Writing this WWOOF-report, I’m actually kind of reporting on two separate stays at Eulenhof: Firstly, I was here for a months time in the late summer during the grand potato-tomato season, living with a full house of WWOOFers and friends of the busy farm, but as of now, mid-November, I’m actually the only WWOOFer on the farm. The winter is tuning up, and the crops are entering their annual slumber! On top of the limited demand of extra workforce in the winter, the supply of people able to volunteer also seem to be at its lowest this time of year, with studies and travel restricitions and all.
I’m trying to describe my full Eulenhof experience considering both of the two ends of the spectrum that I’ve been lucky enough to experience: from the hot primetime in the summer to the (primarily in terms of temperature but also a bit in terms of business) chill late autumn, but I can only write so much of course. Goes without saying, no amount of reports will ever provide an adequate idea of what living here is about, so I can only recommend chatting up Ulli as soon as possible and to find an agreeable arrival date!
For the record, I haven’t been at Eulenhof constantly from midsummer until now. After a one month stay I returned to Copenhagen, but soon missed all the good stuff of Eulenhof, so I took the train back down south. But enough about me, let me try to describe the farm so I can hopefully convince one or two readers to make Eulenhof their next destination.
First of all, the surroundings of the farm are very beautiful. Eulenhof is placed right on the edge of the Schwarzwald and within a two minute walk of the Rhine. Some people liked to go swimming there, but I’ve grown so accustomed to the salty waters of Øresund that I couldn’t make myself go much more out than until my navel. Besides that, the current is strong. Watch out, you don’t want to end your days washed up on the shores of Basel, stuff’s expensive as hell down there, on the other side of the borders of the union! Jokes aside, if you want to feel like a citydweller during your time here, I suggest you grab a bike and go to the lovely city of Waldshut, which I’m pretty sure has an ice cream shop for every tenth inhabitant, but don’t quote me on that.
Trips to the Swiss Alps are also frequently arranged. I was lucky enough to join one on the very second day of being here, and it was a little weird being scared to death while being a wee bit homesick on the top of a crazy big mountain, in the company of people I had only just met, but they were fortunately very nice and talkative. Being nice and talkative seems to be a trend on the farm. The view was incredible from up there. Asides from hiking, there are lots of stuff to do in the freetime: Starting and finishing projects in the Villa, going to local theater plays, climate demonstrations, making a bonfire, watching a movie or enjoying flamboyant towel shows in one of the many sauna themeparks of the area just to name only a few activities.
I think that my experience here has introduced me to such an amount of different exciting ideas and fantastic people, that I won’t be able to really realise it before I’m back in the busy smelly city for good. But then again, I can always come back to Eulenhof!
I’m leaving Eulenhof in excactly a week, and I know that I’m going to miss all the fun and interesting people of the farm, and I’m going to miss the kind and powerful duo of Ulli and Markus! I’m especially going to miss feeling like a part of a healthy and natural ecosystem, and feeling like I have an influence and a grip on the ways of the chickens and plants and seeds and crops of the whole area. A turning point in my stay here, was the moment I became aware of and interested in how the veggies were doing. My relation to my food will probably be forever influenced by the discoveries I’ve made here. Yes, that’s what I have to say. Hope that you will consider going to Eulenhof, maybe we’ll meet sometime!