Greece:
Traveling with Children
Andrea
and I feel like we are experts at bringing children to Greece because
by time our daughter Amarandi was 5 years old she had been to Greece seven
times including once in the womb. People can be apprehensive about
taking children on long journeys, far from their support system that makes
raising a child seem almost routine at times. In that sense Greece was
an awakening for us because we realized many of our needs as parents
were not essential. In fact there were only three essentials: Pampers (which
became unnecessary after the first couple trips), our McLaren stoller of
which my exploits are chronicled in Strollering
Through Athens, and a baby backpack for going to those places where
having wheels are a hindrance.
Getting to Greece with Kids: A Great Flight
We once flew Air France from NY to Paris and
I am now converted. Not that the seats were any more comfortable, the food
was any better or the staff were any nicer, but for the simple reason that
every seat in economy had a TV. Its true. Mounted on the seat in front
of you is a television with half a dozen movie channels and various other
programs including a continuous cartoon channel which kept our daughter
occupied every waking hour of the flight. It was the best flight I have
ever been on with her, in fact there were times I wished we could have
taken that seat with us to use in Greece. If you are not so lucky as to
have a TV in the seat in front of you then bring plenty of stuff for your
child to do. Coloring books are essential.
After
a grueling 10 hour flight from America, the wait at passport control and
the chaos of the baggage carousel, the last thing in the world we want
to do is deal with standing on line to get a taxi. I am a firm believer
in transfers rather then trying your luck with the masses outside the terminal.
For thirty dollars George
Kokkotos, Athens most famous taxi driver is there waiting for us as
we walk out the door into the arrivals terminal. He greets us and insists
that he carry my heaviest bags to his car waiting right outside the door
and we are on our way. Before we know it we are at our hotel rather then
sitting in another taxi still trying to explain how to get there. George
carries our bags into the lobby and is gone as quickly as he appeared,
having made this first transition completely painless.
With the time change you may completely beat
after your long flight but that does not mean your child will be. In fact
you may take your first walking tour of the Plaka completely against your
will only because your child will not let you do otherwise. Don't worry
about it. There will be time for relaxation and if you and your mate can
work in shifts during these first few brutal hours things will come together
smoothly.
Traveling with A Baby in Greece
We
brought our pampers with us but realized that a 3 month supply leaves no
room in our bags for anything else. They are available in what the Greeks
call Supermarkets, which are on every island and might be compared to a
convenience store packed with everything you would find in a supermarket
only fewer and smaller items (though the pampers are normal sized and take
up a lot of shelf space). The American made pampers were more expensive
then the Greek pampers so to save money we made a switch, only to discover
that the Greek version of the miracle adhering strip was not up to the
rigors of being attached to an active American child and the pampers would
fall off frequently. This was easily remedied by duct tape which may be
a little harder to find in Greece but can be brought from America without
sacrificing too much luggage space.
The more time you spend on the beach the
less pampers you will need. That is if you are far from the crowds and
are able to let things fall as they may, as they say. If you let your child
run free and naked by the sea you won't spend as much money on pampers.
If you are the type who believes that a child should be in pampers either
to shield them from unscrupulous eyes or to keep the stuff which the pampers
are meant to contain, contained, you should be aware that when pampers
get wet they expand and get heavy and the baby falls down a lot.
What Kids think is Cool and what you think is
cool may not be the same thing
As
children get older be prepared for the possibility that they may not find
the beauty of Greece as stimulating as you do. They may think it's boring
and never be happy until they are in the hotel room, jumping on the bed.
The key is staying in one place. This sounds strange to us because we keep
things interesting by moving on, visiting the next island, the next beach
and changing our surroundings. Have you ever noticed how dogs only notice
other dogs. When I am driving in my car with Byron in the front seat he
stares out the windshield at the highway. I don't know if he has
any idea what he is looking at or what is happening or that we are moving.
But if he catches a glimpse of another dog he gets very excited and jumps
up, looking through each window for the best view until the dog is out
of sight and even then I can tell he is still thinking about it. Kids are
the same way. You can take them to the rim of the volcano in Santorini
and point to the ships below, the sunset, the other islands of lava bubbling
from the depths and be totally impressed yourself at the magnificence of
the scene, but if there is another child playing nearby or listening to
the same boring lecture from his or her parent, that is all your child
is interested in. You can go to the most beautiful beach in the world with
sparkling azure seas and fish leaping from the sea to greet you, but if
there are no other kids on the beach don't expect the fascination to last.
For all your surroundings you may as well be taking a 10 hour car trip
on I-95 with your child asking “are we there yet?” every two minutes. A
remote secluded beach is great for couples with a new born baby but not
for a child who knows what it is like to play with other kids. The irony
is that if you want peace of mind then go with your kids to the crowded
family beach because without other kids to bounce off of they will probably
torture you. Quiet secluded paradises are boring to some little people.
Same goes for the Parthenon. In the words of my 6 year old brother when
we came upon the temple of Apollo in Aegina:
"Oh no. Not another one of these things."
Kids on the Beach
When
we live in Lesvos we have a choice of a few beaches. There is the nearby
beaches of Campo Antissa and Gavatha which are long stretches of sand where
many times we are the only people there. There is also Skala Eressos,
a mile long beach, a third of it lined with cafes where young Scandinavian's
watch their kids play in the sand and sea a few feet away. It's an easy
choice for us which beach to go to and we find a spot in the vicinity of
the largest group of kids. Within minutes our daughter is playing like
she has known them for years, in fact when they leave for lunch she follows
them and we follow her. Getting her into the car to leave is the only problem
but compared to being on beautiful quiet Campo Antissa with her screaming
it's a breeze.
If you are traveling with your family then
a family beach is where you want to be. Forget about staying in the village
and taking a bus to the beach. Find a place where the beach and the village
are the same thing. Eressos in Lesvos and Kamares in Sifnos are both great,
Kamares maybe better because it is a bay and the sea is generally calmer
even on windy days. In Eressos if the wind is blowing in there can be waves
because it is open sea though generally it is calm too. Both have cafes
on the beach, restaurants on the beach and even rooms or hotels on the
beach. What this means is that even if you don't feel like being on the
beach all day your child can. You can still be a few feet away from them,
doing your own thing. Both beaches have beach chairs and umbrellas for
rent which seems to make kids more comfortable, like having a home. But
the most important thing is that both beaches have other kids.
The Greeks and Kids
Greece
is the land of a million baby-sitters. It's not like in America where if
someone talks to your child in the park or the super-market your
first thought may be that he is a pervert or a kidnapper. The Greeks love
children and even the most grumpy old guy will light up if a child takes
an interest in him. When we put Amarandi in the backpack she would love
it because when we stopped to wait for the light to change so we could
cross the street there would always be someone next to us or behind us
talking to her, making faces, smiling at her and making her laugh. Kids
generally attract attention from older people in Greece and when they are
at eye level even more. Women will pinch her cheeks affectionately and
call her a ‘koukla’ a word meaning doll and one of the few Greek words
she knows. In the tavernas someone from the next table would adopt her
and she would sit in their lap and they would entertain each other while
we watched with enjoyment. When she would cry people would come over and
play with her so she would stop. “Don't cry my little koukla” they would
smile and pay such attention that whatever was bothering her would be forgotten.
Sometimes Greek women would pick her up and dance with her around the room,
swaying with exaggerated movement until they were both laughing. This is
stuff that if it happened in the states you might feel nervous about. But
in Greece it is totally innocent and unthreatening and it makes me wonder
what is wrong with us? How come we don't enjoy kids the way they do. Sure
we enjoy our own but can you imagine going up to a child at the next table
who is crying, and trying to cheer him up? Most people's reaction is “if
you cannot keep your kid quiet can you get him out of here so I can enjoy
my meal?”
Maybe it's the partitioning of ages in our
culture. Old people don't have that much contact with the young in America,
but in Greece its all one big happy family. You don't have to worry about
your child bothering the old people at the next table because it is no
bother at all. They take pleasure in your child in a kind and loving way.
Even if they don't speak your language they will find a way to entertain
with pictures drawn on napkins, folded figures, or cutting, peeling and
feeding them the same fruit that the child refuses to eat when you give
it to her.
Kids and Restaurants
If
you are traveling with one child or with two that are not getting along,
your method of choosing a restaurants should be the same as choosing
a beach. If there are two restaurants and one is a traditional Greek taverna
filled with locals and a scattering of seasoned, and the other is a Greek
fast food souvlaki joint but full of families and kids running wild, guess
which one you will find the most peace. The second of course because no
matter how much running around your child does with the Scandinavian kids
from the next table, and no matter how many times you have to grab her
as she races by chasing someone and tell her to behave, nothing is as bad
as having the only unhappy child in the quaint traditional Greek Taverna.
Anyway even in the crappiest fast food joint you can find something you
will enjoy eating. Have a snack and wait until she runs out of steam and
passes out in the stroller and you can go to the quiet traditional taverna
and eat in peace. A good thing about Greece is the restaurants are open
late. You just have to outlast your kids.
For older kids, a village like Kamares, Sifnos
or Eressos Lesvos is great because while you eat a leisurely meal and then
relax and converse with your neighbors or friends you have made, the kids
can run wild with the children of other travelers or with the locals. There
are really very few dangers. The same goes for the Plaka in Athens since
it is closed to automobile traffic.
Food for Kids who hate Greek food
When
all else fails you can always get eggs. Fried or scrambled. Omelets with
cheese, ham or bacon, or my favorite, with feta, tomatoes, potatoes and
onions. Breakfast, lunch or dinner. In restaurants, fast food joints or
cafeneons, eggs can save the day. You can get spaghetti in just about any
restaurant, with meat sauce, tomato sauce or just cheese. Pizza is available
in many places too. The key is to get them interested in souvlaki because
then life becomes a breeze. You can sit down to a quiet dinner and send
them next door on their own to buy a souvlaki like it's a big cultural
adventure. When we were kids that's all we ate. Cheese pies (tiropita)
and spinach pies (spanakopita) are also easy to find and make great snacks.
Hamburgers are generally awful, not that there is anything wrong with the
meat but they have not mastered the ketchup thing yet. Keftedes are little
fried meatballs and they are usually a big hit. Chicken tastes like chicken
anywhere only better and it's the least expensive meat on the menu. It
comes with roast or fried potatoes. Get them to try the roasted ones first
and if they don't like them switch to fries. French fries are amazing.
Kids love them and in many places they are cooked in olive oil so you can
enjoy them too. In places like Lesvos where fish are cheap you can get
marides which are tiny deep fried fish that can be eaten whole. My daughter
loves them and yours may too.
Reward Systems for Good behavior
Ice-cream
is a key ingredient for a successful vacation. There are several
Greek ice-cream companies and every café, restaurant or peripeto
is the representative of one. You will see a brightly colored freezer box
with doors on the top and large colored posters of each variety, expertly
made to capture the attention of kids from any country. Names like ,Status, Boss,
Overdose, and Choco-magnum will become familiar to you as you
use them as a reward or a threat to keep your child behaving or eating
what is on his plate. My daughter's favorite variety is a cup with a hollow
bottom that contains a small toy. Some of the toys she really enjoyed and
spent time playing with them which was really a bonus for us but sometimes
they backfired and we were forced to spend hours trying to figure out what
they were supposed to do or how to put them together. Another potential
disaster was getting the same toy she had gotten before and it got to the
point where we were holding our breath while she opened the secret flap
underneath the plastic container.
In the town squares and in various locations
around Athens are rides where you put a few drachma's in the slot and your
child can go around in circles on a train, ride a lightly bucking bronco
or whirl in a stationary helicopter. Combined with ice-cream this makes
a fulfilling evening activity for a child.
An excellent good behavior reward or bad
behavior remedy in Athens is the National
Gardens at Syntagma square. It's a square mile or two of semi tropical
plants, trees and flowers and a variety of wildlife which could be described
as predominantly winged, feathered and quacking. There is a nice pond full
of these creatures and you can bring leftover bread from lunch, or buy
some from a woman stationed nearby for your children to feed them. In fact
you may be worried that they will eat your children for at times they will
disappear from sight as the ducks surround them like they have not eaten
in days, but generally they are harmless. Watch out for the geese though.
They are bigger, braver and meaner, though thankfully fewer.
The Stroller
When
Amarandi outgrew her stroller it was bad news for us. The stroller was
an all purpose vehicle used for carrying luggage through the airport, from
the ferry boats to the hotel and of course the purpose for which it was
intended, carrying her. But where it was really missed was in the restaurants
at night when it became a mobile bed that we could put her in when she
fell asleep, or walk her in until she was asleep and we could continue
the evening indefinitely. Our nights out got much shorter when she outgrew
our faithful McLaren and we had to take her back to the hotel to put her
to bed because she was getting to heavy to carry. In fact if they come
up with a stroller for wives and teenagers I will definitely buy one.
The Best reason to bring a child to Greece
A
holiday with a baby in Greece gave us ample opportunity to watch her grow
and play with her much more then we would have in the states where work,
TV, computers and the day to day maintenance of our lifestyle leaves a
lot less time for child interaction. In Greece all we had was time, beautiful
weather and a spectacular background where we were able watch our new daughter.
To her there is no difference between Greece and a Seven-Eleven, it's all
colors and newness, but to us watching her gave us a stronger awareness
of ourselves as a family.
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