Coolest kid on the block

Andy and I have been going back and forth on what to do about a stroller for Carsten. We have a very nice Chicco stroller that fits our car seat and is wonderful in every way (it's even tall enough for Andy!) except that I cannot maneuver it on and off the train by myself. Since Carsten is still pretty little, every time we need to use the train, I put him in our Moby wrap or baby bjorn. This has worked pretty well so far, but since we're taking a 5 day trip to France, neither Andy or I really wanted to carry Carsten full time in a carrier. So, hence our wish to find a better solution.

I started paying attention to everyone with strollers here and found that there were basically two types of strollers everyone seemed to be using: an umbrella stroller or a very nice jogging stroller. There are a couple advantages to each stroller over our current one. The umbrella stroller is lighter & more compact, so it's easier for one person to lift it on and off the train. The jogging stroller type has large wheels, so you can back it on and off the train with relative ease; however, if you get one of these, be prepared to pay $600+ for the stroller plus accessories. Well, in the end after a few days of intense discussion (those who know us know that spending $600 for a stroller does not jive with our Dutch natures), we decided to buy an umbrella stroller. So, Andy graciously went to the baby store in Zurich after work on Tuesday, and came home with a wonderful umbrella stroller that has more features that I would have ever guessed: 1) it's tall enough for Andy! 2) the seat lays down flat for Carsten when he's sleeping 3) it has a basket for a few things and 4) it has a nice brake system as well.

So, on Wednesday we did a trial run to make sure that we wanted to take the stroller to France this weekend. And the result: SUCCESS! I can maneuver the stroller with great ease and Carsten even fell asleep in it. To mark the exciting day, I, of course, took some photos!

Andy chose an orange stroller, and I must say Carsten is stylin' :).

And this picture is why I think he's the coolest kid on the block. He's sleeping in these photos :).

So, since it was a nice day and the train noises would likely wake Carsten up, I decided to take a walk around Zurich. So Carsten and I made our way to the lake and found this street performer. He started clapping and...

...dancing when someone put money in his canister. Also, the bulldog moved too. And, I think he loves Switzerland. Additionally, there's a ferris wheel in the background, and I have no idea why it's there.

See, it was a beautiful day :).

So, the rest of the day for me is going to be packing suitcases as efficiently as possible for Paris. See you soon Jess!