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Traveling with children by car

When parents announced years ago that we would be spending our summer holidays in the car this time, I was very angry. There was no way I could understand the joy of riding a car over Polish roads, then crossing the sea with the ferry and driving through the roads surrounded by forest and rivers to the cold and gloomy Norway. And what there ?!

And there go boating, soaking in the rain, and living in some wooden huts with fishermen. And all in the middle of summer when should you lie like a lizard on hot sand until you change your body color drastically. Literally, with my unhappy face I watched through the window, the ever-changing images of Poland, I swore to myself that once I could decide on my own vacation, there would be no cars or ferries in them!

You can laugh but years later and being the chief of our family vacation, I was back to what I ran from during my childhood. Because, in fact, all those difficult journeys are stuck in my memory. The breathtaking beauty of the Norwegian fjords, the rain that sprays all day and the blissful feeling of returning home to your small, warm, and cozy country cottage. 

A herd of sheep broke through the door of the house every morning and demanded food. The first in life oysters at the Oslo Fish Market. Tales of Kubasek Puchatek on a radio station on potholed Polish roads. There was so much going on in those car trips that I still had enough fun stories for my kids. 

Yes, traveling with children in Europe by car is not the easiest and simplest vacation option, but I sincerely believe that after years, my children will laugh and be happy to share memories of our family holidays with their children. And most importantly, we all fell in love with traveling and continue exploring the world.

© Fortune, 2009

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6 Comments

  1. We often went on holidays by car and I still do that. As children,, my Dad taught us to recognise land marks or spot the rabbit in the field…We were occupied as we went.

    Of course there were dangerous roads to travel, where one side was down a steep mountain that went down forever. The road was a metal road and dangerous we were all quiet, so Dad could concentrate on the driving..

  2. I used to travel a lot by car when my daughters were young, now i still do some car trips with my all family sometimes including my grandchildren.

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