An Au Pair in Germany - The Start To My European Adventure!

Like a lot of people around the world I make plans every January for things I'd like to accomplish in that particular year. Trips I would like to take, personal goals I hope to reach and new things I'd like to learn. So when I made my usual plans in early 2023 I had no idea that pretty much all of them would be thrown out the window in lieu of a year that I never would have dreamed to plan myself. The biggest part of that change would be the almost two months I got to spend in Europe with my brother and his family.

I'd already had plans to spend Thanksgiving with them on a trip to Denmark and Norway, but one day in October I got a call from them asking if I might be able to come a little sooner to help take care of the newest member of the family, my niece Charlotte aka Pickle (the name my nephew gave her before she was born...it's adorable and it stuck). I didn't have another contract job lined up at that moment, so off I went on this very unexpected extended trip! After two flights, one long train and two subway rides, I arrived at their front door in Sindelfingen, Germany where my sister-in-law immediately handed me a cute ass sleeping baby and the dog and off she went to finish a zoom meeting for work in the other room, lol. So there I was with my niece, meeting her for the first time and realizing I was, for all intents and purpose, her nanny now. An Au Pair in Germany! What a way start to my European Adventure.

Over the course of my 41 years on this earth I've babysat for friends and neighbors and I of course spent time watching my nephew but this was going to be my first time spending a large amount of time caring for a baby. As Pickle and I sat on the couch that first day I remember looking down at her sleeping face and thinking, "what in the world are we gonna do kid?" She of course, did not answer because she was a new born and they don't talk. And then my next thought was, "man she must be sleeping pretty hard, she sure is still." And then I straight up poked her in the cheek because that's what all mature and capable adults do to make sure the child they are in charge of is in fact still breathing, lol. I knew at that moment I was out of my element and was going to have to find a way to bridge the gap in my lack of knowledge when it came to babies and what I did know...the outdoors.

So that's exactly what Pickle and I did. We went outside! Every morning we got bundled up and headed outside for what I called our daily adventures. Sometimes those daily adventures were just to the farmers market in the city center or to look around the local shops, but most days were spent exploring all of the walking/hiking trails extending out of the busy city streets and into quiet neighborhood parks and local forest trails. We made friends with the ducks at the local pond and we took breaks on a bench near this beautiful old church to listen to the bells ringing. We had fun taking selfies with the beautiful fall colors and other times we found a quiet spot to sit in a neighborhood rose garden to people watch. On the weekends all of us would venture out as a group to explore together, including a hike to a castle ruins where Pickle got to go into her first cave (she slept through it but still pretty cool I think!

Anyone that really knows me, knows my love language is time spent outside exploring...well that and 90's R&B/Hip Hop...but that's another story. Looking back on this time I keep thinking, what a great way to get to know somebody. To just be out exploring places you are both new to. I feel so lucky to have had the chance to get to know my niece in this way and for her to get to see the first glimpse of who her Aunt Katie is. I know she is too young to remember any of this time but maybe her memory will store it someplace in the back of her mind as a feeling...or small nudge that reminds her of me down the road. And if it does, I hope it fills her with a sense of peace and strength to know she is capable of experiencing All The Things that excite her in life.