Those little huts you see, often in little garden communities or off in the woods, are a great German tradition. We were invited last Sunday to visit one belonging to a couple, Ella and Wolfgang. Like Jim, they are amateurfunker, amateur radio operators. They live in the industrial north of Germany, but come down twice a year to spend a few weeks in their little hut in the woods near Idar-Oberstein.
The land was once a vineyard and is on the side of a steep hill overlooking the Nahe river valley. The vines, except for a couple of stubborn survivors, all died during an outbreak of phylloxera (vine louse). Now, the formerly treeless plot is well shaded and hidden by mature trees planted by Ella's family. To reach the hut, you must park on the road and walk down a steep grassy path that zigzags back and forth a tenth of a kilometer, and when you leave, you get to experience the steep hill in reverse!
The hut was built by Ella's father and two brothers in 1960. Everything is made by hand, except for a few later additions, such as kitchen cabinets. But, even those, they found in second-hand shops and made to fit. The outhouse is a little further down the hill. There is a workshop for Wolfgang's tools next to the hut, and a guest hut next door, which they bought from former owners.
Rainwater is collected in a tank under the roof, and from there flows via hoses to the kitchen and to a couple of shower sites outside. And no, the water is NOT heated. One bathes au naturel an invigorating experience, but not for the faint of heart. The hut is heated by a stove that used to belong to Ella's aunt. It has a flat surface for cooking, and a deep container that holds a large quantity of coal or wood, so that it does not have to fed often. Electricity, used only to read before bedtime, run the amateur radio and the hair dryer (a woman must do what needs to be done!), comes from a solar panel attached to the roof. Most evening activities take place by candlelight. Cabinets are found under the windows, over the doors, wherever storage can be made. The cooler is built into the side of the hill. Like a ship, everything has a place, and efficient use has been made of every nook and cranny.
The lesson here is that one needs very little to get out in nature and relax, no house on wheels, no air conditioning, no microwave, no videogames, no internet. One can go home and have those things, all in good time.
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