Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
6 Apr 2024
Reply rate
95.2 %
Usually responds within 12 days
Feedback
52
Email verified
Badges (2)
Details
Description
We are Peter and Penelope, we have a little farm in Beelitz, 25 km away from Potsdam and 45km away from the centre of Berlin. We are living in a beautiful "old round village" in a newly renovated farm house with 17 Hectar of farm land. We have quarter horses for fun and do trail riding and we are breeding chicken and sheep that are threatened species (breeds). We also have several dogs, all of them are rescued and we have foster dogs that we train and try to find new homes for them. Two cats help us to keep the place free of mice and educate the dogs. In 2020 the Galloways (cows) moved in. We breed them in almost all colors and we have between 4 and 7 calfes a year, which are adorable to look at but they are not tame.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Help around the house
General Maintenance
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
You will live in a small family who loves good food (traditional and international) and their animals. You can learn how to cook, our language ( if needed we also speak english and a bit of french) and how to work without stress with dogs and horses. You are welcome to cuddle the sheep/lambs and learn about cows in a natural family setting (bull, cows and calves live together outside in the fields all year), but this is not part of the work . As this is is a small village people sometimes meet on the place in front of one of the houses to chat and have a few drinks....
Help
We are looking for someone who loves and respects animals, who likes to communicate and is open minded. We need people that can work independently and do not expect to be supervised all the time during daily work. Certainly we show you everything the first few days and and you can always ask if there are questions. As Peter has a new job we need someone to be at the house to entertain and cuddle the dogs during the day when we have to work (twice a week). We would like you to help us with the horses, chicken and dogs (feeding, cleaning the stables, eventually walking the dogs and if you like train the horses (only if you have a bit of experience). In Summer cutting grass or gardening help are additionally needed and we have plenty of projects in and around the house. In autumn we start to prepare for winter by cutting up firewood, as our house is heated by wood. Peter is a passionate hobby-chef de cuisine, so you will always have a good meal, but help with cleaning afterwards and things like laying the table are always appreciated.
Update 2023:
We had an unusual high rate of people this year that planned to come and then cancelled their arrival last minute, some of them only because I wanted to clarify the arrival times and transport, otherwise they would have not shown up. During COVID this was understandable because of strong regulations but now for us this is very dissapointing. We have a lot of requests for people to come to our place and it is very annoying if we have to deny interested people because we already agreed on someone else who then does not show up. We organise ourselves so that we can handle everything without help, but we have to plan who is there and when as we do not want to leave our rescue dogs longer on their own than a few hours. We are not a holiday resort where it does not matter if you do not show up, so please only contact us if you are really clear with your plans and understand that I do not plan too far in advance as then the chance that people change their mind is too high.
Languages
Languages spoken
German: Fluent
English: Fluent
French: FluentThis host offers a language exchange
This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
You can contact them directly for more information.
Accommodation
1-room in the side building, newly renovated with own bathroom (sometimes to share with other workawayer or friends) . Most of the time we have only one workawayer, if we have two workawayers we have a second room, in rare cases you have to share the room (one or two nights only) if we have friends visiting at the same time (we will let you know before). Coffee machine and possibility to cook on your own, otherwise you are welcome to share our kitchen and eat with us. We are cooking daily regional or international meals.
We are close enough to Berlin and Potsdam to go there for a whole day or 2-2.5 days on your days off, but the public transport takes 1.5-2 hours (due to poor connections) from our house to specific places in Berlin (the train is one hour from Beelitz to Hauptbahnhof Berlin, but the station is 4-8km away and you need to go to the station by bike or bus). Therefore we are not the best place for people who are planing to go to Berlin during the days you are helping. But we do have an adorable nature around here and you can walk in the forests, do bike tours and go to Beelitz and the surrounding villages. If someone is traveling by car also Potsdam and Berlin are easy to reach in 30-60 minutes.
What else ...
In your time off you can visit Berlin or Potsdam or do bike tours or trips with the canoe around the area , which is beautiful and especially famous for asparagus and berries...
Join nice evenings with us on the terrace, in front of a nice little fire outside, in the kitchen or enjoy yourself in your own room. We love to sit, eat and laugh but we also enjoy to go on a horse back ride in the summer evenings.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
This host can provide space for campervans.
Can possibly accept pets
yes, as long as they get along with all our animals
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (31)
I was able to greet their dogs, cats, four cute horses, and always hungry cute Sheep flocks every morning and have many wonderful experiences.
I could walk through a wide field and see the deep and quiet forest.
And I… read more
I liked to walk their dogs and feed the horses and their crazy goats.
The food is AMAZING! Peter is an excellent cook and will… read more
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(4.9)
I was able to greet their dogs, cats, four cute horses, and always hungry cute Sheep flocks every morning and have many wonderful experiences.
I could walk through a wide field and see the deep and quiet forest.
And I… read more
I liked to walk their dogs and feed the horses and their crazy goats.
The food is AMAZING! Peter is an excellent cook and will… read more
Not only do you have super cute animals and nice people around, but also very delicious dinners.
The village is best described as rural, calm and small but not too far from Potsdam… read more
Even though I didn’t had any experience with farm animals they showed me everything very patiently and always took time to explain tasks, so that I felt confident to do them on my own.
They trusted me with that, just as with their animals, what I really… read more
We came there with no previous experience in working with animals,… read more
They has such exceptional warmth, kind and open poeple.
I felt so at home from the moment Peter picked me up from the station.
I enjoyed my time here at Reesdorf even in this trouble period (covid 19).
The work was never too hard, feeding the animals and cleaning the stable, preparing the… read more
Peter is considerate and patient Person, he make sure you understand the task and show you how to do the task. He’s also a good Chef, too.
Penelope is enthusiastic and passionate person, all animals listen to her, and even though she has a busy work, she still manage time to… read more
Their farm is located in a beautiful small village. Their amazing coffee machine cured my grumpiness in the early morning, their dogs and horses are wonderful, and they… read more
Peter cooks great. although we had difficulties in translating since I don’t know English and German, but with the help of google translator it was very funny. I highly recommend Peter and Penelope at their tempting farm. so kind and helpful… read more
If you hesitate - c'mon, let's pack your backpack and go to Beelitz!
Peter and Penelope were my first hosts and I'm honoured to be their guest. At the beginning I was a bit shy and they respected that. I always could have asked them for any help. They've been really polite and patient.
I went with my friend -… read more
The place was quite calm and picturesque, and fortunately there was a… read more
Penelope and Peter are very nice persons, from the beginning I felt home and they have been really polite and helpful and at the same time funny and really easygoing.
The place is beautiful, a lot of green in a small and calm village… read more
I got lots of great experience with learning about how it is on a farm and how every animal has it’s own… read more
Thanks to Summer time the animals had enough outside, so you just had to open the door and they run happily around. I did mostly Consturction work, watered the Plants and walked the Dog...
And I loved to pett the Lamps ^^ ... and chase the Chickens, they walk… read more
You… read more
This is definitely the place I would recommend to anyone that wants to go where animals are being respected and loved. I'm happy that I spent one month in a beautiful place with interesting… read more
he is a very nice, calm person with a perfect sense for our animals. Our dogs just loved him and he did a great job spoiling them, walking them etc. Already after the first day he got used to our horses and lost his "little bit of fear" of these large impressive large animals. He was working hard and did a great job helping us… read more
Both Penelope and Peter were very kind to me and I felt really being "part of the family" and we had some nice talks about many different subjects. And I… read more
The… read more
Their house… read more
