Josef Aust Five

Playgrounds The best playground in the surroundings is The Friedrich Küpper playground a 10-minute walk from our house. It has a lot to offer also slightly older kids, and on a sunny day you will find many families there. Another popular playground is Brosweg , slightly farther away .   An absolute must-see is the Brehminsel playground in downtown Werden .   Restaurants A short walk from the house is one of Essen’s finest Italian restaurants, Osteria da Pandi . It offers a lovely atmosphere and excellent Italian food. Next door is Schiffers Frites , widely regarded as Essen’s friendliest fast-food establishment. A little further down the road is Ristorante La Pergola . Its claim to fame is not its food — the quality has varied considerably in the past under different ownership — but the fantastic playground in its garden. The kids love it. Essen’s best Indian restaurant can be found in the city centre: Svaad , next to the Stadtgarten park. Essen’s best pizzas may be found...

Food and Garden Waste We use a compost bin in the garden for food and garden waste. There are special paper bags for food waste. If you run out, you can buy new ones at any supermarket. The bin needs to be emptied regularly, but we don’t think this will be necessary during your stay if you follow the instructions below: Always empty the paper bag of all it contents when putting it in the bin. Mix the contents at regular intervals (~ twice per month) using the stick hanging beside it to make sure the composting process continues. Always make sure the compost lid hooks securely onto the container. If it isn’t sealed tightly, the process will stop.    Paper, Packaging, Residual Waste There are three designated bins for these categories: blue for paper, yellow for packaging, and black for residual waste. Please pay attention to the collection dates and place the bin at the roadside for collection. The collection calendar can be downloaded from the website of the waste collection c...

We do not have specific expectations regarding the garden, as we are not affected by the consequences. We would suggest keeping an eye on the front garden so that it does not become too wild. As for the rear garden, you may choose your own level of ambition. In this part of the garden (image below), we are actually planning to create a wildflower meadow. So if you leave it as it is, there’s a good chance you’ll be rewarded with a beautiful display of flowers by early summer. A first decision to make is whether to fertilise the lawn or not. If you don’t, the lawn will not look as good, but you will also have less work to do. The choice is yours! It’s usually visually obvious when the lawn needs mowing. From May onwards, this is generally every two weeks, although sometimes the weather means it will need mowing weekly. Fertilising the lawn In the garage, you will find a bag of lawn fertiliser. The amount left in the bag should be sufficient for our lawn. It would be best to fertilise in ...