The trees stand bare having shed the last vestiges of their multi-colored robes, the wind seems to be heavier laden with the cold.. Winter is definitely here.. and so it is time to fire up our Kachelofen (CockleStove).

This Kachelofen built in the early 17th century has been through quite a few transformations. The last was by our previous owners sometimes in the 1960s.. when they had to redo the tiling as the tiles broke (hopefully not exploded) due to overheating. The burning chamber is not very efficient and if we need to survive the Winter here, in this little wooden chalet in the Alps at an altitude of 660 m.a.s.l, we need a lot of warmth inside..

First things first, Lukas jackhammers the 60s style tiles, then our chimney guy brings in a new highly efficient burning chamber which, he says, should keep us toasty warm even in the coldest of winters! Keeping our fingers crossed on this one..

And now it's time to test out the burning chamber, the venting system and the chimney. Nimitz loads the wood and lights it.. In a few minutes, we have a crackling fire going.. And it burns burns burns.. The Ring of Fire!!.. and soon our chimney starts to smoke!!! WooHoo!!! The Tiled-Sitting bench in the "Stube" (Living Room) starts to get warm, and soon warm air starts to emit out of the vents in all rooms!! Awesome.. this thing actually does work! Time to sit back and watch the fire burn.. 

Burning the stove twice a day with the chamber filled up 3/4 with wood should get us through the winter, he adds while I'm hoping our first winter here is not going to be too severe..