Today's modern farmer wears jeans, trainers and a dark quilted jacket. Volker Dingebauer is just coming out of the barn when the farm dog Tessa has already announced our visit. The animal doesn't leave the farmer's side as he directs our gaze to the Diersfordter Waldsee lake right outside his front door. "All I have to do is cross the road and I'm on holiday," says the 58-year-old with a smile. Because five wooden houseboats, some with private panoramic saunas, are anchored on the shore of the quarry pond in Wesel-Bislich. DeinNRW visited the dairy farmer with his own houseboat hire business and discovered a natural gem on the Lower Rhine.
Ralp Sondermann, Tourismus NRW e.V., Wegweiser Dingebauer aan Zee, Niederrhein Ralph Sondermann, Tourismus NRW e.V., Volker Dingebauer am Hausboot, Niederrhein Ralph Sondermann, Tourismus NRW e.V., Volker Dingebauer mit Hund Tessa, Niederrhein Ralph Sondermann, Tourismus NRW e.V., Pootenhof am Niederrhein
The "Biberburg" rocks gently back and forth. A gentle swell sets the 36-tonne wooden house, which is firmly anchored to the shore, in motion. And for a moment on the large terrace, it really does feel as if you are travelling out onto the quarry pond, whose water shimmers a bluish Turkish colour in the sun. "The lake has grown with me," says Volker Dingebauer. Dozens of farmers like him once farmed here. Most of them have given way to gravel extraction. And huge excavators, which tirelessly remove the sand from a depth of twenty metres, still block the view to the edge of the forest on the other side of the lake. But they already look as small as toy cars from a distance, and soon they will have disappeared completely, leaving the space to rare animals such as cormorants and Arctic wild geese, which have reclaimed a piece of nature here. Volker Dingebauer has even spotted a white-tailed eagle, and when the wild geese migrate south in autumn, it is a very special spectacle. "Every year, pairs of storks come to nest here," says the nature lover, proudly pointing to a mast in the farm's own orchards. He himself built the stork's nest here a few years ago.
"The lake has grown with me."
Holidaymakers are regularly visited by beavers when they are sitting in a beach chair on their terrace or simply dangling their legs in the water. Its tracks are clearly visible on the shore, which Volker and Dorothee Dingebauer have lovingly planted with thousands of flowers, shrubs, weeping willows and almost 4,000-year-old bog oaks. The dairy farmer, who is not thinking of giving up farming just yet, is also happy to take his guests on a beaver tour. In the early morning, when the mist bathes the lake in an almost mystical atmosphere, they head out to a small island in a sailing boat they have converted themselves, which is tied to a pole next to a discarded pedalo in Volker Dingbauer's "little harbour". There, in the small natural reserve, great crested grebes and common terns can be observed. There is also a small fishing area for anglers.
Binoculars are therefore standard equipment on the five houseboats floating on huge pontoons, which are built exclusively from natural materials such as Siberian lark wood. "It practically impregnates itself," explains the landlord as you enter the spacious rooms overlooking the lake. The sun shines through a porthole at the side and the large panoramic windows in front of the terrace, from where guests can jump straight into the water or enjoy the dusk in the cosy hanging chairs. There is even a private jetty right next to the floating holiday home. And when it gets chilly, holidaymakers can sweat in their own private sauna while overlooking the action on the water.
Volker Dingebauer has placed great emphasis on quality when planning and equipping the boats. His guests should not only feel comfortable, but also enjoy a little luxury. However, he doesn't get involved in the decoration. "My wife is responsible for that," says the 58-year-old, casually waving his hand. "She's right about her taste in the end anyway." She is. Small details such as the "favourite place" cushion, the kitchen clock in the shape of a colourfully painted, naturally unused fish tin and spectacular nature photographs on the walls make each of the five boats a very individual, cosy holiday home "for the softies among the boaters, so to speak", as the dedicated Lower Rhinelander with Westphalian roots quickly adds jokingly.
The idea ...... had wife Dorothee
Dorothee Dingebauer, mother of three soon-to-be grown-up children and who also grew up on a farm, was the one who came up with the idea of renting out houseboats a good ten years ago. At the time, there was a fierce debate in Europe about the abolition of the milk quota, and her husband also took posters to the EU Parliament in Brussels. Until the couple discovered houseboats at a trade fair. After a "self-experiment" during a family holiday, the plan was finally made. Today, Volker Dingebauer can almost laugh about the bureaucratic effort he had to go through back then. He therefore prefers to talk about how the first two boats were brought to the remote corner of the Lower Rhine a good one and a half years ago on oversized heavy goods lorries and that the moorings for the next boats have already been installed. He is all the more pleased that the family has stuck together and can look to the future with confidence. After all, all five boats were booked for 100 days before the actual start of the season.
Even the guests, who mainly come from the big cities, appreciate not only the seclusion in the countryside during their holiday in small Wesel-Bislich, but above all the family atmosphere at the Dingebauers. They always welcome guests with sparkling wine or apple juice from their own production, and soon every boat will have its own bread roll box. Delivery service from the farmer included, of course. Dorothee Dingebauer is also happy to give tips for tours, restaurants or shopping opportunities in the surrounding area. Bicycles and pedelecs are also available for excursions through the fields or along the dyke. "That way I get to know my home even better," says Dorothee Dingebauer. For example, it takes less than 45 minutes by bike to get to the ferry that crosses to Xanten. This is a favourite day trip destination for many guests.
But all guests are guaranteed to make a detour. "Everyone who comes on holiday with us visits the barn at least once," estimates the farmer, whose 65 dairy cows have to be milked two or three times a day. For some time now, this has been done by a robot, so that Volker Dingebauer has more time for his second profession. Nevertheless, the boss, who inherited the farm from his parents, still gets up at half past six every morning and regularly visits the barn. And he loves doing it. He grew up on the farm and is now a farmer himself "with heart and soul", as the 58-year-old claims. But he also knows how to enjoy his new independence. Because when he and his wife Dorothee take a boat out onto the lake in the evening, with a bottle of red wine in tow, the day is perfect. After all, as Volker Dingebauer said so beautifully:
"All I have to do is change sides of the road and I'm on holiday."
Rooted in the Lower Rhine regionThree questions for Volker Dingebauer
Mr Dingebauer, you have 48 hours of free time. What would you definitely do with this time in NRW?
Volker Dingebauer: I can think of quite a few things. The Neanderthal, for example. It's right on my doorstep, so to speak, and I haven't been there for so long. But my favourite thing would be to go hiking. The Eifel is great, and I've always loved the Rheinsteig near Bonn. But then I'd also love to come back to the Lower Rhine. Because I'm the type of person who likes to be away for a short time, but then I prefer to be back home.
Which place in NRW have you recently rediscovered for yourself?
Volker Dingebauer: It's actually the immediate surroundings here around Bislich. In everyday life, you often don't even take a closer look. I like to cycle around the dyke in the evening. I then stop at Diesfordt Castle, sit down for a moment and simply enjoy the landscape. Incidentally, I only recently discovered the Ems floodplains near Papenburg outside NRW. But I probably liked it there so much because the landscape is almost as beautiful as here in the Lower Rhine region. It seemed familiar somehow.
Your personal favourite place in NRW.
Volker Dingebauer (laughs): I'm Protestant, but one of my favourite places is actually the garden of the Catholic church in Bislich. I like to sit here on the little bench with a view of the stork's nest, which I built for the school a few years ago and where storks actually nest every year.
