It was in September of the year 2018. We just finished our hop harvest here on our farm in Bavaria. I ran our vine puller for one more season and had a good time while we harvested hops. I quit my office job earlier, and I was not the owner and manager of my home farm. So, I thought about what to do next to develop my professional career. Of course, I wanted to become better at growing and harvesting hops. It was then clear that if I work somewhere else than on my home farm, it has to be something with hops.

Then I searched online, where hops are grown during our winter months, and I came across an article about a Bavarian guy who travelled to New Zealand for harvest. It took me a while, but I could contact him, and he connected me with the farmer he used to work for a few years ago. Unfortunately, this farmer in New Zealand could not host me on his farm to show me how hop growing on the other side of the world works. I accepted this, cancelled my plan but could not give up to think about this.

Later in 2018, someday in the morning, I checked my emails, and I got a New Zealand message. Another farmer there heard about my story and my plan, and he asked me if I am interested in working on his farm and doing an internship there. Of course, I did agree, and two months later, I was harvesting hops in a foreign country, far away from my home. I am so happy, I worked on my idea, and I did everything I could to get to New Zealand. I am so thankful to both farmers, as I would not have been to this beautiful place without their help.

Please comment below, if you want to learn more about my times in New Zealand.