When Marlene Blanke returned to her apartment in Berlin after a three-week vacation, all she wanted was a nice, relaxing shower. But the moment she stepped into the bathroom, she froze — because someone else had already moved in.
Right next to her soap and shampoo, on the little shelf built into the shower wall, sat a perfectly built pigeon nest — complete with two devoted parents and two tiny chicks.
“I just stood there staring,” Blanke said. “It took me a moment to realize what I was seeing.”
Apparently, while she was away, the pigeons had flown in through the small bathroom window and decided her shower nook was the perfect nursery.
At first, Blanke wasn’t sure what to do. She contacted a local wildlife rescue for help — only to learn that under German law, pigeon nests are protected and can’t be moved until the babies are grown.
So, instead of evicting her surprise tenants, Blanke decided to welcome them.
Luckily, she already had a soft spot for birds — a love passed down from her ornithologist grandfather. “Even though pigeons aren’t always appreciated, I’ve always thought they were beautiful,” she said.
Blanke quickly transformed her bathroom into a five-star pigeon suite. She hung a privacy curtain, cleaned up the area, and set out food and water for the feathered family. For the time being, she even showered at her boyfriend’s place so she wouldn’t disturb them.
“I cleaned their space and did some research on what pigeons like to eat,” Blanke explained on TikTok.
Soon, she became completely attached to her unexpected houseguests. She named the parents Pauline and Pierre, and their babies Trixie and Katya.
“Me and my roommate think they love us back,” she joked on YouTube.
Day by day, she watched the chicks grow. Within just a week, the tiny, fuzzy babies had transformed into confident young pigeons.
When it finally came time for Trixie and Katya to spread their wings and fly, Blanke was filled with pride — and a little heartbreak.
“I felt like a proud mother,” she said.
But just when she thought her time as a bird landlady had come to an end, Pierre and Pauline returned a few weeks later — to build another nest in the exact same spot.
Now, Blanke has fully embraced her unexpected role.
“Maybe my purpose in life,” she wrote on TikTok, “is to be a godmother to generations upon generations of wood pigeons.”
