Life with a Pram

Although I love the Bugaboo Bee, it's a big investment to make on something we might end up disliking for one reason or another. So last week when I saw an older pram advertised for free, I decided to go pick it up and give it a whirl. I certainly learned a TON!

This is how you go up stairs when you have a pram with you and there is no elevator here in Switzerland. Now there's something I didn't know before yesterday. I always assumed these were for bicycles, but the two parallel tracks indicate the designers were thinking of mamas, too. Push hard and steady and keep it centered!

The newer trains are well-designed and it's easy to board and alight with a pram. In fact, it's a breeze!

The newer trains also have the ideal seating configuration for prams. An easy place to park it - and - you get to fold down the seat and sit with your baby! 

When boarding trams, it's important to watch out for older people with shopping trolleys. They're not afraid or embarrassed to push right past you and get a good seat near the tram parking area. Grrrr.

Thank God there was a pram parking space available. Otherwise I guess I would have had to wait for the next one!

I'm thinking it's going to be a good idea to measure this thing given it barely fit into the tram parking area. Don't forget the parking brake!

Being in the grocery store with a pram was no problem given its similarity to a shopping cart. The rack underneath is handy for a bag of groceries, but it wouldn't hold much more than that... On that note, I'm happy I purchased a messenger-bag-style diaper bag that I'll be able to hang over the push bar.

The older trains are not well-designed for prams. Here is the pram parked almost directly underneath the "NO PRAMS" sign. Oh no!

In addition, the older trains are poorly designed for boarding and alighting with a pram. Eeek!

Although Zurich is somewhat tricky to navigate with a pram I was happy to discover that every single time I got on or off a train, people either offered to help or just helped automatically. Thank you, folks! And, I discovered something else. It's perfectly okay to ram into ignorant teenagers who try to push past you to get in the gigantic revolving doors at the shopping center. Like I said, I certainly learned a lot!