Reetdachkate Fuchsgraben

Open the door and step out into the garden. In the mornings, you’ll sometimes see a deer standing at the edge of the meadow. That’s how the days begin at Reetdachkate Fuchsgraben, a thatched cottage built in 1850 on the Angeln Peninsula, where Schleswig-Holstein lies very close to Denmark. It’s quiet here, and hillier than you’d expect in the north, with hedgerows between the fields and rapeseed glowing yellow in early summer. You practically have the beaches to yourself here; on the way there, you’ll catch glimpses of the Baltic Sea shimmering between farmyards and pastures. One of the current owners, Fabian, has known the cottage since childhood—he often spent his vacations here as a young boy, back when the house still belonged to family friends. He took it over in 2020 and converted the former stable into today’s vacation home. The old beamed ceiling was preserved and painted white, while the floor is new, made of light oak. Daylight streams in through lattice windows. Amid the modern furniture are a few antique pieces—a set of old kitchen scales, a sage-green dresser with a marble top. The country-style kitchen opens onto the living area, and from the dining table you can look out into the garden, which is quite something: 6,000 square meters featuring a mixed-fruit orchard with apples, pears, and plums (if you like, you can pick a few to go with your afternoon cake), a fire pit to while away long evenings, and an oversized chess set on the grass where entire afternoons happily slip by. At the back, a mill stream rushes through the grove—once the house’s water source, today a place to cool your feet down on hot days. Next to it is the barrel sauna with a large panoramic window, where you can sit in winter and gaze at the frost-kissed trees. It’s hardly surprising that Fabian wanted to preserve this house with all its memories.

WHAT WE LIKE MOST:

• The historic elements that have been preserved or recreated, such as the thatched roof, front door, Danish mullioned windows, and beam ceilings 
• Fabian’s personal story, which makes the vacation home even more endearing
• Making coffee in the country-style kitchen in the morning and looking out through the lattice windows into the green garden
• Sleeping under the exposed pointed roof and gazing up at the old beams
• The little treasures scattered among the modern furniture: The old kitchen scales, the colorful enamel mugs, the framed butterfly print
• The spacious garden, divided into several areas, including an orchard meadow (snacking expressly permitted), a fire pit, a play area, and shady spots at the edge of the woods
• The long evenings by the open fire as darkness falls in the grove
• The private Mühlenbach stream, which rushes past the property through the grove
• The natural beaches at Mühlendamm and Na de Huk, three kilometers away—gently sloping, ideal for children, and never crowded, even in the height of summer
• Geltinger Birk, a short distance along the coast, one of Schleswig-Holstein’s largest nature reserves, with paths right by the water, wild horses in the pastures, and homemade cake at the kiosk of the old Charlotte Mill

GOOD TO KNOW:

• The cottage accommodates four people on two levels: One bedroom with a double bed (160 × 200 centimeters), one with two single beds (90 × 200 centimeters each); a travel bed for children can be added to the double bedroom upon request.
• The bathroom on the first floor has a walk-in shower and heated floors.
• Perfect for families: Outside, there’s a swing, sandbox, and toys for little nature adventures.
• The cottage was renovated with local craftsmen, using green electricity and water from its own well.
• The owners themselves stay in the other half of the house on a few different days each year.
• Use of the sauna and wallbox is billed at an additional charge. Bicycles can be stored and charged under cover. There’s a rental shop one and a half kilometers away.
• Several natural beaches are about three kilometers away; if you need a deck chair to enjoy the beach, drive to Pottloch (15 minutes) or to Beach 3 on the Holnis Peninsula near Glücksburg (30 minutes), where pedal boats and cafés also await you.
• On the edge of the Geltinger Birk Nature Reserve stands the red-and-white-striped Falshöft Lighthouse, from which the view extends all the way to the Danish islands of Als and Ærø.
• A walk through the nature reserve on Holnis is also well worth it, featuring 20-meter-high cliffs, salt marshes, and hiking trails at Germany’s most northeasterly point.
• Head to the Unewatt museum village near Langballig (20 minutes) to see what village life in Angeln used to be like—complete with a butter mill, windmill, and smokehouse.
• In the mood for a city? In Flensburg (30 minutes), you can stroll down Norderstraße with its small cafés and shops, through the picturesque Rote Straße with its old merchant courtyards, and along the Museum Harbor. Glücksburg Castle is also just half an hour away.
• It’s a 40-minute drive to Sønderborg in Denmark. In the summer, a small ferry departs from Langballigau, making the crossing in about an hour.
• Schlei, with Kappeln, Maasholm, and the Schwansen Peninsula, is also half an hour away.
• You can take the train to Flensburg; from there, trains run hourly.