Today we had a day off to spend with our host families. Lis and Ebbe had a full day of plans for me - we were to visit their daughters' respective farms, and then off to a party with Lis's extended family in a nearby town. Of course we started with a family breakfast, as has been our custom since I arrived. I have had more breakfasts with them this week than with my own family in the past few years! It is a nice way to start the day, as long as you have the time. It was a little bit different that day - we had hard boiled eggs in addition to the usual bread, jam, butter and cheese. This is only for "special occasions," they said. I think b/c it was a holiday (I can't remember the name off the top of my head).
We then went off to their youngest daughter's farm. Gidde (pronounced "Gee-dah") is marred to John ("Yohn"), and they have three children - Casper (!), Nikolai (sp?), and a daughter whose name escapes me at the moment. They live on a large dairy farm with over a hundred cows. They farm organically ("ekologic"), which is somewhat common in DK. The farm is very nice, and they explained how they operate. John's mother helps them on the farm, and she used to work at the Folkecenter. They have a very nice garden and path through the woods. It is a very nice property.
We then went off to their youngest daughter's farm. Gidde (pronounced "Gee-dah") is marred to John ("Yohn"), and they have three children - Casper (!), Nikolai (sp?), and a daughter whose name escapes me at the moment. They live on a large dairy farm with over a hundred cows. They farm organically ("ekologic"), which is somewhat common in DK. The farm is very nice, and they explained how they operate. John's mother helps them on the farm, and she used to work at the Folkecenter. They have a very nice garden and path through the woods. It is a very nice property.
Next, we went to visit their eldest daughter, Eva ("Ee-wuh"). They live a short way away as well. Eva is married to Erik, and they have two kids - Jacob and Mia, who as you can see in the pictures below are adorable. They are full of energy, and were a lot of fun. They "help" out on the farm, and enjoyed playing around as we were walking through the farm.
Eva and Erik have I think around 200 cows on the dairy farm. They do not have an organic operation, but they do not use hormones, and only use antibiotics when necessary. The EU has banned hormones in their milk, unlike the U.S. In the U.S., you are not even required to note on your product label that you use hormones, even though hormones in the milk end up in people, and are (likely) altering our body chemistry.
They also showed me around the farm. The most interesting part was the milking robot. When Ebbe told me they have a “milking robot,” I thought that he meant “machine,” and that something was lost in translation. But it turns out that they actually have a milking robot. The process works like this:
This all happens automatically, day after day after day! The milk gets picked up every two days around midnight, and is sold to Arla, which is one of the biggest dairy sellers in Europe.
After seeing the operations, Ebbe asked me if I would like to climb a wind turbine. They have about 10 wind turbines on their property (of course they do!). Erik’s father owns one of them, and the others are owned by other local people. It is a 0.6 MW turbine (600 kW), and the nacelle is 50 m (about 170 ft) tall. This is 10 m taller than the other one we climbed. Of course I accepted!
Off we headed to the turbine, which was just up the road. Ebbe, Eva, Erik, Mia, and I went into the turbine after Erik stopped it from spinning. Mia (6 year old) scampered up excitedly, and Ebbe (at 62 years old) climbed like a champ. The view from the top was I think the best view I’ve had since I came. This was even better than the view from the last turbine, because (as you’ll see in the pictures) Erik opened the top up so we were in the open air.
After this, we went home for a bit, then off to a party with Lis's extended family. It is more or less a reunion, and there was a mix of Lis's extended and immediate family, as well as some non-relatives. We sat for a bit, and it was a little difficult at first b/c everyone was speaking Danish. I really couldn't understand a word of it. But Ebbe and I checked out a fixed- and one-axes tracking solar array, which was in the backyard of the community center. We then took a nice walk (~2 miles, I'd say) to a nice little natural area near a lake.
After returning, we had a beer with the others, and I talked a bit with Leslie (the man in the picture below), who teaches at a Danish school in Nothern Germany. I ended up sitting next to him and his son Magnus ("Mau-nuss"), with whom I had a nice conversation. Magnus speaks very good English, and is very interested in American culture, politics, and more. He was very well-versed in much of it. The food, as always, was outstanding. There were a surprising number of non-meat dishes, and everything was delicious. They had a pig roast, as will be clear after viewing the images below. The desserts were also amazing, and the coffee flowed freely as always. We had a nice time, and I even heard a few traditional Danish folk songs.
We returned from the day tired and ready for bed. The next day would be my last day in Thy.
WARNING: Picture of full roasted pig below.
Eva and Erik have I think around 200 cows on the dairy farm. They do not have an organic operation, but they do not use hormones, and only use antibiotics when necessary. The EU has banned hormones in their milk, unlike the U.S. In the U.S., you are not even required to note on your product label that you use hormones, even though hormones in the milk end up in people, and are (likely) altering our body chemistry.
They also showed me around the farm. The most interesting part was the milking robot. When Ebbe told me they have a “milking robot,” I thought that he meant “machine,” and that something was lost in translation. But it turns out that they actually have a milking robot. The process works like this:
- There is a little stall (see image below). There is some good food of some kind at the front of the stall.
- The cows literally wait in line to go into the stall. When the gate opens, the cow walks in.
- A machine scans the tag on the cow, and thus knows things like when the last time it was milked and if it has had any antibiotics. One of the cows was sick, and when she went to the stall, the machine automatically switched to a different tank. The milk would be used for the baby cows, they told me.
- A little arm deploys and washes the udders (automatically).
- The arm then moves around underneath the cow, and somehow figures out where the udders are. Then a little suction machine goes “schlooooop,” and attaches to the udder.
- The machine milks the cow, and when it is done the vacuums drop off, and the cow moves out.
- The next cow comes in, and the process continues.
This all happens automatically, day after day after day! The milk gets picked up every two days around midnight, and is sold to Arla, which is one of the biggest dairy sellers in Europe.
After seeing the operations, Ebbe asked me if I would like to climb a wind turbine. They have about 10 wind turbines on their property (of course they do!). Erik’s father owns one of them, and the others are owned by other local people. It is a 0.6 MW turbine (600 kW), and the nacelle is 50 m (about 170 ft) tall. This is 10 m taller than the other one we climbed. Of course I accepted!
Off we headed to the turbine, which was just up the road. Ebbe, Eva, Erik, Mia, and I went into the turbine after Erik stopped it from spinning. Mia (6 year old) scampered up excitedly, and Ebbe (at 62 years old) climbed like a champ. The view from the top was I think the best view I’ve had since I came. This was even better than the view from the last turbine, because (as you’ll see in the pictures) Erik opened the top up so we were in the open air.
After this, we went home for a bit, then off to a party with Lis's extended family. It is more or less a reunion, and there was a mix of Lis's extended and immediate family, as well as some non-relatives. We sat for a bit, and it was a little difficult at first b/c everyone was speaking Danish. I really couldn't understand a word of it. But Ebbe and I checked out a fixed- and one-axes tracking solar array, which was in the backyard of the community center. We then took a nice walk (~2 miles, I'd say) to a nice little natural area near a lake.
After returning, we had a beer with the others, and I talked a bit with Leslie (the man in the picture below), who teaches at a Danish school in Nothern Germany. I ended up sitting next to him and his son Magnus ("Mau-nuss"), with whom I had a nice conversation. Magnus speaks very good English, and is very interested in American culture, politics, and more. He was very well-versed in much of it. The food, as always, was outstanding. There were a surprising number of non-meat dishes, and everything was delicious. They had a pig roast, as will be clear after viewing the images below. The desserts were also amazing, and the coffee flowed freely as always. We had a nice time, and I even heard a few traditional Danish folk songs.
We returned from the day tired and ready for bed. The next day would be my last day in Thy.
WARNING: Picture of full roasted pig below.