Live in nature and help us renovate our old house and look after our garden not far from the Baltic Sea, Germany

Infos

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  Description

  We are a couple, and we live in a village in rural northern Germany. Off the beaten track somewhere between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, which is only 18 kms away.
  
  **Available spots in 2024:
  April/early May
  August 26 - September 27
  Length of stay: 1-2 weeks**
  
  In summer we grow some fruits and vegetables in our garden. In our backyard there is always plenty to do. It consists of a small veggie patch with an even smaller greenhouse and a fruit orchard, and the rest is grass/lawn with trees and shrubs. There are also some flower beds. In your free time you’ll be able to find a secret spot to yourself (in a hammock, with a book, a drink or whatever…).
  
  We live in an old house that always needs attention somewhere. Be it painting or other things. Therefore we would love to hear from people with skills in woodworking, carpentry and general handy skills.
  
  In summer we enjoy spending our time outdoors and in the evenings we love watching the sun go down from our backyard. Or sit around a camp fire.
  
  We've travelled a lot across Latin America, Europe and Asia and we lived in Australia for a few years. I'm an architect working from home and my husband is retired (and loves cooking!).
  
  Work will be mainly general maintenance in and around the house and experience in painting, building and construction would be ideal.
  
  In winter, generally in January, we go to a nearby forest to get our firewood for our two fireplaces at home. We have a small, old tractor that we take to the forest where we cut and split the logs and take them home. After 3-4 hours of work in the forest it feels good to relax in front of the fireplace with a cup of tea or coffee 😃.
  
  Over summer we cut and chop the firewood and help is much appreciated!
  
  Apart from the work around the house there is always something to do in the garden. We plan to renew a terrace in our backyard and revive a garden bed. From April on our little greenhouse and veggie patch need love and attention...
  
  Short stays (1-2 weeks) work well for us. Longer stays might be possible as well depending on the circumstances. We just need to discuss.
  
  In your free time you can explore the area with several lakes, nature reserves, woodlands and forests and opportunities to get away from the hustle and bustle.

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  Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

  Pratique d’une langue

  Jardinage

  Bricolage et construction

  Aide à la maison

  Entretien général
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  Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre

  Having travelled a lot, we've met so many interesting, friendly and open-minded people. It would be a great pleasure to offer you a warm welcome if you wish to experience this hardly known part of Germany and hopefully the stranger who arrives will leave as a friend.
  
  We love learning about new people and their cultures and hope that you will learn from us and our way of life and culture.

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  Aide

  It would be great if you could help us with things such as
  
  - gardening
  - planting
  - weeding, pruning
  - harvesting fruits and veggies
  - chopping and stacking fire wood
  
  We also have some DIY renovation projects in and around the house. Depending on your experience this might involve
  
  - painting
  - woodworks
  - carpentry
  - paving
  - electrical work
  
  Work will be diverse and we'll figure out what your preferences are. But it would be ideal if you know how to use power tools like drill, saw and grinder.
  
  Your own ideas are also welcome!!
  
  Working hours are 4 hours per day and you can schedule your working time freely. Just let us know...

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  Langues

  Langues parlées
  Allemand: Courant
  Anglais: Courant
  Français: Intermédiaire
  Espagnol: Débutant

  Cet hôte propose un échange linguistique
  If you are interested in learning German we would be happy to talk to you in German and help you improve your language skills. We speak English as well and in case you are not a native English speaker we might benefit from it mutually. Native English speakers are more than welcome as we don't have many opportunities to speak English and it would help us improve our spoken English. As we lived in Australia for some years Aussies could help us refresh our "Strine" 😉
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  Hébergement

  We offer you a private bedroom with a double bed and an extra single bed (or day bed). There is plenty of shelving, coat hangers, hooks, a table and a chair (see photo). You will also have access to all other parts (kitchen, sitting room, etc) of the house. You just need to share the shower with us.
  
  There is also space in our backyard for your tent or your camper van.
  
  We usually cook at least once a day and we'd be happy to share the meals with you.

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  Autres infos...

  We live in a rural area. Our town is quite small and there are no shops. But you'll find all kinds of supermarkets only 6 kms away.
  
  In case you’ve had enough of the tranquility in our village and garden:
  
  Things to do in the area:
  -- Swimming--
  At first, there is the Baltic Sea of course! In summer it’s quite busy but early in the morning or in the late afternoon it’s great to cool off and relax at the beach. We also have several lakes in the area where you can find a quiet spot for a swim.
  -- Canoeing--
  On some of the lakes you can go canoeing. On a multi-day-trip on the nearby Trave river you can paddle to the beautiful old city of Lübeck and after a few more kilometres you’ll reach the Baltic Sea. Quite an adventure...
  -- Bike riding--
  There are no steep mountains around us, just soft hills and we can show you a lot of great rides. You may then discover one of many manor houses of the area.
  -- Walking/hiking--
  We enjoy hiking ourselves and have discovered many walks of different length in the area (some of them we found out about in the covid lockdown times…)
  -- Birdwatching--
  We are hobby birdwatchers a never go for a walk without our binoculars. There is always something in the air to watch!
  -- Sightseeing--
  Lübeck, a medieval UNESCO heritage listed city is only 25 kms away. It’s really beautiful with lots of historic buildings and churches.
  Around us there are several towns, all of them with a hidden treasure: Eutin 20 kms (Castle where Catherine the Great came from), Bad Segeberg 15 kms (Limestone caves and home of an open-air Western theatre), Plön 25 kms (castle).
  And Hamburg is just 1,5 hours away in case you are keen to visit a big city...
  
  There truly is something for everyone.
  
  ON A FINAL NOTE...
  ...our usual diet includes meat. We eat quite healthy though with lost of veggies and salads. If you are a VEGETARIAN, we would like you to help us cooking. Dear VEGAN, sorry but that's too much of a challenge and we won't be able to offer you a stay with us ;-).

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  Informations complémentaires

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    Accès Internet

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    Accès Internet limité

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    Nous avons des animaux

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    Nous sommes fumeurs

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    Familles bienvenues

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  Possibilité d’accueillir les digital nomads

  As I work from home you can join me in my office room. There is enough space and a spare desk. Internet connection is good and WiFi is available throughout the house. If you prefer you can also sit in the garden and do your work.

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  Espace pour garer des vans

  Cet hôte a de la place pour les vans.

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  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Deux

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  Nombre d'heures attendues

  4 hours a day, 5 days a week

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