Holiday at the farm. You either hate it, or you love it. For us, it’s the perfect family holiday. It’s been four years since we’ve taken our first holiday at a farm. Unfortunately, the first two times were a bit disappointing. Other than holiday home rentals (at really good accommodations, I have to admit), this was far from what we expected from a holiday at a farm. The description of the farms let us believe that the kids would truly experience living and playing on a farm, but there was virtually nothing to do there. What a scam. Maybe we needed to adjust our expectations. But we did not want to simply rent a holiday home for a few weeks. We wanted a place where the kids could learn more about farm animals and life at a farm.

After two disappointments, we wanted to give it a go one last time. Third time lucky, right? Determined to find the perfect spot, I searched for farms in the Eifel, Germany. A region that absolutely stole our hearts. I was targeting working farms (not much different from the previous times) and through www.bauernhofurlaub.de we found Bauer Walter. Finally a destination, that totally lives up to our expectations.

Working farm

A working farm with approximately 40 dairy cows, calves, chickens, rabbits, pony’s, goats and plenty of room for the kids to play and explore: a hay barn, playground, a tree house, unlimited access to the stable, herding the cows, help with the milking, riding on the tractor (depending on the tasks and the weather), children’s bikes, karts, pedals cars, ride on tractors and kick scooters. Brought any sidewalk chalk? Then you can paint on the court as much as you want. The only advice when you come visit the farm: bring clothes and shoes that can take a ‘bit’  of dirt and you won’t cry over if torn. And enough shower gel and shampoo ;-).

This summer has been our 5th visit at the farm. Three times during summer holidays, twice during autumn break. The kids are always longingly looking forward to the next visit. And not just because of the fun stuff you can do around the farm. Bauer Walter and his wife Monika will do anything to please their guests. Every day, you can order fresh rolls or other delicacies for breakfast. While Bauer Walter is still milking the cows in the morning, his wife will drive to the bakery, every morning around 8 o’clock, 7 days a week. And not much later, you will find your order right outside your door (or window).

At the little farm shop, you can get fresh eggs. All you have to do is write down your name and the number of eggs you’ve taken on a little note. That goes for everything you take from the shop, like homemade elderflower syrup, apple juice or liqueur. Payment will be done at the end of your stay. Obviously, you won;t have to go to the store for milk. You can get fresh milk every single day, straight form the source. So good… our milk consumption has been at a slightly higher level than normal 😉

Fun together

And if that is not enough, you might just get invited to a pizza- or barbecue night. For the pizza-night, you can order the dough from Bauer Walter. The toppings are all up to you. The pizza’s are baked in a huge authentic stone oven and then all guests will be sitting at long tables, eating together. If the weather is good, we’ll sit outside. If it rains, we can sit in the ‘Grillhütte’ (the BBQ-shack). At a BBQ-night, Bauer Walter will grill in front of the Grillhütte, on a giant barbecue, over wood fire. Meat will be bought at a local butcher and everyone will bring something. The pizza dough and/or barbecue meat are again paid at the end of the stay. It is of course totally up to you whether you want to join or not. These nights with the other guests are really a lot of fun.

This holiday has not been any different form our previous stays at Bauer Walter’s farm. The kids have thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We had a BBQ-night during the first week and during the second week, we got together and baked pizza’s The day after, we used the remaining heat in the stone oven and baked fresh bread. How cool is that?

Day trips

This year, we hardly ever left the farm. But if you don’t want to stay at the farm every single day, there is plenty to do in the surrounding area. You can enjoy endless walks in a stunning nature. You can visit castles, strongholds and caves. There are museums, animal parks and much more at short or longer driving distance. Koblenz and Trier are a 45-60 minute drive with the car, but a train ride from Cochem to Trier is also a lot of fun. We like to visit Wild- und Erlebnispark Daun (a wildlife and adventure park), Dinosaurierpark Teufelsschlucht (check out the review of this awesome dinosaur park) and eat real Italian ice cream at Fontanella in Daun.

Sometimes I’d like to go somewhere else for a change. But as long as the kids are enjoying themselves so much and really don’t want to go anywhere else but visit their friend Bauer Walter, who am I to take that joy away from them? And if the kids are having a great time, so are we. Our next stay has already been booked 😉

Thank you for reading!