Traveling with a Stroller

Before we moved to Italy I did a lot of reading up on whether we should bring a stroller. Given that we were bringing 4 months of necessities with us, a stroller was either a really good idea or it was consuming valuable space. As I do, I researched this issue pretty thoroughly.

This mostly involved two forms of research - the internet and talking to my many mom friends. Almost every website I checked out on traveling abroad said NOT to bring a stroller. Whether because of the stairs (which there are a lot of in Europe), narrow sidewalks, or uneven pavement (if you can even find pavement since most streets and sidewalks are some sort of cobblestone) - each site cautioned that we would spend more time carrying the stroller than using it. My mom friends gave me mixed advice, though all very thought provoking.

In the end I made my decision based on two things - my children and my expectations for our travel. Despite the fact that the kids are getting bigger, at just 2 and almost 5, they are still little kids. And up until our move, they are little kids used to a nap at school every afternoon. While they have their days when they can get by without one, I knew that we wouldn't be able to count on going cold turkey on the naps. That's where my expectations come into play. I knew that with CJ in class most days, I'd be seeing Rome solo with the kids. And my intentions were to make the most of our days - walking around, seeing all we could, and then returning home for dinner. That meant I'd need to be flexible with where and how the kids took a nap. A stroller it was!

I did a lot of research, and test driving, and in the end settled on Maclaren twin stroller. (If you are in the DC area I highly recommend Great Beginnings in MD for test driving strollers. They carry every make and model and have most in stock for trying. This was a huge help as I ended up needing to see them in person to pick between my final two choices).

Here's what I like about the Maclaren:

Fold-ability: It is like 2 umbrella strollers joined together which means that it collapses down and in. Then it has a handle on the side which allows you to carry it horizontally. This is great if you are going up stairs. This folding feature is my favorite part of the stroller. Folding it is easy (you still need two hands, but it isn't difficult to do) and fast. So if you want to jump on a bus or go up some stairs you just need to boot the kids out of the stroller and then collapse it. The stroller is also very light - not as light as a single, but certainly the lightest double I've ever seen. This means that once folded, I can carry it in one hand and hold Augustine's hand with the other. This feature has been a lifesaver on buses and in elevators. (I didn't realize that the elevators in Europe were so narrow until we got here. If a place even has one - not many do - they are a tight fit. A traditional double stroller would not fit, and I've seen even some single strollers that have trouble squeezing!)

Room for both kids: I looked at a lot of different stroller types before setting on the "twin" style where each child gets a seat that is the same size. For a time I was leaning toward the "sit and stand" style, but I knew that would be hard for the kids. We were going to be doing A LOT of walking, and having only one seat was likely to generate two complaints - (1) I want to be the one standing! or (2) Why can't I sit too? The twin allows both kids to sit when they are tired and if they both want to walk, well they can do that instead.

Narrow width: The Maclaren is one of the most narrow double strollers on the market. I knew this dimension was important from all I had heard about the narrow sidewalks. As a previous post I did on navigating with the stroller mentioned, this has proven to be true. Fortunately the stroller IS narrow enough for most sidewalks. The bigger issue though is getting on and off the sidewalks. Cars and motorbikes take up every inch of curb space making it pretty difficult to exit the sidewalk. With a wide stroller I'd probably still be circling the block right now. But this stroller has worked for us in this department too.

My least favorite features of the stroller are two: (1) durability and (2) the wheels. These two things actually go hand in hand. As mentioned in the many warnings, the streets in Europe are rough. And they eat up strollers pretty quickly. Ours has survived okay, but it has been in many a battle with a curb, retaining wall, and rough sidewalk. It would be much easier to push the stroller if the wheels were larger and more tire like - as are jogging stroller wheels - than the current umbrella stroller wheels. These incidents have also led to the breakdowns in the stroller that we've experienced. To date - likely due to collisions - we've had one bent bolt that required replacement. So far the replacement is holding. We'll see if that continues since I did it myself!

All in all, for our situation like ours, I highly recommend a stroller. And I'm glad I have the one with me that I do. I have a Double BOB Jogging Stroller at home that I love - I should work on commission for BOB since I've convinced several friends and even a former colleague to buy one! My BOB has a swivel wheel, huge tires, and amazing durability. And it is great for walking out the front door and going for a run. But I know I'd never survive in Rome with that. I cannot carry it any distance - not to mention up stairs. And it only folds in half and that wouldn't be nearly enough for us to easily squeeze into a bus, train or elevator. While I wish I had the features of my Bob on the Maclaren, I'm thankful that I made the decision that I did. And even if this stroller only lasts us the trip (what I'm hoping for at this point), that will have been a lot of miles that I wouldn't have been able to cover otherwise.