I took a trip home to Denmark with my wife and child in the fall. I did it for the sole purpose of having my ailing uncle meet Olivia, my daughter. It was important to me, and I just wanted to make sure a meeting occurred before something... happens. Uncle cannot travel. It's a trip I've been wanting to make since Olivia was born, but it hasn't been remotely feasible until now. Or so I thought.

If you ask my wife, she'll sum it up as: "Eleven time zones and a two year old. And a mother in law, for good measure." She calls it the second-worst trip of her life. OK, fair enough. It was pretty bad, I admit. If you are remotely thinking about going that far with someone that young, here is our experience. May you get something helpful out of it.

Hawaii to Denmark is a 23 hour journey. It involves at least two long plane rides; sometimes three, depending on the carrier. This time, we flew Continental, which has a 10 hour trip from Copenhagen to Newark, NJ; and another 11 hour leg from Newark to Honolulu, with a 90 minute layover in between. If you miss it due to delays leaving Denmark, you will have to wait another day because there's only one of those flights a day.

We took several West Coast trips with a one-year-old Olivia, and those were just manageable. It might be a breeze for other people ("Just let her nurse during takeoff, and sleep during the trip") but sometimes theory and reality don't always coincide, you know? A five hour plane ride is all we wanted to deal with.

However, when I talk to my mother back in Denmark every few weeks, she gives me a progress report on Uncle Paul's health. Lately, she's expanded on his list of health issues. None are pressing, but he seems to grow frailer with each month. Additionally, I call Uncle Paul every few weeks. He has a horrible cough due to a ferocious smoking habit, and he just sounds older and more tired. In my line of work, I just don't take life for granted.

When my wife Diane was laid off last fall, I decided to seize the opportunity to ask her again to help me escort Olivia home. My logic was, it might be feasible because Olivia can walk and she can feed herself.

Thus, we flew to Europe in November 2009. She was 29 months old. I really don't want to tell you what to do, because your sleep needs, your tolerance, your child, and your situation might be different, so there are too many factors to just issue a blanket statement. If pressed to give an answer, I would have to advise AGAINST taking a 2 year old that far.

1) JET LAG

Western Europe is 11 hours ahead of Hawaii. By far, this was the worst problem for us. We stayed for the first week in a hotel room. Jet lagged people wake up at weird hours, and sleep at weird hours. In previous trips, I remember sleeping a few hours overnight, waking up pre-dawn for a few hours, and sleeping all afternoon. Then walking around town like a zombie searching for food.

When a two year old wakes up, everyone is on her schedule. Period. You think you can turn on the portable DVD player or the coloring book and let her have at it for half an hour? Good luck. And because it was a hotel room, the noise and lights meant everyone got up.

The severe jet lag lasted about three days, and then it tapered off. We weren't completely adjusted for a week, though. We would walk around town and sightsee, and she would sleep in the stroller, and then when we returned to the hotel room all tired, she would wake up and be ready to play.

If I had to do it over, I would have planned to stay the first three to seven days at a house, so that one adult could get up and move to another room while the other sleeps. Better yet, go to a house with other adults who will help babysit while you both sleep. Best yet, a house of another young family, so their kids can play with your kid.

2) PLANE RIDES AND LAYOVERS

An 11 hour plane ride is a lot for anyone, particularly if that someone is a child. Kids are meant to run around and look at things. Other travelers snoring do not count. It was a gamble if she would cooperate or not on the plane. She slept on some segments, she didn't on others. She screamed like a banshee at the indignity of wearing a seatbelt on some trips. We did what we could to mitigate the hassle by packing her a toy bag, complete with aforementioned portable DVD player, but it wasn't always a guarantee.

I thought the actual traveling portion would be the hardest element, based on my West Coast trips with her. Gosh, was I wrong. She was an angel on the flights and the layover home. Not one complaint.

3) SCHEDULE UNPREDICTABILITY

Kids like routine. Parents of little kids like routine. Trips often mean no routine. There were a lot of missed naps, which meant a lot of late afternoon crankiness. You can try to plan around it, but really- sometimes your schedule just doesn't lend to getting home at noon for that nap.

4) ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES

Kind of hand in hand with point #3. At home we can put her for a nap in her crib in her room. We can't do that anywhere else. She won't sleep in a strange room in a place she doesn't know. Be prepared to lie down with her for nap time, and be prepared to have her just not be able to fall asleep at all.

Olivia was actually homesick for the first couple days, asking to go home a lot. She cited missing her grandparents. Cute.

5) STROLLERS AND STAIRS

For a part of the trip, we were in Paris. Olivia won't consistently walk, and can't walk as far as adults will. We brought a travel stroller, which worked out great.

You still have to take into account that you can't easily tackle stairs with a very little child, so for instance, Diane stayed at the bottom of the Arc de Triomphe while our friends and I hoofed it up the stairs to the top. It also made catching the Metro harder, due to the turnstiles, the long distances between transfer stations, the crowd of people at rush hour, and the many stairs. And my fear of her falling onto the train tracks if I let her walk around herself. Expect to really limit your range of travel, or alter it for your child's tastes.

So here's the upshot: my uncle wasn't as bad as I imagined. Yes, he was older and more tired (aren't we all?!), but he's still kicking. We probably could have waited another year to see him, but we didn't. Oh well. It's done and over with, and at least I can put that anxiety to rest. If you've got the same issues mandating a toddler trip- good luck, and I hope you have a better time than we did!