tuk tuk no good

Being female

I’m currently training for a half marathon but the weather is terrible. Too windy for Tempelhof, meaning I probably can’t jog today. I can’t run in Hasenheide because every time I have ever run in there, I’ve been catcalled by drug dealers. They make comments like ‘oh, I wish I could work out with you’. I’d rather stay inside than endure this. Normally Tempelhof is a safe bet to jog and not be disturbed, but even the other day, a guy stopped me mid run and danced for me. [Read more…]

Village life

I was never a village person before. I remember being in Hobart years ago and thinking, ‘I could never live in such a small place’. How things have changed. I don’t think I’m ready to give up city life full time, but I definitely now appreciate the charms and positive aspects of small town/village living. [Read more…]

A meat-free house

To all our meat eating friends and guests, sorry, but no more meat consumption at Datscha Fröhden.

We came to this decision after we hosted a team event a few months ago, where a lot of meat was brought and left behind. At first I didn’t want to impose any kind of rules at our house, but after this event, I realised that turning the house into a meat-free house is not a very big ask. Most people only stay for a day or two, and surely not eating meat for this short period of time should be easy. [Read more…]

The life and death of Pumpkin, my first chicken love

RIP my girl Pumpkin.

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My favourite chicken was eaten last night, by what we now suspect was a fox. I must admit that I cried for quite a while over her death. She was my baby and I really loved her. I know that I am an easy crier, but it is also surprising to see how much I really became attached to her. I feel a bit bad wishing that Diva or Eggplant had been eaten instead, as they are not so friendly and do not enjoy so much human interaction. They are black bovans so their temperaments are different to that of an ISA brown (Chickpea and Pumpkin). [Read more…]

Pre-holiday stress

Holidays, holidays, man, sometimes I really hate holidays. Well ok, I really only hate holidays when I am about to take one.

I don’t know why, but the thought of going away for a few days or weeks (or months) just makes me feel stressed. Having to clean the apartment, making sure everything (the cat, our chickens) is looked after while we are away. [Read more…]

The challenges of running an open house

Something Artur and I have been discussing a lot these past few weeks and months is how we can sustainably keep Datscha Fröhden (yes, we have a name now) running as an open house. While we love having a lot of guests, having so many (over 20 a month) means that our expenses are dramatically much higher than if it were a house for just the two of us. [Read more…]

Waiting for the rain

It’s funny how now that we have a garden and growing a lot of vegetables, I think and wish for rain. This weekend we waited eagerly for the predicted thunderstorm but it never came. The best we got was some drizzle. And of course we got rained on during the Sternfahrt, which we participated in from Ludwigsfelde to Berlin. We rode around 60km by bike today (and 100km over the past few days) – let’s see what kind of aches and pains I will endure tomorrow.
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One month (without) plastic challenge

Artur and I have always made an effort to reduce our plastic usage – whether it be saying no to plastic bags, not buying vegetables wrapped in plastic or never buying coffee in a takeaway cup. But I decided, let’s try and make more of an effort. For the next month, we have to attempt to not buy anything plastic. I don’t know how successful we will be (I already see wet cat food as a problem), but we may as well try. Let’s see how easy (or hard) it is to really not buy anything new that is made of or packed in plastic.