on a boat trip? We therefore took a ferry on our first day to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellies Island. The weather was nice and our son liked this tour a lot. Other sights we visited while he was sitting in the stroller, were the for example the 9/11 Memorial, stock exchange and Brooklyn Bridge.
Donald Trump
We have been walking South from Central Park, while suddenly there was a traffic jam, police, barricades, people standing on the pedestrian walk. Protest? Concert? No, there was the Trump Tower right in front of us! And I said ‘Look. Isn’t there a Starbucks inside?’ and by husband replied ‘Let’s have some coffee!’. We passed the police and security check and could order our coffee inside. We were of course not the only ones, and right next to us was a man in uniform looking serious, but still enjoying his coffee break. I approached him. It turned out that he was working for the secret service and we had a very interesting conversation for a few minutes. Maybe that was also the reason, why we were not scolded for our son repeatedly playing with the red cordon rope that should stop people from entering another corridor.
I have not received any compensation or rewards for mentioning locations or activities in this post. The post is fully based on my personal experiences.
If you have any more questions or feedback to our trip, please let me know!
