Dear Agathe,

I don’t know how you’ll be reading or hearing this, but trying to guess is kinda fun. With all the technical developments going on right now, I can’t tell how this will actually be delivered to you. You might be just reading this letter on a screen, hearing it through something that recreates my voice, or even looking at computer generated video or hologram of me telling you this story “in person”. I’d rather have you read this letter, but none of that really matters, as long as you get it on time.

I’m writing it from the bedroom just next to yours. I just finished a month-long trip across eastern and southern Europe that started in Belgrade, and ended in Nice, your hometown.

You’re lucky to have been born in a place many people dream of visiting, at least once in their lifetime. People talk about your hometown as a place where they would love to spend their entire holidays. I’ve been coming here a few times since your parents moved, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed everything this place has to offer. As for me, living close to the sea is something I’ve fancied for a long time. I really hope you’ve appreciated growing up here, being able to literally see the sea from your bedroom window.

By the time you read this letter, I may or may not have moved to a place closer to the water, but just know I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. I’ve been lucky enough to visit many seaside towns and beaches all around the world, but until now, I’ve never been able to call any of these places home. If you reach out to me right now, I would love to be able to tell you that I actually decided to do it, and send you a reply from a home where I can also see the sea from my window.

My trip was a very fun one. I started in Belgrade, and stopped in Pristina, Skopje, Tirana, Durrës, Bari, Naples, Bologna, and Turin to come and see you in Nice. I spent a month backpacking on my own, moving around in buses and trains, and stopping for coffee to look around streets and plazas I had never seen before. I’ve had the opportunity to see a lot of different places, hear a lot of stories, and eat a lot of good food in a very short time.

I’m sure there are plenty of places you’ll see before thinking about visiting this part of the world, but I hope that one day, you might become curious about what this trip and these places now mean to me. If you ever want to hear more about this trip, just know you can ask me anytime. 2024 was quite a long time ago, but if I do my job correctly, I should have a few pictures safely stored in my archive, and a few stories I can still remember and tell you.

Despite what the world looks like right now, I’m optimistic for you and for all the places you’ll see in the future, because I’ve seen travel become easier and easier since I started traveling. I had to wait until I turned 18 to finally go abroad, but in your case, you’ve been traveling and flying many times already before your third birthday. I have no doubt you’ll see more places than I ever have.

Tomorrow I’ll be on my way back home to Berlin, in Germany. This is where I live right now, but I might have moved somewhere else when you read this. Either way, I really hope you can come and visit me one day, wherever I choose to live. I’m sure you’ll like it.

-Uncle Fred