It's almost the end of my trip and I keep looking back at everything in amazement of what all has happened. I'm just in Starbucks now, back in Zürich after another successful, but cold, hitchhiking trip from Bern.
Recap: Yesterday, I woke up in Luzern at this dairy farm and went out to help Erwin's grandma and uncle in the barn. It was about 7am when I was up and ready to milk some cows (my 6am plan failed but 7 was still pretty good right?!). Just walking out of the house to see this land at dusk was so nice. I entered the barn with work boots, Erwin's clothes and all. I've never milked a cow before nor was I caught up on the new advances in this work. So I was surprised to find his uncle attaching this crazy looking suction thing to the cows' utters.
I asked later if I could try the old-fashioned way just to get the full experience, so he taught me how to milk one and gave this milk to the cats. It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be! Maybe Paris Goes to the Farm or whatever that Paris Hilton show was made it look more difficult than it is... Likely.
The rest of the time, I helped them shovel poop, sweep the hay from the troughs, wheelbarrow the leftovers out to the trash, feed the baby calves (soo cute), and refill the hay in the troughs. I enjoyed being able to do this stuff I've never done and be able to help these nice people out at the same time. At least I hope I helped without disrupting their routine or anything. His uncle later said I could be a farmer. Haha
I had to step out of the barn at one point to see the sunrise. :)
When our work was done, about an hour and a half later, it was breakfast time! Eggs, bread and honey, and milk fresh from the farm! Ah so good.
This was one of the most unique experiences I've had and enjoyed it so much. Talking... Or trying to communicate with his grandma, mainly through Erwin's translating services, was sweet. She did like to talk a lot. I would ask Erwin how to say certain things and thanked her for the meals in Swiss-German... "Danke for tsatsa" (proper spelling to come soon).
She was impressed when Erwin was trying to think of what "oatmeal" was to tell her that's what we eat a lot in Denmark, and I was able to say it before him. Haha We shared stuff in English and Swiss-German as well as some Danish terms. It's really cool being able to share culture like that. I think being able to say "thank you for the meal" in someone's own language can be pretty special.
After breakfast, Erwin, his grandma and I were off on our next journeys... Him to the Matterhorn and more travels, and me to Bern.
So incredibly grateful for this experience.
Recap: Yesterday, I woke up in Luzern at this dairy farm and went out to help Erwin's grandma and uncle in the barn. It was about 7am when I was up and ready to milk some cows (my 6am plan failed but 7 was still pretty good right?!). Just walking out of the house to see this land at dusk was so nice. I entered the barn with work boots, Erwin's clothes and all. I've never milked a cow before nor was I caught up on the new advances in this work. So I was surprised to find his uncle attaching this crazy looking suction thing to the cows' utters.
I asked later if I could try the old-fashioned way just to get the full experience, so he taught me how to milk one and gave this milk to the cats. It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be! Maybe Paris Goes to the Farm or whatever that Paris Hilton show was made it look more difficult than it is... Likely.
The rest of the time, I helped them shovel poop, sweep the hay from the troughs, wheelbarrow the leftovers out to the trash, feed the baby calves (soo cute), and refill the hay in the troughs. I enjoyed being able to do this stuff I've never done and be able to help these nice people out at the same time. At least I hope I helped without disrupting their routine or anything. His uncle later said I could be a farmer. Haha
I had to step out of the barn at one point to see the sunrise. :)
When our work was done, about an hour and a half later, it was breakfast time! Eggs, bread and honey, and milk fresh from the farm! Ah so good.
This was one of the most unique experiences I've had and enjoyed it so much. Talking... Or trying to communicate with his grandma, mainly through Erwin's translating services, was sweet. She did like to talk a lot. I would ask Erwin how to say certain things and thanked her for the meals in Swiss-German... "Danke for tsatsa" (proper spelling to come soon).
She was impressed when Erwin was trying to think of what "oatmeal" was to tell her that's what we eat a lot in Denmark, and I was able to say it before him. Haha We shared stuff in English and Swiss-German as well as some Danish terms. It's really cool being able to share culture like that. I think being able to say "thank you for the meal" in someone's own language can be pretty special.
After breakfast, Erwin, his grandma and I were off on our next journeys... Him to the Matterhorn and more travels, and me to Bern.
So incredibly grateful for this experience.
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