Join our active and outdoorsy family in Vöcklabruck, Austria

Details

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  Description

  We're a family of three (soon to be four!) living just north of the Alps in Austria, in Vöcklabruck. There's Johannes, the dad of the family: he is 36 years old, is just going back to his work in solar engineering after having been a stay-at-home dad for 6 months, and he's very active - he likes to bike, hike, run, or basically do anything outdoors. Then there's me, Vanessa: I'm 32 years old, I'm a junior scientist at university, and I can never sit still - I love being outdoors, but I also like to keep busy learning new skills, languages, arts, working in the local cultural center or just generally doing 1000 side projects at all times. I am also pregnant, and we're expecting our second baby to join us in February of 2025. And last, but very much not least, there's Emilian, our son, who just turned 1. He very much comes after his parents, being a very active little guy, very curious, people-friendly, and over all loves being out and about, meeting other people. We're looking for Workawayers to come join our family for a little bit and help out with looking after Emilian, and hopefully share some parts of their language and culture at the same time!
  
  The place where we live, Vöcklabruck, is a cute little town located along Austria's main railway line, which means quick and direct access to the nearby cities of Salzburg (40mins) and Linz (30mins) as well as Vienna (2hrs20mins). We're also not far from the northern edges of the Alps and an area called "Salzkammergut" (think Sound of Music) - lots of lakes, mountains, biking, hiking and skiing/snowboarding available here. We both love the combination of being close to cities where we frequently go for cultural activities (or work), and nature; and we'd looooove to share our favorite places with you or give you some tips on where to visit.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Babysitting and creative play

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house
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  Interests

  

  Videography

  

  Technology

  

  Politics / Social justice

  

  LGBTQ

  

  Events & social

  

  Culture

  

  Sustainability

  

  Vegetarian or vegan

  

  DIY & crafts

  

  Books

  

  Art & design

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Languages

  

  Photography

  

  Writing

  

  Drawing & painting

  

  Camping

  

  Fitness

  

  Nature

  

  Yoga / Wellness

  

  Winter sports

  

  Mountain

  

  Outdoor activities

  

  Hiking

  

  Cycling

  

  Adventure sports
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We both used to travel quite a bit before the arrival of our son, and I (Vanessa) used to live abroad for a large part of my life. Now that we have settled down a bit, we would love to keep the cultural exchange that happens when you are traveling or living somewhere else yourself alive and invite someone into our home. We're more than happy to help you with your German, in case you are interested in learning it (it's both of our native language), but we're also fluent in English as well as a few other languages in case you prefer to communicate in a different language. We're also happy for Emilian to be exposed to different languages and hear how people around the world speak - he's sure to benefit from it.
  
  We're very active at our local cultural center, which is located in an old hospital building and frequently hosts concerts, readings, and other events. We'd love to take you with us, if you are interested, and introduce you to the community! You'd also get to enjoy some (Austrian) cultural acts while you're there, with some of the best rock/indie bands of the country playing here every month. We're also both active in our local bicycle group, which is a group of activists advocating for better bike infrastructure and awareness for soft forms of mobility in the area. We regularly organize rides, bike trips, or night/party rides, have planning and organizing meetings, and meet for hanging out.
  
  Lastly, we usually try to fill our days and especially weekends with trips, hikes, and other adventures, which you're more than welcome to join us on! It might be a good way to get to know the area and explore some corners of the Alps that maybe otherwise you might have missed.

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  Help

  We're looking for someone to help out with childcare, babysitting Emilian a few hours every day while Johannes is at his place of work. I, Vanessa, mostly work from home, so I would usually be around in case I am needed, but it would be great to be able to close the door to my home office for a few hours every day to get some uninterrupted computer time.
  
  Your responsibilities would include playing with Emilian, going for walks or other activities around town, perhaps going grocery shopping with him or whatever other little errands need to be done, or going on some toddler-friendly adventures in the area (there are lots of fun things to be done around here with small kids - and Emilian loves being outside). You would also help with preparing some little snacks for him, changing his diapers, changing his clothes in case he spills spaghetti all over them...basically: typical baby/toddler stuff :)

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  French: Fluent
  Spanish: Intermediate
  Romanian: Beginner
  Russian: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
  You can contact them directly for more information.
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  Accommodation

  We're able to offer you your own room with balcony access in our apartment. There is a 140x200 bed in the room, and we can add a sleeper couch if you need more sleeping space (if you don't need the sleeper couch - there is a smaller couch in the room already which you can use for relaxing). The room will be completely your own, with the ability to lock it. The balcony loops around the entire apartment, so it is not private, but your side/access to it is on the lesser-used side of the building and we would take special care to give you privacy. The apartment is newly built and pretty big, but you would have to share a bathroom with the rest of the family (the bathroom has a shower and a bathtub, the toilet is in a separate room).
  
  As for the rest of the apartment, there is a big kitchen and a shared living room/dining space, as well as a large balcony/terrace. We're located about around 1.7km from the nearest train station, and you can reach the nearest shopping center/grocery store/pharmacy/... in a 5-10 minute walk from here. There is a bus station right in front of our house, and ample parking space in case you are traveling with your own car or camper van.
  
  You are warmly invited to share in our family meals (although I have to mention we don't really eat meat - maybe once a month or even less), and you are of course welcome to help yourself to anything in our fridge and pantry in between. Usually, Emilian and me (Vanessa) will have breakfast together in the mornings (Johannes leaves quite early for work), and then prepare a small lunch. In the evenings, we all eat together. Although we usually eat a lot of veggies, that is to say: not very traditionally Austrian food, I absolutely love cooking, so if you're looking for a typical Austrian culinary experience or have something on your mind that you would just absolutely love to try, I'm very much up for the challenge to try and make it :)

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  What else ...

  There is no smoking and no pets in the house.

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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

  If you are planning to work while here, we can see to it that you have a comfortable working arrangement in your room (set up a good desk space, etc.). I (Vanessa) also work from home, so the internet connection is excellent, and we have a printer that you can use. If you need anything else, feel free to ask!

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  Space for parking camper vans

  This host can provide space for campervans.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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