Exclusive Look Inside Germany’s Secret Fairytale Gardens | Country Dreams

Just to the west of the German capital Berlin lies the Haferland. Here, Friedrich Karl von Ribbeck has returned to the village that carries his family name. Jens Burdecker creates mystical gardenscapes. The landscape gardener spends most of the year working in the desert, in temperatures which the Haferland can only reach in a sauna. Raise the curtain is the motto in the garden of author Sibylle Thiele. The Wagner expert wants her garden to emulate grand opera. Used to offer a breath of country air for Berliners. A landscape that's rich in culture and history. It's scenery that inspired the famous German author Theodor Fontane and served as an escape from the Berlin summer heat for the well to do. But the last decades have taken their toll and much has stood empty and fallen into disrepair. But one village is still full of life. The Haferland is best known for its pear trees. Its most famous son is Friedrich Karl von Ribbeck, who returned to the village after the fall of the Berlin Wall. His ancestor, Hans Georg, always gave away pears as a gift, and inspired Fontane's well-known and well-loved poem Herr von Ribbeck auf Ribbeck in Haferland. Immortalized as a staple bedtime story for generations of Germans, Karl Friedrich still feels a strong connection to Ribbeck. But what he doesn't know is what type of pear features in the story. So, Friedrich Krustig. First, he needs to learn how a pear tree even begins growing. This is a pear, and the fruits are inedible, so-called wood pears. The tasty pears that we enjoy don't grow on their own stem but are cultivated on a wild branch. A friend of Ribbeck's is a pomologist and is master of the traditional art of grafting, just like in the time of Hans Georg. The graft is fixed with bast and secured with beeswax so it can't rot. Now the crucial question is, what kind of pear was it that the old man from Ribbeck distributed to the children? Sugar-sweet. And that was the decisive feature for that time, because white sugar hadn't been invented for a long time, and a sweet fruit was a real delicacy. Nowadays, there is an endless array of pear products. Pear chutney, pear chocolate, pear candles, pear tea, pear mustard, pear soap, pear bath salts, pear lard, and last but not least, pear salami. Marina Vesha lives next to the Ribbecks and is a pear enthusiast. She has over 200 pear cake recipes up her sleeve. I even had the idea to make a pear and pear cake with marjoram, which is maybe a little more hearty, but I could imagine that well. Amongst the recipes are pear nougat with a chocolate base, pumpkin pear with cinnamon, pear carrot, pear with cranberry, blueberry pear or advocaat and pear cake. Ingredients which are as popular as they are unusual. Her cake shop is a favorite stop for many visitors and locals alike. But which pear was it that was immortalized in Fontana's poem? Well, Marina Vesce doesn't know that either. Surely a clue can be found somewhere. Das ist unser alter Familienfriedhof hier. Hier liegt der von Ribbeck, der das Schloss so umgebaut hat. Herr von Ribbeck auf Ribbeck im Havelland. Ein Birnbaum in seinem Garten stand. The autumn came, and the pears were shining wide and wide. When lunch came, it stopped, and the tower was shaking. Mr. von Ribbeck was full of bags. The old Ribbeck distributed the pears. But the son was very reserved and very narrow-minded, so to speak. He said, I'll take the pear with me to the grave. And then at some point it grows. Of course, he knew all this beforehand, of course. And then the pear grew from the grave and then there were pears again. Of course, Fontana did not suspect that no tasty pear could grow from the core of the pear, let alone embellishment. The pomologist has come across a problem in his research. 400 years ago, there was a mini ice age in the Havelland. Only the sturdiest types of pear survived. Yet, almost none of these match the pear described in the poem. It is sweet, it ripens over a longer period of time, it is beautiful. The sandy quartz soil of the Havelland is perfect for growing sweet fruit. It warms up quickly, so the fruit is rich in fructose. It has been the orchard of the near-lying capital for centuries. The so-called fruit muckers even had mini orchards in their back gardens. They would bring the fruit directly to the center of Berlin, to the Friedrichstraße, along the Havel. The river was a lifeline for the region. It stretches 334 kilometers, even though its source and mouth are very close together. The Havel meanders steadily along its course, creating a variety of wetlands. The river lends the landscape depth and its unique charm. Since Burdika's magical garden spreads over 120,000 square meters, For most of the year, the landscape gardener makes a living in the desert. This has led to a newfound appreciation of the widely unpopular climate in middle Germany. When I came back on Friday and it rained, I went for a walk in the rain. You have the yellow flash there, and here you get the green flash. And when it rains, it's... In Riyadh, Jens creates desert parks and garden oases for Saudi princes. In Brandenburg, he can indulge his more eccentric horticultural whims. Rather than flocks and heather, he prefers to nurture more unusual plants. This is something very special. This is an alraune. You know it from Harry Potter. When you pull it out, they scream. They say that if you pull it out, you die within three days. And if you're going to pull them out, you should tie them to the tail of a dog. But you won't find any dogs here, only a couple of cats. As well as three sheep, Nospi and Brownie. Just like Jens are also ready for their breakfast. They should really be eating the black cherries growing in the wild, but carrots just taste better. Let's see how they do the snubbing. Come on, now! Taking the donkey for a walk still needs a little practice. Look at that, it only works once. Jens is expecting visitors in his hobbit-like garden. He's asked people over for the weekend to come and help with some building. The last time this sauna was built, the mystical fairy tale style of Jens Burdicker. Jens uses wood to heat it, of which there's more than enough in the surrounding forests. The guests can start coming in. Jens has gathered a special Indian herb from his garden. The oils are said to create a heightened sense of awareness. But really, it's just hot. And a cold foot bath is all that's needed. We're going to have a bit of a job out here. And some good old eucalyptus. Later, they want to look at the stars. Haverland is Germany's darkest region, and it's only Namibia that has as little light pollution. The dark times in the Berglas villa by Lake Schwilow have long passed. The house stood empty for six years. Mountains of rubbish were scattered all over the property, the legacy of a bankrupt businessman who had tried to turn the house into a hotel. Sibylla Zierle is an author and, accustomed to drama, fell in love with the estate at first sight. How the house is set up on the lake has something very stage-like, something very theatrical. A film producer commissioned the construction in the 1920s. It's the garage, with its columns and steps leading nowhere, which intrigued Sybille. After doing some investigation, the author gathered all the materials she could find that concerned the estate, She soon found out that it was used in the silent film, The Indian Tomb, in 1921. We found only one small scene in the film, The Indian Tomb, I've only found one little scene. where it could have been. However, we ask ourselves, why the film producer, who was so short at the cash register, why he built these towers around the garages and these theatrical stairs? There has to be a reason for it, because there is no practical benefit for this construction at all. The producer went bankrupt and sold the villa to a Jewish businessman, Alfred Beerglas. In 1938, the family fled to London. The Nazi couple Zolln moved in and made the house their own. They enjoyed playing the role of high society hosts, inviting party members and well-known artists. After the end of the war, the Writers' Association of the GDR let the villa out as a recreation home. Twelve rooms for visitors to relax in, and even an in-house spa, all bugged by the Stasi, the East German secret police force. Of course, the walls and the garden tell a lot of stories and we have also purchased all the books where this house comes from. Now the author wants to write her own script for the garden. The next step is a few well-placed statues, a speciality of Alexander Heil. Yes, let's see. I'm very excited. I'll grab it for myself. There it is. It's just great. I've printed it out for you. I love it and it also fits so well with this water and these wonderful sunlights that are always here and that also expresses a bit of the feeling of happiness that we have here when we are on the shore. Indeed. Yes, I think so. I would say we'll take a look around first and maybe ... The sculptor makes designs for gardens, but rarely comes across a commission that's so tightly scripted. I could imagine that they look good looking at the water, but of course they have to decide. So you have to have a fantasy now and imagine that where the ponds are, that there is a wild meadow. Jens is having trouble with his donkeys again. They stubbornly refuse to move from the spot the tractor needs to put the building materials. The landscape gardener wants to bring some water to his garden. The building team face a tough challenge. At the end of the weekend, there needs to be a pool here. This is a dreamy property, but there is no water here. It's a little further away. That's why I thought I'd make my own water. A prefabricated pool isn't an option for Jens, and not even the walls are allowed to be conventional. Bop, bop, bop. This is supposed to be in a ruin, that is, without a water scale, just like that. So we're going to compare it to how it used to be historically, all right? So you should do it pretty much the same. You should have a good eye and put the water scale on it in between. So, brother, how's it going? The next helper arrives and promptly asks the wrong question. You don't have a water tank? A water tank? That's a ruin, a ruin. We're building a ruin that's not straight. Are you ready? Yes. All right. On the cap? On the cap. Keep going, to the left, to the left, to the left. You have to do that. What'd I say? It's just a beautiful place, you can't describe it, you can't put it into words, why a place is the way it is. But it's just here, let's say, when you get goose bumps, right? Vegetables is an unusual task in Jens' garden. It's not conventional carrots or leek that go into his quiche, but stinging nettles. This garden in Brandenburg is his El Dorado for new experiments. Yen's gardening style is evenly matched by his cooking. Could you get me some quark? Yes, please. There's nothing conventional here. It's just that the cooking is a little quicker than the gardening. We're done with this in 20 minutes. A garden needs 30 years, right? Ha ha ha! In Saudi Arabia, he runs a company that employs 60 people. Here, it's the pets that call the shots. The pool steps are done by twilight, without a spirit level. Thank you. Oh, now you're coming too? We are going to the ruins in the water. Karl von Ribbeck has also succumbed to a passion for pears. He's revived the family distillery. But it's not schnapps he's making here, the pears are too sour for that. So he's opted for pear vinegar. It's an old family recipe that's usually mechanically prepared in a high-tech tank. This is how it was done at the time of his ancestor Hans Georg. Let's add it first. At a temperature of about 25 degrees, we can put gases over it, so that no flies can get in. Of course, pear schnapps can be found in Ribbeck, distilled according to Carl Friedrich's instructions in the Alsace, out of French pears, but maybe the famous pear of the old Ribbeck would have been sweet enough for a delicious brandy. Now show me the one pear that I'm so interested in, the blood pear. The blood pear? The blood pear doesn't shine at all, because it looks so awful. The blood pear is ugly, the pizza pear too small, and the princess pear is not tasty enough. The Roman malt pear has the best advantages and tastes just fantastic. Well, I mean, the result is actually pretty clear. There are only six pears left, and we took the most beautiful one. In this orchard, true to tradition, Friedrich Karl von Ribbeck wants to give new life to the European wild pear. Her garden has returned to Sibylla's green stage, decorated with roses. Other parts of the garden she leaves to nature's own devices. This walking in the garden is getting more and more painful for me. Sometimes I want to hold on to time, hold on to the roses, or hold on to autumn. Three statues will fill the hole that a recent storm has torn into the garden. Three old poplars used to stand here. So, Ms. Zähle, let's take another look. But Sibylle seems to have some doubt as to whether the three swimmers are a good fit so close to the copper beech tree. But it's very strong. But I think they have to stand closer because that also develops more force. Yes, that just distracts. They are the ones that break the fibers now a little bit. I feel a great power in this landscape. These are places where you can find yourself and at the same time be given a lot. Through the beauty, through the light. And I really feel this as a very strong place. It's not the lack of spirit level, but water from above that has dampened Jenzer's plans of a pool over the weekend. Although it was ready, the heavy rain prevented the seal from drying properly. So, Jens, in the middle of the night, built a heater for the pool. So, the heating. Yeah, that's what we learn in the fairytale. And that's where the water flows through, to the pipes. 18 meters of tubing rolled into a coil capable of reaching desert temperatures, fueled by wood, naturally. It's warm. It's warm. It's warm. You can go in there too, yes? Yes. You can't go in there. This is for warm showers. Fini, look, this is for ... This is not for Baltic Sea swimmers, but this is for ... No, Mediterranean. Mediterranean. The pool is not completely finished yet. It still needs to be sealed a bit, but otherwise we are ... It's almost finished. It's not sealed yet, exactly. And that's not the last step. This is the last step. So, just one small step. I'm starting Yes, it has a magic. These are the old trees. Yes, that's the view. But these are also the neighbors, the people you know. It all makes a difference. You just like to live here. You feel home. to speak In Ribbeck, the most famous family of the Havelland is once again celebrating its most famous products. now. Here comes the delicious pear cake. The old Ribbeck's pears aren't ready for making cake with yet. A cappuccino cake with forget-me-not. But they will be in the future. Friedrich Karl is certain of it. And if I imagine that in 150 years someone will look into the family chronicle and say, at this point in the year 1990, there could have been someone who would have made sure that this would happen again. And who actually lived in that time in 1990? That was Mr. Friedrich Karl, damn it, why didn't he make sure that we would come back to Ribbeck? And I didn't want to assume this criticism. And now that he's even bringing the old types of pear back to Ribbeck, younger generations should have nothing to complain about.