Can you imagine getting to travel around the world with your toddler and not going into debt to do it? For most of us, that's a dream that will never come true, but one German mom has made that her reality. Sarah Noack and her toddler daughter have traveled to 17 countries since her daughter's birth, and Noack was actually getting paid the whole time.
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Noack has always been interested in traveling
Noack became a flight attendant in 2017, because she wanted to see the world. "After graduating high school, I started working as a flight attendant. I wanted to make money and travel the world — becoming a flight attendant was the perfect job," Noack said. "Through that, my enthusiasm to travel went crazy. I was doing the job for two years full-time before I went part-time to study."
She took advantage of an amazing option
Noack got pregnant, and the airline she worked for doesn't allow pregnant women to fly, so she was placed on an extended maternity leave. She gave birth to her daughter in October 2021, and set out for Barcelona, Spain, with her 2-week old daughter and then partner.
"I have been on parental leave since my daughter was born," Noack explained. "Until earlier this year, I was still on maternity leave. We have a breastfeeding policy where you get your whole salary while breastfeeding."
Noack and Luana have been jetsetting ever since
After separating from her daughter's father, the mother-daughter duo set out for a monthlong stay in Thailand. Armed with only a backpack, Noack and Luana then went to Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and Nepal, which Noack said was her favorite because it is "natural and adventurous."
"I wanted to have an adventurous life and have a child," she admitted. She documents their adventures around the world on Instagram.
This has been the adventure of a lifetime
Thanks to their adventures, Luana has lived a life few kids her age have. According to Noack, she took her first steps on a beach in Bali. "She felt very secure, and she knew if she fell she would fall soft so that is where she started walking," Noack explained. The little girl also began speaking English while meeting up with friends in Indonesia.
It's been a beautiful experience for them both
In the past two years, the pair have been to countries including Italy, Portugal, Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Jordan, Australia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and the USA. Noack has a podcast called Hot Mum Things and has begun writing about her experiences.
While she has no intention of stopping her travels, things are getting more difficult as Luana gets older. "Backpacking hasn’t been difficult with a baby as she was so small, [but] it is getting harder now [that] she is getting bigger and has started running around." Still, this life is better to her than "having a normal routine in Germany."
