Join our family life with a baby and a cat on the outskirts of Cologne, Germany

Details

• 

  Description

  We are a small family consisting of Hannah (38), Kevin (39), our little daughter (7 months) and our cat Muckel (9).
  
  After Hannah herself was a Workaway volunteer in Austria and Switzerland several years ago, we are now looking for support in our turbulent everyday family life and in setting up our new home, which we recently moved into.
  
  About us:
  We, Hannah and Kevin, have been a couple since university and have traveled quite a bit since then (several times to the United States and Ireland, where we have family, as well as New Zealand, Japan, Thailand, Mexico, and South Africa). We enjoy spending time in nature and in the garden (especially Hannah :)), cooking, and Kevin is also very interested in technology (automation, smart homes, ...) and Hannah in art (photography, drawing, etc.). We like to cook/eat vegetarian, sometimes vegan, and international food. Due to the baby, we currently mainly eat simple dishes :)
  
  Kevin works as a special machine builder; Hannah is currently on parental leave from her job as head of an Environmental/ Sustainability department.
  
  Our little daughter explores the world around her in a mostly good mood and she started trying complementary food recently :)
  
  Our cat Muckel is very shy in the beginning, hiding from strangers, but gets rather laid-back when he feels comfortable. He then warms up to cat lovers and enjoys cuddling and playing.
  
  We’re still organizing ourselves in our new home and in our family life and appreciate your help a lot :)
  
  *********
  
  What we offer:
  * Become part of our small family and gain insight into everyday life with a baby, cat, and garden on the outskirts of Cologne.
  
  * We are sociable and, with a baby, also a lively household, but we are generally quiet and also offer you places to retreat and tasks where you can be by yourself.
  
  * Your own room with Wi-Fi and neighboring bathroom which you mostly will only share with Muckel (who’s litter box is on there).
  
  * Cooking/eating together; meals with varied, mostly vegetarian cuisine.
  
  * The opportunity to learn new skills around the house and garden, either by learning from us or via the internet. We ourselves have learned how to maintain electrical appliances, dye laundry, and how to prune grapevines using YouTube, for example.
  
  * A great location with many different leisure activity opportunities: Take a relaxing walk around the nearby lake, explore the suburbs, or take the tram directly to Cologne with its various neighborhood: Explore the bustling historic city center, stroll through trendy and creative Südstadt and Ehrenfeld, visit the large international trade fair (gamescom, ArtCologne, for example), eat your way through street food festivals or pick your favorite cultural activity.
  From Cologne, there are also direct train connections to other large cities like Hamburg, Paris and Amsterdam.
  
  * We'll provide you with tips and ideas for things to do in the area

• 

  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Babysitting and creative play

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance

  House & pet sitting
• 

  Interests

  

  Technology

  

  Sustainability

  

  Pets

  

  Hiking

  

  Photography

  

  Plant care

  

  Drawing & painting

  

  Gardening

  

  Cooking & food

  

  DIY & crafts

  

  Art & design

  

  Animals

  

  Yoga / Wellness

  

  Nature

  

  Beach

  

  Camping

  

  Cycling
• 

  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  What you can learn from us: how to organize everyday family life; how to prepare simple, healthy, mostly vegetarian dishes from around the world; how to identify local plants and mushrooms; how to optimize home technology

• 

  Help

  Who/what we are looking for:
  
  With our young daughter and new home, there are plenty different things to do, so it’s likely we find things that match your skills and interests :)
  For short stays, you can help us set up the house (assembling furniture, installing curtains or the like, …). If you stay a little longer, we’ll happily integrate you in our everyday life and you can also do more general tasks. Help in keeping the house tidy is always appreciated!
  In general, we are looking for friendly, open-minded, independent, and responsible people. And we appreciate a good sense of humor :)
  
  Typical tasks could include:
  
  * Loading and unloading the dishwasher
  
  * Preparing meals or helping us with them, e.g., cutting vegetables
  
  * Vacuuming / clearing the floor for the robot vacuum cleaner
  
  * Setting the table
  
  * Taking out the trash
  
  * Sterilizing baby bottles
  
  * Warming up milk bottles or baby food
  
  * Furnishing your own Workaway room :)
  
  * Researching things we need to buy (e.g., baby chair, spare parts for the sewing machine)
  
  * Possibly hanging up lamps/pictures
  
  * Repairing bicycles
  
  * Possibly helping to assemble pieces of furniture or painting/varnishing furniture
  
  * Taking care of Muckel the cat (refilling water, cleaning the litter box, cuddling, playing - if Muckel wants to)
  
  * Practical or creative sewing projects, e.g., shortening curtains or sewing baby clothes
  
  * Gardening, such as mowing the lawn, raking leaves, building raised beds if necessary
  
  * Running small errands/shopping

• 

  Languages spoken

  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  French: Beginner

• 

  Accommodation

  You have your own room on the first floor; next door is the bathroom, which you can use mostly on your own, and on the other side is the children's/guest room (our daughter still sleeps with us). Our office is also on this floor.

• 

  A little more information

  • 

    Internet access

  • 

    Limited internet access

  • 

    We have pets

  • 

    We are smokers

  • 

    Can host families

• 

  Can host digital nomads

  This host has indicated that they love having digital nomads stay.

• 

  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

• 

  My animals / pets

  Muckel

Website Safety

Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host

Feedback (1)