Peter and Roland have created a little paradise in their home in the Palatinate. They have lavishly renovated their 200-year-old half-timbered house in Rheinzabern and lovingly collected old treasures from the region in it over 40 years.
In Rheinzabern, Palatinate, Roland Häfele - a retired postal worker - and Peter Hamburger - formerly an industrial clerk - are really well-known: For their eye-catching blue house with numerous, almost forgotten objects from the last 100 years and for their garden, which impresses with an incredible variety of flowers and plants. The two, who have been a couple for 39 years, also love to rummage around at French flea markets. For a small amount of money, they bring home finds that the couple enjoys for a long time. A little embarrassed, they admit that the house will soon be full, but they will find a place for something nice.
Peter grew up in Rheinzabern - in the house next to his current residence. When he was 25, the house next door was sold. By then, the house from 1802 is completely dilapidated, decaying and uninhabitable. However, Peter associates the ruin with many fond childhood memories - he and his parents went in and out of there. That's why he buys the property together with the land. Experts advise him to demolish the half-timbering and rebuild the house from scratch. The project took two years, and then the half-timbered house was up and running again. A successful combination of old and new building materials with modern electrical systems.
Roland has also been involved in the construction project from the very beginning. The two had met shortly before. In the end, Roland also moved from Karlsruhe to Rheinzabern into the half-timbered house.
Peter loves France and Alsace. This is not only due to the proximity to the neighboring country - it is just 20 kilometers to the border - but also because French blood flows in him. He likes to say that a quarter of him is French, because a grandfather was French.
The two men are also very enthusiastic about the local history of their home. The old Roman road ran behind their garden. And along it were important production sites for ceramics. Rheinzabern was considered the most important Roman pottery site in Germany. The two can touch the past with their hands. When digging around in the garden, they keep finding shards of ancient pottery. What others go to museums for, the two Rheinzaberners find in their own soil.
In addition to their love of antiquities, Roland and Peter's home also boasts a rich garden. The yard is dominated by the rambler rose "Bobbie James," which in May/June bears an incredible profusion of snow-white flowers that are delicately fragrant. Bees buzz around, but so do the two rose growers. This is because this type of rose grows shoots up to six meters long in the spring, which have to be painstakingly pruned. Otherwise, there would soon be nothing left to see of the house. Cozy sitting areas alternate with vegetable beds. A chicken coop, greenhouse and barn round off the ambience.
On weekends in spring and late summer, the two retirees invite gardening enthusiasts to enjoy the floral splendor as well. On any given day, up to 600 guests travel from a wide radius to visit them in Rheinzabern.
A film by Rosetta Reina (editor), Katrin Oemig (camera), Paul Heydecke (camera & sound) and Jürgen Fischer (editing).
00:00 Half-timbered paradise
00:37 Kitchen and dining room
05:00 "Good room"
06:21 Bathroom
07:12 Living room
07:32 Garden
10:49 Cellar
11:50 Doll house collection