Headquarters

My final day in Denmark was more relaxed than the two previous days had been.  While there was one more meeting to attend, not everyone was present and our agenda wasn't very strict.  The meeting was also short, at least for Ritt and I, because we went on a tour of the main Danfoss office.

 

Danfoss is the second largest company in all of Denmark and is recognized through out the country.  I mention this as set up for the fact that there are multiple employees whose sole responsibility is to give guided tours.  Summertime is the busy season, but they have guest year-round.

 

Our tour began in the Mads Clausen museum, which is also the childhood home of Danfoss' founder.  The walls were covered with pictures and other interesting things.

 

Mads and his wife Bitten.



 

This ceiling was custom built by Russian POWs as part of a work-release program.

 

 



A cool looking clock.

 

After we walked around the house for a bit, we walked outside through the gardens.  Danfoss grows food and flowers that are available to all guests, free of charge.

 

The tour guide told us that this herb was a "Coca-Cola" plant. I don't know what it really is, but it did taste like Coke.

 

We then went into the original production facility, built in 1935, which focused less on the Clausen family and more on Danfoss.  (By the way, "Dan" means Danish and "foss" means river, because the first product made by the company, an expansion valve, sounded like running water.)

 

The original work clock.

 

A young Mads Clausen.

 

An original schematic for an expansion valve.

 

After quite a bit of history, we moved onto the main office, which is still use today.

 

 

While pretty to look at, the water feature and wall of living, growing plants help to regulate the building's temperature and filter the air, as well as block the smell from the fully-staffed kitchen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was one of the scariest things I've ever seen: a constantly moving elevator with no doors. You step on when the car is lined up and step off when you arrive at your floor. It's been in the building since 1955 and there have never been any accidents, but I was still nervous taking it up.

 

At the top floor is Mads Clausen's original office.  It's currently being used by his Son, Jorge, but since he wasn't using the office when we were there, we got to go inside.  There is only one way to describe it: opulent.  While the rest of the building is clearly fancy and expensive, it's to be used by everyone.  This office was built for one man.  I didn't take a picture, but the desk was made out of green, Italian marble and was heated.  Also, there was a second, smaller desk that had a chair upholstered with Zebra fur.

 

This leopard was shot by Bitten while on safari. 

 

This baby giraffe died of natural causes. 

 

 

This lion was shot by Mads while on safari.

 

After looking at what is probably the most expensive room I've ever seen, we go to look down from the top floor.

 

Don't worry: the glass I'm standing on is strong enough to support over 50 tons.

 

 

Danfoss has an impressive solar farm. 

 

As we walked down the fifteen flights of stairs, we saw several pieces of original art. This was one of them. 

 



I didn't take that many pictures of the art, but I liked this one. 

 

 Looking back up.



 

 The tour of the main office and the museum at Danfoss was really interesting.  I got to learn a lot about the company and I saw some things that really surprised me.  It was a lovely cap to the trip and enlightening experience.

Choose Your Side

When I was growing up, I was taught that caffeine was against the Word of Wisdom and that I needed to abstain from it.  However, while I was serving my mission I studied Section 89 much closer and learned that caffeine is not a part of the "don't" side of the Word of Wisdom.  We are told to avoid "hot drinks," which we've been told by our Priesthood leaders means coffee and tea.  Yes, coffee and tea both have caffeine in them, but so does chocolate and I know a lot of faithful members that indulge in that dark treat.  If someone wants to stay away from caffeine, even as a way to follow the commandments, that's up to them to decide.  Sort of like what someone constitutes as swearing: I occasionally say "crap" but I'm sure that others would find that that crosses the line.  (Incidentally, the reason I think coffee and tea are forbidden is to help build faith.  There are plenty of people who stay away from alcohol and tobacco for non-religious reasons, but coffee and tea are so ubiquitous that by abstaining, we stand out.  It makes our behavior that much more obvious and urges us to not be ashamed of our beliefs.)

Anyway, the reason I bring this up is that my introduction to cola was later in life than most.  While I was in high school, I sampled several things that I thought weren't allowed, all of them with caffeine (I never had tobacco, alcohol, or coffee, but I did have iced tea a few times - not sure how that one slipped through).  Since my high school was sponsored by Pepsi, that's often what I had.  Then I served my mission was in northern Ohio, which has a Pepsi bottling plant in Mansfield - a lot of locals felt like they were supporting the local economy by buying Pepsi.  By the time I returned home, I was a Pepsi fan.  Ian discovered the same thing that I had while on his mission - that caffeine is not against the Word of Wisdom - but since he served in Georgia, he came back a fan of Coke (Coca-Cola is headquartered in Atlanta).  To further cement his loyalty, during his military deployments, Coke was one of the few American products that he could easily get a hold of, giving him a small taste of home.  He once told me in all seriousness that, to him, Coke tastes like America.  We tease each other about the other's cola preferences, but the jesting is all in good fun.

I bring all of this up because I want to discuss some of the differences I've noticed between Coke drinkers and Pepsi drinkers.  First, I should mention the differences in flavor of the actual products.  Pepsi is slightly sweeter than Coke and I taste more orange oil in Pepsi verses more lemon oil in Coke.  Coke has bit more spice (I suspect that cinnamon is present) while Pepsi seems to have a stronger vanilla flavor.  Pepsi is also supposed to have less carbonation, which I don't care much for anyway.  Also, Coke still uses actual coca leaf extract in their formula and is the only US company that is allowed to import the plant.  Since I don't know what coca tastes like, I have no idea how it affects the flavor.

Now, on to the drinkers.  Coke drinkers are pretty picky.  While I was working at IHOP, we started out serving Coke, but near the end of my run at the restaurant, all of the fountain drinks were switched out for Pepsi products.  During the Coke-time (which sounds like a drug-fueled binge), when someone asked for a Pepsi, they would generally accept a Coke when offered one in it's place.  Once we had Pepsi, however, I saw a lot of people go with water rather than taint their tongues with something other than Coke.  I think has a lot to do with the fact that Coke is much more likely to be on tap, so people get used to it being available.  I prefer Pepsi, but I also recognize that most places serve Coke; if I want a cola, compromise is usually required.  Coke-drinkers aren't used to having to compromise, so in the rare instances that it comes up, they're more likely to refuse.

Another oddity is the so-called Pepsi paradox.  In blind taste-tests, Pepsi is the consistent winner, yet Coke is still the top-selling drink worldwide.  While Ian and I can tell the difference between them, we're exceptions to the rule.  Most people don't notice the subtle differences in flavor between the two products, they just choose a brand based on advertising.  I've even read reports about Coke-drinkers who choose Pepsi in the Pepsi Challenge, but refuse to change their habits because they feel such strong loyalty.  Maybe Pepsi-drinkers are the hipsters of cola aficionados ("Coke's too mainstream, man")?

Ultimately, the two drinks really aren't that different.  Yes, I still prefer Pepsi, but I also prefer Mars to Hershey's (I have for years, independent of any other connection to the company), yet I recognize that there are even fewer differences between the two chocolate recipes.  Whatever our preferred soda company, we usually pick a side and stick by it, even if the reasons for our choices are generally pretty flimsy.