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…]

A few months on and it hasn’t gotten any easier, splitting our life between two places. I do realise how lucky and privileged I am to have two homes, when some people don’t even have one.
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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…]

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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The biggest news of the past two weeks- all four of our chickens are now laying eggs! This means four a day and no more buying eggs again.

We do have some problems with them though – they love eating our flowers too much. Artur’s mum planted many beautiful flowers under this tree, but the chickens have pecked at most of them and like taking dirt baths in the soil here. [Read more…]

I haven’t updated our progress in a while, so I will just share photos from the past few weeks of the biggest changes.

Last weekend was a monumental weekend – we got internet, a fridge and a washing machine. Artur’s parents came for a week and brought a carload of plants. We also gave our a house a facelift (paint job). AND we got chickens.
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Monday to Thursdays in Berlin, Fridays to Sundays in Brandenburg. Only 70km separates Neukölln from Fröhden, yet they are worlds apart.

I work my tech job during the week then put my gumboots on and play a farmer over the weekend. I see the difference in the way I dress – black and fitted in Berlin, baggy and ‘dirty’ in Fröhden. I remember the first few times I wore tracksuit pants or paint stained clothing to do shopping in Brandenburg – I felt so ashamed. Now it feels almost natural. Socialising in Berlin revolves around (normally too much) alcohol, whereas in Fröhden, we speak with our neighbours, Brandenburgers that are middle aged or older. Time spent with friends is more meaningful as we are in a closer proximity for a longer amount of time, often working on shared goals, whether it be painting or planting.
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After such a warm and sunny weekend, we were greeted the next Friday with snow. This meant that our gardening was put on hold again for a week.
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