We flew back to Israel last week as a family; no solo parenting flights from hell this time. Phew is exactly right.
It also helped that our stopover in Zurich was an absolute pleasure. I haven’t flown cross-Atlantic with a stopover in 8 or 9 years (and that was my Lufthansa-Frankfort story, which is inappropriate to tell on Holocaust Remembrance Eve… or is it?).
Keep in mind, we left from JFK, one of the busiest airports in the world, which, after sitting in road traffic to the airport and then airplane traffic on the tarmac, we looked back as we took off and saw this queue:
Anyway, Zurich Airport was calm, quiet, and and and – had a free, clean, new, spectacular child wash/change/play/feed center (yes, in that order). I couldn’t believe it, especially coming from not-that-family-friendly and not-at-all-wallet-friendly United States of Areyougonnapayforthatservice.
I highly recommend it if you’re choosing a stopover with kids. Oh, also Swiss Air was the best airline I’ve ever flown, hands down. I think they probably partially sponsor the kiddie center, too.
Here are some shabby photos that don’t do justice for the three rooms with multiple changing spaces, high chairs, climbing toys, blocks, mats, games, puzzles, slide, bathrooms, and wifi.
Well, if nothing else, the view as you fly over the Alps is insane:
Whadya got: