Help us with our two kids and stay at our castle in Burgenland, Austria

Details

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  Description

  We are a typical family of four - with two little children - except we live in a 800-year-old castle!
  Our home is situated on top of a little hill in the southeast of Austria in the beautiful Südburgenland region.
  My name is Johanna and I'm a biologist and nature guide and my husband Erasmus is running the hotel we're living in. Our kids are Aurelia (almost 3) and Valentin (12 months). We are implementing a lot of ideas of Maria Montessori. Our approach includes a very respectful relationship with the kids, encouraging them in every-day-activities on eye level, reasoning with them instead of punishing and spending a lot of time exploring nature. No screen time, but lots of Montessori-style toys made from wood and including them in household chores very young ;)
  
  Our garden consists of a flower garden directly around the castle, a fruit orchard and a small historic green house, that we will renovate in 2025.
  
  Our castle is not a usual hotel but rather a museum at which you can sleep. It only has 9 hotel rooms, so you will never see many guests - it makes it pretty cozy.
  We also have a huge garden with two horses and lots and lots of fruit trees and a vegetable garden.
  However, we are still very close to the village center.
  We live in a rather small village with a small market, a school, a bakery, a nature swimming pool and two restaurants - everything in walking distance of 5-20 minutes.
  Our area is ideal for nature lovers!
  We are surrounded by beautiful forests and greenlands, where quite a few rare and endangered animals live. The perfect place for long walks, hiking and photography.
  I've been travelling via workaway for many years - so I know how to make it a great experience for all of us :)
  
  PS: My husband is hiring staff for the hotel (May-October) via a different host profile, so there will be two other workawayers living with us.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Babysitting and creative play

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house
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  Interests

  

  Farming

  

  Vegetarian or vegan

  

  Sustainability

  

  Self development

  

  Pets

  

  LGBTQ

  

  Events & social

  

  Charity work

  

  Culture

  

  History

  

  Plant care

  

  Photography

  

  Music

  

  Languages

  

  Gardening

  

  Drawing & painting

  

  DIY & crafts

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Animals

  

  Water sports

  

  Yoga / Wellness

  

  Nature

  

  Outdoor activities

  

  Dancing
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Our castle has a lot of history and you are welcome to explore everything!
  
  You are welcome to join me at work on my guided tours through nature. I'm mostly doing workshops and walks on the topics insects and wild herbs. So you can learn:
  - how to make food from wild herbs, like lemonade, herb salt/seasoning, freshly shaked herb butter, herb bread etc.
  - lots of fun facts about insects
  - bird names and their songs
  - games for kids in nature
  - crafting ideas in nature
  
  I'm starting to implement more ecological gardening methods and ways to increase biodiversity, so you can learn:
  - how to plant a hedge & which plants benefit local animals the most!
  - what a dead wood hedge is
  - ways to help animals during winter time/ hot summer e.g. natural shelters
  
  Also we have a huge flower garden where you could learn a lot about cultivated flowers and help my mother in law (basic german skills required!).
  
  I am an open book and we can have good conversations about everything! Also non- biology-related ;)

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  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

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  Help

  Two main types of help are needed: Kids and garden. Garden work could also include some diy drystone wall building if you like ;)
  
  - Kids: You will mostly help me with the kids and do fun activities with us. This includes playing in and around the house, going to the pool, the playground and some local attractions. Also I would love to visit Vienna with you and the kids and show you around (we lived in Vienna for many years and lots of friends and family live there). Also I need you to watch Aurelia if my help is needed in the hotel or else. Most of the time you will not be alone with the kids, but helping me juggling both of them.
  
  - Garden: You can also help in the vegetable garden, flower garden or the orchard. We have an old greenhouse where we plant tomatos and other veggies. It needs repair and we are planning on restoring it with a new roof and glass front. Also we are planning on repairing some old stone walls in the garden, where we could need an extra hand.
  Our next big project for this winter/spring is to rebuild our greenhouse (see photos). Whoever is helping us in March/April can lend us a hand during construction work :)
  
  If you are fond of cooking and cleaning, I would also be happy. But if you'd rather look after the children while I do the housework in peace - that would also be fine with me! ;)

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  French: Intermediate
  Hungarian: Beginner
  Italian: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  My husband and I both come from families who love languages. That's why everybody in our three-generation household speaks/learns at least three languages! We always try to keep our language skills fresh and enjoy helping others with the same. Our daughter only speaks German (so far), so you would need at least a few basics in German to communicate with her ;)
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  Accommodation

  You will be living in a fully furnished apartment five minutes walking distance to the castle, just next to the main square with our other two workawayers who will work in the hotel. Please inform us, if you have any special needs.
  You have a fully functioning kitchen there, but you can join me and the kids at our meals in our kitchen during working hours.
  
  There is also a spare room in the castle with a private shower and toilet. This option is only possible for the months of June -September.
  
  For helpers during December-April, we arranged a cosy and warm hotel room with a private bathroom, directly next to the entance to our apartment. (as the workawayer apartment and other rooms in the castle are too cold in winter and spring). So far nobody complained ;).

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  What else ...

  In your time off you can visit the public swimming pool, go hiking, take one of our bikes for a ride, relax in the garden or hotel common rooms, eat cake with us or go for a walk.
  You can also use public transport to go to Vienna on your days off - it takes about 2 hours by bus. Every other week I would like to go to Vienna, then we could drive there together and meet up again for the drive home after one or two days. There are also some nice places in Styria you could visit or other castles nearby.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  We have a wi-fi cube you can use during your stay. For work you can sit in your own apartment or use the hotel common areas like the hall, the "chimney room" where the fireplace is, the courtyard, the garden etc.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  We have enough space to park your campervan. We live in the countryside, so space is not a problem ;)

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  Can possibly accept pets

  It depends on the pet. The in-laws have a little dog, which is very friendly to people but doesn't like all other dogs. Also, a dog would need to be on a leash in the whole castle/hotel area because of the hotel guests and there are no dogs allowed in the local swimming pool, where we spend most of the time when it's not raining.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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