YES, YOU WILL SEE BABIES SLEEPING OUTSIDE CAFÉS AND LIBRARIES IN DENMARK. NO, THIS IS NOT AN ABANDONMENT RITUAL. Parents put a baby in a stroller, bundle them appropriately, park the stroller outside and remain nearby. It looks alarming if…
THE PASTRY YOU CALL A “DANISH” DID NOT ORIGINATE IN DENMARK. IT CAME FROM AUSTRIA. DANES KNOW THIS, AND THEY HAVE DECIDED TO LIVE WITH THE CONFUSION. In Denmark, the flaky, buttery pastry is called wienerbrød — literally “Viennese bread.”…
HYGGE IS NOT A PRODUCT CATEGORY. IT IS NOT A THROW PILLOW, A FONT OR A $48 SCENTED CANDLE WITH A NORDIC NAME. Hygge is the Danish habit of deliberately making time feel pleasant: dinner with people you like, a…
THE REASON DANES BIKE IS NOT THAT THEY HAVE BETTER MORALS THAN YOU. IT IS THAT, IN MANY DANISH CITIES, RIDING A BIKE IS OFTEN THE SENSIBLE OPTION. Flat terrain helps. So does the weather occasionally behaving itself. But the…
DENMARK HAS DAY CARE, PAID LEAVE, WOMEN IN POLITICS AND A CULTURE THAT GENERALLY EXPECTS WOMEN TO HAVE THEIR OWN LIVES. NONE OF THAT MEANS EQUALITY IS DONE. The Danish model made it far easier for women to work outside…
IN DENMARK, PEOPLE SOMETIMES LEAVE A JAR OF CASH NEXT TO ROADSIDE STRAWBERRIES. THAT IS NOT BECAUSE DANES ARE ANGELS. IT IS BECAUSE A SOCIETY CAN PRACTISE TRUST. Trust is one of the least flashy things Denmark does well. It…
DENMARK HAS A CLUB FOR ALMOST EVERYTHING: FOOTBALL, KNITTING, GARDENING, HOUSING, SINGING, POLITICS, PARENTS, DOGS AND PEOPLE WHO WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE A BENCH SOMEWHERE. This is not just cute local colour. Associations are part of how Danish democracy works…
DENMARK DID NOT INVENT WIND. WE JUST GOT TIRED OF PRETENDING THAT WINDY WEATHER WAS ONLY GOOD FOR COMPLAINING. Wind power is a genuine Danish strength. The official Denmark site says wind supplies 41% of the country’s energy and that…
A DATA CENTER DOES NOT BECOME GREEN BECAUSE SOMEONE PUTS THE WORD “GREEN” IN A PRESS RELEASE. Denmark attracts data centres for boring, good reasons: reliable infrastructure, strong fibre connections, a cooler climate and an electricity system with a large…
IN DENMARK, A LIBRARY IS OFTEN THE PLACE YOU GO WHEN YOU NEED A DESK, A PRINTER, A CHILDREN’S CORNER, A NEWSPAPER, WIFI OR JUST SOMEWHERE TO SIT WITHOUT BUYING A $7 COFFEE. Yes, there are books. But treating Danish…