Good morning everyone. As I am once more across the country- here is my first guest from The Fellowship: Gerlinde. We are beginning our international small farm tour in Germany. She writes, cooks and travels over at her blog The Sunny Cove. 
I am tickled to be asked to post here, as The Kitchengarden has become one of my favorite blogs. Reading about Cecilia’s life on her farm reconnects me with my childhood on our family farm in the middle of Germany. It brings back memories that have been pushed aside by living in the United States for so many years. During those years, I went home to Germany to visit my parents and the rest of my family as often as I could. Once I retired from teaching, and my mom’s health started to fail, my visits became more frequent. Last year, I must have spent three and a half months in Germany.
Our farm has been in the family for generations. When my dad married my mom, he took over the farm from my maternal grandfather. We had a dairy, as well as pigs, chickens, geese and other farm animals. As a farmer, my father grew wheat, sugar beets and potatoes. The beets were delivered to the nearby factory to be made into sugar, and the milk went to to a local creamery. I have early childhood memories of sitting on a tractor with my dad and selling eggs with my grandfather to the local store. As a child, we often played in the village and would escape to the forest when the adults had chores for us. Life was free and full of adventures.
When I was 15, I went to boarding school for a better educatIon. As my father got older, the hard work took a toll on his body and he had to quit farming at the age of 55. My brother had to find another way to make a living because farming in Germany was no longer profitable. So, he became a hobby farmer. To this day, he raises sheep and any stray animals that come his way. The picture shows him with some orphaned wild pigs that he raised until they were released back into the forest. My nephew’s wife brought home a rescue goat named Lenin and some tame geese for her children. She also has two horses.
In our village, the era of the self-sustainable farm is over. There is still one farmer who farms his land with large machines. And there is only one dairy left. Instead of growing their own food, most people go the supermarket. My mother’s beautiful vegetable garden has become grazing land for the sheep and horses. Maybe one day, the old way of living off the land will return. The neighboring villages have a few smaller farms that sell their produce at the local farmer’s market. Some have turned old barns into cafes. Homemade sausages and cheeses are sold on roadside stands. There will always be people like Cecilia all over the world who will find alternatives to large scale farming
Cecilia asked me to post a recipe for potato pancakes. You can find the recipe on my blog here
The Kitchen's Garden 
89 responses to “Gerlinde”
Thank-you, Gerlinde! Your photos are lovely and reminded me how much I love the villages and countryside of Germany. Now I’m going to pop over to your blog… 😊
Thank you Susan. Our village is called Behrensen and is located in the middle of Germany, about two hours north of Frankfurt. Göttingen, an old University town is 15 miles away.
Here is a link describing Göttingen: http://www.sunnycovechef.com/wanderlust-blog/june-20th-20141
Beautiful photos Gerlinde! It is another world of the family farm that is passing us much too quickly. You were lucky to have known that life. I love your potato pancake recipe and it reminds me how good they are for breakfast, lunch or dinner!
Lovely photos! The top photo, with the rainbow and the horse, is so pretty. 🙂
It’s a shame to hear that people mostly get their produce from supermarkets now. Do you have a tradition of markets in Germany, like the wonderful fruit and veg markets in countries like Italy and France?
The photo was taken in the back of the farm and the horse belongs to my nephew’s wife. There are farmer’s markets everywhere and produces are being sold on roadside stands. I like going to the markets . Our market nearby has wonderful bread, homemade cheeses , plants and flours .
Gerlinde, thanks! I love your photos!
Thank you Miidau
Nice to see where other Fellows live …. and even better the pancake recipe. I always have one of these with apple sauce at our Oktoberfes every year! Laura
Do you have it with a beer?
Not fond of beer, but I also usually have kassler, bratwurst and bredchen and piles of sauerkraut 🙂 Laura
I love Kassler and Sauerkraut.
oh my! oh my! that was sheer delight…whta wonderful photographs of such beautiful scenery… Thank you Gerlinde. ( Would your brother like to have a stray Bulgarian dog that I am trying to find a home for)
He has a golden retriever. You never know what my brother comes home with.
Look at those wild piggies, how different from our Sheila and Poppy, but just as happy for their food 🙂 Thank you for sharing your photos and your story.
Yes, they are different from Sheila and Poppy. I would love to see those two pigs.
What a joy this was to read this morning, Gerlinde. Thank you for sharing your German farm, family, animals, experiences, and perspective – not to mention the potato pancakes. 🙂 It is sad to see this way of life diminishing all over the world, but, your words and tone carry some hope for the future of farming, however it may become.
Thank you Penny, I think there is always hope and people like miss C. I’m going to post a recipe for Schnitzel in a couple of days.
Thank you Gerlinde. Wonderful pictures of life in Germany during your visits. It looks beautiful there. I noticed that you live in Santa Cruz. My husband’s mother lived there when she was alive, in a small apartment right on the coast, overlooking the Pacific, down a steep drop off when a clinging evergreen tree that looked like it would fall into the ocean at any minute. It was a breathtaking view straight from her living room. We have some artwork done by a local artist in Santa Cruz of the city that was hers. It always makes me smile when I look at it. Thank you for the recipe. Can’t wait to try it. Bill loves all things hashbrowns/potatoe pancakes.
Hi Kim, I love living in Santa Cruz. I can’t figure out where your mother’s apartment was ? Was it near the Boardwalk ?
My mistake, she lived on Opal Cliff Dr. by Jade Street Park. It was my husband’s mother. I was sad when they sold the property. 🙂
Opal Cliff Drive is part of my walk because I live nearby. The world is a small place.
Wonderful! Thank you, Gerlinde!
Thank you Bev and have a nice day
The pictures are beautiful Gerlinde! I’m off now to check on the potato pancake recipe…my Mother used to make them for us.
I hope you like them. My mom used to make them also.
Thanks for that, I used to be able to write a bit in German, but I will not embarrass myself today. Ok, I’m psyched to once again, or maybe not, ruin a bunch of potatoes because the way I remember no flour was used and Gramma had a way with the eggs. The pancakes had a greyness to them like Norwegian kumla. ( a dumpling) boiled in ham stock and covered in melted butter. Feed the goats and off to the kitchen now. Blessings to you Gerlinda and Celia.
Dumplings are on my ” to do list”. Raw, peeled potatoes turn grey when exposed to air but they still taste good.
Wonderful to read about life in Germany, and your family there! Thank you!!!
Thank you Diane. Cecilia’s Blog has brought back so many memories.
How refreshing to have a change of scene, though it is saddening that such a perfect way of life is disappearing. Thanks for the “recipe” – I shall try them.
Hopefully the new generation will find value in doing things the old way. They might even improve on it.
What a delightful post, Gerlinde! Your narration of life in Germany reminded me of stories my Danish grandfather used to tell us of life in Denmark. It is not so surprising that people who had a life of hard physical work, wear out in their 50’s and 60’s. But I often think a life well-lived doing what one loves – especially with animals, is a most rewarding life. I love the photo of your brother feeding the wild pigs. Thank you for sharing with us this morning! It is always fascinating to hear about life in other regions.
I am also fascinating reading about life in other countries. My father worked hard, he continued a tradition but realized that it became harder as times changed.
Hello Gerlinde, your family farm reminds me very much of my grandparent’s farm in Bratislava, Slovak Republic. It also has that shape of two red roofed houses joined by a gate house with a loft. I’m in Europe a great deal over the year but have never made it back to that farm house, (where now my cousins live). Now I want to try to get back there soon. 😀 Thank you so much for sharing; I’m off to visit your blog and compare my potato pancake recipe with yours. 😀
When Germany was reunited in 1989, my sister in law’s family got their old farm back. That farm is within walking distance of the Slovak Republic and not far from the polish border. It is called the three country corner . The country side is gorgeous but there is not much else going on. I hope you can visit one day and see your family farm.