This weekend was the end of an era, so to speak. After being “That crazy couple with the old farmhouse outside Frankfurt and huge dog” for the last 6+ years, we have now become “That couple that moved to Berlin.” Although we have enjoyed living in Berlin for the last 9 months, The Farm will always hold a very special place in our hearts. It’s where we learned to be a lot more self-sufficient, where we saw Mackenzie go from a baby to a toddler to a little girl, and where we made some great friends and had some amazing parties (both big and small.)

After meeting the new owners at the contract signing (who have some eerily similar backgrounds to us), we are certain that they will have a great time living in the house. And we’re looking forward to reading about their own adventures and renovations in the house since we’ve heard they plan to start a blog too. 😉

Our farm

Since this past weekend was probably one of the last times I’ll ever be at the farm (although we have a few more things to pick up from there with a hired van and are thinking about heading back in August for one last Laternenfest celebration), it seems like a good time to reflect on some of the wonderful times we’ve had there. Although we’re excited about what the future holds, we also shed a few tears about leaving. As the German’s say, “It’s with one laughing eye and one crying eye” that we close this chapter in our lives. And we will definitely never forget our time at The Farm.

8 Great Memories from the Farm

1. The first weekend where we threw out so much stuff with the help of our closest friends — We’re very lucky to have some friends that are nearly as crazy as we are and who will work for free food and beer. And amazingly enough, even after we made them dig around in dirt, cobwebs and even chicken poop, they still talk to us.
2. Demolition days — If you are renovating a house and one day think to yourself, “I wonder what’s behind that ugly faux ceiling up there…” make sure you are prepared for the consequences. Not like us with our avocado green bathroom.
3. All of our Thanksgiving feasts from 2007-2011 — We definitely had some crazy Thanksgiving dinners over the years, from out of control kids to pouring burning hot drippings all over a friend (sorry Jenny!) We looked forward to those dinners every year and can’t wait to start new Thanksgiving traditions in the coming years.
4. Building out the guest house which used to be horse stables — Somehow, most of our huge renovation projects seemed to start in the fall or early winter. Not really the best time to be working in a building with no heat, but sometimes it’s just the way it goes. We did most of the guest house buildout ourselves, from tearing out the 2-inch thick safety glass to hanging drywall on the ceiling (which came crashing down on us two seconds later because we had the wrong screws.)
5. All of the Laternenfest parties, from 2006-2012 — Schöneck really knows how to party, and every Laternenfest we celebrated was a great one. We usually had several friends around for the big event, and you can’t beat just needing to walk less than a block down the street to catch the absolutely fantastic parades. Even Laternenfest 2011 was a good one, despite the fact that we went down to the festival grounds and it turned into a torrential downpour before we could get home.
   

   Mack at her first Laternenfest

6. Locking ourselves in the attic (I’m not even going to elaborate on that one — but as a warning to the new owners, there are safety switches on all the barn doors around the farm and we recommend using them instead of letting the wind shut the door behind you!)
7. Building a greenhouse — which equaled the two of us hauling 150 gallons of rainwater and close to 4000lbs of concrete mix around the farm. Unfortunately we not only had to haul the concrete in sacks, but also once it was mixed…a double whammy. Note to other DIYers — get the stuff delivered pre-mixed with one of those trucks with the super long arms so they can drop it just where you want it.
8. All the yummy things we made from our garden or at the farm — Canned potatoes, canned jalapenos & jalapeno hot sauce, canned peaches, red wine, gooseberry dessert wine, chocolate liquor, champagne vinegar and so much more tasty goodness. The Farm is where our culinary skills really started to develop more thoroughly and we’ve only become more obsessed with real food and making delicious meals at home since then.

To all who visited us there, celebrated with us at one point or just became captivated with our farm via the Internet, thank you for your love, help and insights!