News
2 August 2026
Our first delivery of hay
Space was quickly cleared in the carport for 30 small bales of hay. We really want to get our first goats soon and we urgently need hay so that they have enough to eat. We watched our neighbour mowing and then rang him at just the right moment. That is how it works with hay here in the Alentejo.
The goats can come now :)
6 June 2026
Our first farm dog
On 6 June, in Arronches, in a privately run animal shelter called “ArronchesAdopta” belonging to the wonderful Patricia, we come across an old dog. Her name is “Alice” and she has been there for four years already. Because she had a slipped disc and cannot move her hind legs well, and is deaf on top of that and by now 10 years old, nobody wanted her. It is love at first sight.
The next day we take Alice home with us. We rename her “Abelinha”, the “little bee”. Our first farm dog has arrived! Abelinha has no time for stress and hurry. She prefers to take life gently. New guests can be sniffed, but they do not have to be. Children she likes. Other dogs need not come to visit. That is how Abelinha sees things.
April 2026
We arrive
It is April and slowly we are really settling into our new home. Bit by bit we mow our way across the land and uncover the old stone walls, prune olive trees and start on the first repairs.
After all, everything has to be ready for the season in a hurry! Sadly our tourism licence is still keeping us waiting. Almost every day we call in on the staff at the town hall so that they cannot possibly forget about us. We can hardly wait to get going at last.
9 March 2026
The day has come. Moving to the Bärdade!
Back in Germany, eager neighbours and friends load up the removal van and a pallet. The helpers are kept going with wonderful cake. While two friends set off for Portugal with the van as early as 7 March, Max and Pia board the plane with the baby in comfort and arrive at the Bärdade at exactly the same moment as the van. It is already dark and the March air is cold when we get there that evening.
On the evening of 9 March we are all sitting round the supper table at the Bärdade, welcomed by our two Dutch farm sitters. What an exciting move!
16 January 2026
Did we really just buy a farm?
It is 16 January, the baby is barely a month old and we are sitting at home in Berlin among the first packing boxes, with snow outside. From a distance we have today had our lawyer in Portugal sign the purchase contract for the Bärdade. We can hardly believe it: the farm really is ours now!
That very evening our wonderful Dutch farm sitters move in at the Bärdade to look after everything for the next 2 months, until we arrive.
12 August 2025
Bärdade found!
We are in the middle of an enormous heatwave, the one fuelling this year's fires in the north of Portugal. At 43 °C outside we view a farm near Castelo de Vide with 4 holiday apartments, 2 pools and a small private house, plus 10 hectares of land. Inside the apartments it is pleasantly cool. Far sooner than we expected, at only the fourth viewing, we find the perfect place. Nariz is completely taken with it too. For us it is immediately clear: this is going to be the Bärdade!
But that is also where all the stress begins, because once the decision is made there are investors to approach, bank loans to apply for, a lawyer to instruct and so much more to think through and organise.
1 August 2025
Setting off into the unknown
It is 1 August 2025 and we set off for Portugal. By car, because we are not willing to leave our old dog Nariz behind. After all, she is the only Portuguese one among us!
The aim of our journey: we criss-cross the whole of Portugal from top to bottom, viewing places for sale. That is how we look for the perfect region and the perfect farm for our project, the Bärdade.