As an Italian from the deep South, I am very close to your cultural background. So having lived in the Netherlands for five years I can relate to every point you shared.
I write about cultural awareness and inclusion, so I'm really glad I found you!
Ciao Emanuela and welcome to our little corner of the internet! I am equally happy that you found me😊
I am preparing an article about why I have a beef with Italian cuisine. Are you sure you want to stick around for that?😂😂
PS: Cultural awareness sounds like avery interesting topic and I look forward to read an Italian's perspective😊 Most of my Italian friends come from the North, so the southern element makes it even more interesting.
Wow! So many fascinating points in here about Danish culture. The numbered week thing must be super confusing if you're not used to it! And also really interesting to know about your theory why Danish people tend to be more insular with foreigners.
Oh one more thing: if you are interested in the relation between Danes and immigrants, maybe you would also be interested to read the second part about life in Denmark. There you will find a few more thoughts about the dark side of the hygge culture.
My husband and I went to Copenhagen a little over a year ago and had a great time. I am American and he is French and we live in Paris.
I was really impressed with the wide variety of healthy food available .
Of note, I don’t know that I agree with the observation that people in America think of the European Union as the United States of Europe. America has a strong sense of states, rights and federalism. That doesn’t really translate to Europe.
I might be wrong, this is just the feeling I got from my friends in the US while I was there. Mostly because they often referred to Europe as one thing. "I will be in Europe" or "I will go to Europe for vacation" always left me hanging, exactly because it is not a single country. I would usually ask where in Europe they were planning to go.
We definitely do not have such a strong sense of federalism and that is one of the big differences between the US and the EU; no one feels like they are ruled by the EU "federal state".
I hear this all the time. “BuHT Where IN EurOPe? Itz Not a CunTry. Lol Fat and Dum.”
From the perspective of an American, they traveled across the Atlantic, so yeah, they might say “I’m going to Europe.” And, many of them, indeed, do multi-country tours.
So too, a lot of French people say, “I ahm going to zee Amereeca zis summer.” Or “Eez it hot in America?”
From their perspective, it is a vast expanse of land across the Atlantic ocean.
I don’t think French or Americans are so dumb they literally don’t know that Europe has countries or America has states…it is just…perspective.
Regarding Federalism, there is literally not Federalism in the EU. Federalism refers to the concept that the Federal government has certain powers and others are left to the states. BUT the Federal government remains one unifying body.
I did not say nor implied that anyone is dumb. I don't know why you perceived it this way.
This was to point out exactly that in EU, we do not have a strong sense of federalism, and that it is not the equivalent of the United States of Europe, even if it might appear to be so from the outside.
Great article! I lived, and got married in Denmark after living the first two decades of my four-decade-long gap year in Norway and, although I'm from Canada, much of what you wrote resonated with me.
I think it might resonate exactly because you are not from Denmark. If you grow up in this environment you take these things for granted. But as expats, we notice everything that is different to what we are used to.
I’m Canadian and lived 20 years in Norway before moving to Denmark, so I’m used to many of the societal support functions. The biggest challenge for me in Denmark was being accepted as a local. I’m white, blue-eyes and speak Danish albeit with a Norwegian accent, but found it difficult to move beyond my status as an outsider in many situations. That was also the case in Norway so perhaps it’s something one has to accept no matter where one moves to or comes from.
transparency, trust, no uber-rich, babies left to their own devices, wearing black, no small-talk... that sounds pretty good to me! the week counting thing is odd though
It seems that the weather in Ireland and in Denmark is quite similar and another similarity is between Danish and Irish people who mostly hang out with childhood friends and family. Then the main difference between Denmark and Ireland is the health system!
It's an expensive system where most people have to pay for services and there have been mismanagement issues (low pay for nurses, various inefficiencies, data protection breaches).
I see. There are many inefficiences in Denmark as well, but I had to leave quite a few things out to keep the post concise. I would say that in systems like the Danish one, the main issue is that the general practicioners will be reluctant to prescribe any exams or direct you to a specialist, to bring costs down.
There are some parts about Denmark that are very nice indeed. Maybe in my effort to make the post concise, I made it sound too good. It was not meant to be an ode to Denmark. Just a description. Maybe it needs a second part to make it more complete and more impartial.
Weeks are weird yeah. Even weirder, I have the impression that not all systems that use weeks, count the same way.
I’ve always wanted to visit Copenhagen but only got as far as Stockholm, though, reading your article, i see some similarities between Stockholm (Sweden) and Denmark. Overall sounds like a fun country to be (with caveats ofc)!
I don’t know if fun is the right word. For sure if I had to choose 1 word to describe the country, it wouldn’t be fun. It is just not the first thing that comes to mind.
But now that you say it and given that I really struggled to keep the article short, maybe a part 2 is in order. There are so many things to mention when describing a culture, that it is almost unfair to do it in 2000 words.
PS: I am ashamed to admit it, but I have never been to Stockholm. What did you think of it?
I was told by the backpacker circuit at that time that Denmark was the funnest of the Scandinavian countries, and Copenhagen was the best city to visit out of the four. For contextualization purposes, the benchmark was Scandinavia, so there’s that😂.
Upon landing in Stockholm and getting around and about, it took me moments to adjust to its homogeneity, it has this vibe that everyone was reading out of the same playbook except the tourists, and the locals were determined to be as homogenous as possible. The locals were brusquely friendly in a NY way without that built-in sarcasm/rudeness, which was a pleasant surprise, but there seems to be an invisible gap that they’re determined not to close, so there’s always that distance despite the friendliness.
From my brief time there the city seems geared towards a younger crowd and there’s plenty of cultural and non-cultural stuff to do around town. Another thing i noticed is that the pubs and bars love classic (american and british) rock😂, which gives off this 70-80s America vibe blended into its nightlife.
There’s plenty more i got from conversing with tourists and locals, but thats the rough gist.
The things you mention check out. I need to visit at some point, but usually other places take precedence. I don’t expect it to be much different than Copenhagen in terms of style and culture, but I’ve heard it is a beautiful city.
I guess you also describe quite a particular situation, where everyone was close to the person defending their thesis. So it makes sense that they had something in common that you didn't.
Overall however, this would be challenging anyway in Denmark, because it is indeed difficult to make -local- friends. But even if you are a local, Danes have a culture of keeping their friend groups separate: school friends, family friends, sports club friends. So you would need to find your niche or make your way into one.
Truly interesting and insightful post!
As an Italian from the deep South, I am very close to your cultural background. So having lived in the Netherlands for five years I can relate to every point you shared.
I write about cultural awareness and inclusion, so I'm really glad I found you!
Ciao Emanuela and welcome to our little corner of the internet! I am equally happy that you found me😊
I am preparing an article about why I have a beef with Italian cuisine. Are you sure you want to stick around for that?😂😂
PS: Cultural awareness sounds like avery interesting topic and I look forward to read an Italian's perspective😊 Most of my Italian friends come from the North, so the southern element makes it even more interesting.
Wow! So many fascinating points in here about Danish culture. The numbered week thing must be super confusing if you're not used to it! And also really interesting to know about your theory why Danish people tend to be more insular with foreigners.
Do you plan to stay in Denmark for the long-term?
Oh one more thing: if you are interested in the relation between Danes and immigrants, maybe you would also be interested to read the second part about life in Denmark. There you will find a few more thoughts about the dark side of the hygge culture.
https://open.substack.com/pub/thenaiveignorant/p/life-in-denmark-part-2?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=2jg8qx
Yes I have it saved to read soon! Thanks!
Given that I am very soon reaching double digits in years of living here, I would say yes😅
And to address your point about the weeks, let's just say that despite all these years in Denmark, I still haven't got used to it😋
Haha no doubt!
Great read, thank you for sharing!
Very very glad you liked it Leonard 😊
My husband and I went to Copenhagen a little over a year ago and had a great time. I am American and he is French and we live in Paris.
I was really impressed with the wide variety of healthy food available .
Of note, I don’t know that I agree with the observation that people in America think of the European Union as the United States of Europe. America has a strong sense of states, rights and federalism. That doesn’t really translate to Europe.
Hi Ellie, thanks for the input :)
I might be wrong, this is just the feeling I got from my friends in the US while I was there. Mostly because they often referred to Europe as one thing. "I will be in Europe" or "I will go to Europe for vacation" always left me hanging, exactly because it is not a single country. I would usually ask where in Europe they were planning to go.
We definitely do not have such a strong sense of federalism and that is one of the big differences between the US and the EU; no one feels like they are ruled by the EU "federal state".
I hear this all the time. “BuHT Where IN EurOPe? Itz Not a CunTry. Lol Fat and Dum.”
From the perspective of an American, they traveled across the Atlantic, so yeah, they might say “I’m going to Europe.” And, many of them, indeed, do multi-country tours.
So too, a lot of French people say, “I ahm going to zee Amereeca zis summer.” Or “Eez it hot in America?”
From their perspective, it is a vast expanse of land across the Atlantic ocean.
I don’t think French or Americans are so dumb they literally don’t know that Europe has countries or America has states…it is just…perspective.
Regarding Federalism, there is literally not Federalism in the EU. Federalism refers to the concept that the Federal government has certain powers and others are left to the states. BUT the Federal government remains one unifying body.
I did not say nor implied that anyone is dumb. I don't know why you perceived it this way.
This was to point out exactly that in EU, we do not have a strong sense of federalism, and that it is not the equivalent of the United States of Europe, even if it might appear to be so from the outside.
Don’t worry. I doubt most people think, “Europe is just like the US. It is like Europe is a country, and the countries are states.”
Great article! I lived, and got married in Denmark after living the first two decades of my four-decade-long gap year in Norway and, although I'm from Canada, much of what you wrote resonated with me.
I think it might resonate exactly because you are not from Denmark. If you grow up in this environment you take these things for granted. But as expats, we notice everything that is different to what we are used to.
I’m Canadian and lived 20 years in Norway before moving to Denmark, so I’m used to many of the societal support functions. The biggest challenge for me in Denmark was being accepted as a local. I’m white, blue-eyes and speak Danish albeit with a Norwegian accent, but found it difficult to move beyond my status as an outsider in many situations. That was also the case in Norway so perhaps it’s something one has to accept no matter where one moves to or comes from.
If a Danish-speaking Norwegian is having a hard time being accepted, the rest of us are doomed😅
transparency, trust, no uber-rich, babies left to their own devices, wearing black, no small-talk... that sounds pretty good to me! the week counting thing is odd though
It seems that the weather in Ireland and in Denmark is quite similar and another similarity is between Danish and Irish people who mostly hang out with childhood friends and family. Then the main difference between Denmark and Ireland is the health system!
I remember you writing about the Irish healthcare system. Is it so bad?
It's an expensive system where most people have to pay for services and there have been mismanagement issues (low pay for nurses, various inefficiencies, data protection breaches).
I see. There are many inefficiences in Denmark as well, but I had to leave quite a few things out to keep the post concise. I would say that in systems like the Danish one, the main issue is that the general practicioners will be reluctant to prescribe any exams or direct you to a specialist, to bring costs down.
There are some parts about Denmark that are very nice indeed. Maybe in my effort to make the post concise, I made it sound too good. It was not meant to be an ode to Denmark. Just a description. Maybe it needs a second part to make it more complete and more impartial.
Weeks are weird yeah. Even weirder, I have the impression that not all systems that use weeks, count the same way.
I’ve always wanted to visit Copenhagen but only got as far as Stockholm, though, reading your article, i see some similarities between Stockholm (Sweden) and Denmark. Overall sounds like a fun country to be (with caveats ofc)!
I don’t know if fun is the right word. For sure if I had to choose 1 word to describe the country, it wouldn’t be fun. It is just not the first thing that comes to mind.
But now that you say it and given that I really struggled to keep the article short, maybe a part 2 is in order. There are so many things to mention when describing a culture, that it is almost unfair to do it in 2000 words.
PS: I am ashamed to admit it, but I have never been to Stockholm. What did you think of it?
I was told by the backpacker circuit at that time that Denmark was the funnest of the Scandinavian countries, and Copenhagen was the best city to visit out of the four. For contextualization purposes, the benchmark was Scandinavia, so there’s that😂.
Upon landing in Stockholm and getting around and about, it took me moments to adjust to its homogeneity, it has this vibe that everyone was reading out of the same playbook except the tourists, and the locals were determined to be as homogenous as possible. The locals were brusquely friendly in a NY way without that built-in sarcasm/rudeness, which was a pleasant surprise, but there seems to be an invisible gap that they’re determined not to close, so there’s always that distance despite the friendliness.
From my brief time there the city seems geared towards a younger crowd and there’s plenty of cultural and non-cultural stuff to do around town. Another thing i noticed is that the pubs and bars love classic (american and british) rock😂, which gives off this 70-80s America vibe blended into its nightlife.
There’s plenty more i got from conversing with tourists and locals, but thats the rough gist.
Context matters! 😉
The things you mention check out. I need to visit at some point, but usually other places take precedence. I don’t expect it to be much different than Copenhagen in terms of style and culture, but I’ve heard it is a beautiful city.
I guess you also describe quite a particular situation, where everyone was close to the person defending their thesis. So it makes sense that they had something in common that you didn't.
Overall however, this would be challenging anyway in Denmark, because it is indeed difficult to make -local- friends. But even if you are a local, Danes have a culture of keeping their friend groups separate: school friends, family friends, sports club friends. So you would need to find your niche or make your way into one.
Strange the you also felt like an outsider in the UK. Usually speaking the language, is an important step towards being accepted.
Can you poinpoint what it was that made you feel like an outsider in the after party?