Meet the Owners and Furry Kids
Fulfilling the Dream of a Mahone Bay Bed and Breakfast
We're Frauke and Mike, the owners and innkeepers of River Ridge Lodge. To our guests, friends, neighbours and family, we say you are welcome here. No matter who you are, what you look like, who you love, how much money you have, your religious beliefs, or where you are from, River Ridge Lodge is for you.
We go the extra mile to be as helpful as possible to each guest and will do our best to ensure a relaxing and memorable stay and make our home your home away from home. It is important to us that they get a good sense of Maritime hospitality, warmth and caring.
We strive to provide a friendly, welcoming and relaxed environment to make our guests feel welcomed and special. We love meeting new people, making friends and sharing the many treasures the surrounding area offers and make Mahone Bay and the South Shore Nova Scotia such a great place to live and visit.
As responsible hosts and self-proclaimed ambassadors for Mahone Bay and the South Shore Nova Scotia culture, we intend to ensure our guests visiting Mahone Bay can make the most of their stay.
From 1992 to 2017, we lived in Vancouver, BC, and we were both ready for a big change and to move to the country and enjoy a slower-paced life. We both share the love of the outdoors, nature and hiking and wanted to live not only close to nature.
Mike worked as a gardener for the Vancouver Parks Board for more than 30 years and finally wanted to garden for himself. Frauke moved to Canada from Germany in 1992 after her university studies and spent a full career as a data and business intelligence analyst in Vancouver and worked 14 of those years for Mountain Equipment Co-op.
Frauke has always dreamed of running a Bed and Breakfast, and searches for suitable places in British Columbia were not fruitful. Both of us fell in love with the South Shore Nova Scotia and particularly Mahone Bay during a trip to Nova Scotia 17 years earlier, and it had always been in the back of our mind ever since.
In January 2017, we decided to have one more look or just give up the idea of living in Nova Scotia, and Frauke contacted a real estate agent that sent us the listing of this property. In May that year, we arrived in Halifax and spent ten days looking at properties.
We instantly fell in love with the property's rolling hills, wide-open spaces and the beautiful river that flows into Mahone Bay. The view from the dock with its endless horizon sealed the deal for us. The house needed a lot of love and care, but we were up to the challenge and spent the next nine-month renovating the house and fixing up the property.
We feel we made this is a beautiful home and lodge and love sharing it with guests, family, and friends. We have loved every minute since moving here and feel that we have found our little piece of paradise.
Frauke speaks German and English; Mike speaks English and a little bit of French.
Charlie is a very gentle giant, a Newfoundland Landseer, who moved into residence in April 2018 when he was eight weeks old. We fell in love with him instantly and watching him grow was like 'oh my gosh, he grew again' every morning.
He loves cold weather and especially snow. His favourite season is winter when he tries to eat as much snow and ice as he can. In the summer, he spends a big part of the day curled up in the coolest corner in the owner's quarter he can find. Charlie loves everything that moves and children especially, so if you bring your children and they would like to meet Charlie, just let us know.
Max, a black and white Tuxedo cat, is Charlie's buddy. He packed up and moved from the animal shelter sometime in August 2019, when he was between 4-5 years old. He chose us and didn't let us leave when we were just checking out what animals were at the shelter. We didn't intend to bring a cat home that day, but after being in the shelter for a few months, Max didn't let us leave without him.
He often comes for walks with the dog in our backwoods and listens to his name. Max is very friendly and social and it's quite likely that you will meet him outside. He is very playful and loves to visit our guests on the guest porch.
Both our pets are not allowed on the guest side of the bed and breakfast.
