Earlier this month, Bubsi had a visitor she had looked forward too quite a lot. Her uncle A. flew in from Romania at the beginning of December. Right at the onset of Christmas season and Christmas market time, we had so much fun together.

Aunts and uncles are wonderful

I don’t know what it is with uncles and aunts, but they seem so much more exciting than us. Just like Bubsi’s love for aunt H. that I wrote about a few weeks back, uncle A. is another favorite person of hers. Maybe it is because both A. and H. are younger and more fun than Papa and I. Or because they can focus on games over actual parenting. At any rate, they are Bubsi’s heroes. She runs with them and plays with them and generally just hunts them down for attention. Relaxing for Papa and me, as when they visit we are off the radar and might even get some downtime for ourselves.

A. and L.’s visit

Uncle A. did not come alone. For his week-long stay he brought his girlfriend L. L. is also a very nice person who enjoys playing with toddlers like Bubsi and always has good ideas what to do next. I am confident Bubsi has never had as much fun playing hide and seek as she did with L. One of them was constantly hiding, even if in plain sight. (By the way, when do children realize that hiding means actually going somewhere they are difficult to see? Not that hiding in the middle of the room is boring, but…)

Together with A. and L. we visited the Christmas markets of Bremen and Hamburg. Bubsi enjoyed riding the carousel so much that at some point we started avoiding them as best as we could. She also liked alcohol free hot juices and the tasty Dutch treat of Poffertjes. In Hamburg, we also went to see the Miniaturwunderland. This attraction has been around for about fifteen years and features models of our world in miniature form. With real replicas of running trains, airports and gondolas. While Bubsi did enjoy it at first, the place was very busy and she got tired fast. Maybe it is more fun for older kids (like Papa and uncle A. ;)).

The international family

Sadly, A. and L. could only stay for a week. Work calls. With Papa’s half of the family living abroad in Romania and Pakistan, we do not get to see them that often. Still, Bubsi has a good relationship with A. and that makes me happy. I myself have five uncles and aunts (ten if you count their spouses), and when I was a kid it was great to have them around. As Papa and I have smaller core families, we hope that Bubsi will be able to form a strong bond with her family members both in Germany and abroad. Luckily, there is Skype and similar video services to facilitate this. Until next time, A. and L.!