Top 10 Danish Observations

After spending 3 weeks in Denmark, here are my top 10 observations that I noted about Danish society and norms:

1 Pedestrian signal obedience 
Many blogs speak to the fact that Danes obey walking signals. And after just having spent less than a week in London, I can definitely confirm the difference in culture. Danes will wait at an intersection for the crossing signal, even if there is no traffic in sight. I experienced this on multiple occasions. Brits, on the other hand, regularly disobeyed crossing signals. Their motto: if no cars in sight, or if cars in sight aren’t moving yet, treat as green and walk.

2. Green thumbs 
Danish people, at least more than Canadians, seem to have an affinity with live plants and flowers. A flower/plant shop similar to these ones could easily be found in any Copenhagen neighbourhood. Windowsill plants/gardens were also a common feature in many flat windows, including ours.

So many flower shops.

3. Table decor 
I fell in love with minimalist Danish style. And in doing so I noticed that almost all Cafe, bar and restaurant tables shared two commonalities: they included both a floral arrangement or plant, including herbs, as well as a candle. This gave off a hygge vibe, defined below, and effortlessly gave off a warm, inviting vibe without much clutter. I did a poor job of documenting this, but here’s one photo with plants on all patio tables.

Cafe patio with plants on all tables.

4. Hygge
First, read here what the Danish term hygge means. Many restaurants, bars and cafes with outdoor seating had blankets available to keep guests warm. In addition to heat lamps, these blankets were often either draped over chairs or folded in trunks, so passerby could readily see that an additional layer was available if it was a chillier day. Such a cosy atmosphere to see patrons cuddled up under their blankets while dining or drinking.

Most restaurants, cafes, and bars with patios, which was very common, had blankets and heat lamps available to make the space useable despite dropping temperatures.

5. Sneakers
Many Danes wore stylish but practical footwear to support their active commuting lifestyle. Not previously a wearer of casual sneakers, I found myself oohing and ahhing over various stylish yet practical sneakers.

6. Design everywhere – even construction walls!
I was surprised by how the Danes, or maybe Europeans more broadly, take extra care to ensure many features are presented as pleasantly as possible. Take Copenhagen’s current million dollar City Circle ring line Metro expansion, wherein 17 new stations are being built by 2019. While in the centre city, you’re never more than a few minute walk from a construction site. Nevertheless, the city commissions public art to cover or be featured on these walls, making the construction zones as pleasing as possible, while also engaging the local arts community. A simple yet unnecessary touch that makes the city that much more pleasing.

Curated construction art featuring local residents and employees of neighbourhood businesses.

7. Widespread use this uniform pram (stroller)
I felt like Danish prams (or strollers) were everywhere. Danes seem to bring their kids along wherever they go, and if the child isn’t old enough to sit in the parent’s bike seat or have their own tricycle, they are pushed around in these super awesome strollers. I took quite a liking to these, though several ex-pat blogs question their practicality. Give their large size, it’s not uncommon for parents to leave their children inside the strollers on the sidewalk they quickly dash into a coffee shop or bakery.

Danish prams were everywhere.

8. Mac users
I popped into many cafes while in Denmark and not once did I notice a Windows laptop. Danes appeared to be Apple lovers through and through. Interestingly, the Apple watch was finally launched in Denmark and other smaller European countries while we were there.

9. Perfume
One of the first things I noticed in Denmark is that people wear perfume and cologne regularly. In North America we’ve largely moved to scent-free atmospheres, which is why I noticed scents in Denmark almost immediately. I’d be curious to know how per capita perfume sales compare between Denmark and Canada.

10. Self-serve water service
While I also noticed this in London, Denmark frequently had self-serve water stations at bars and cafes, where there wasn’t table service. I really enjoyed being able to grab a glass of water without having to line up at the counter. Given the extensive walking and biking we were doing, it was great to have easy access to unlimited water!

And there you have it. I had an amazing time and highly recommend Copenhagen, a European gem that, at least in September, was less invaded by tourists than many other major European cities.

Next up: my brief stop in London followed by tales from our Japanese adventure, which is sadly coming to an end this weekend.

Denmark Food Favourites

I figured a food post was appropriate as a follow up to my last post on drinks. Although I came with slight hesitations about Danish food – I’d read that previously pork, dairy and root vegetables had been (fairly plain) staples – I can honestly report that Denmark can definitely do great, albeit expensive, food. 

We came here knowing that eating out is costly in Denmark. I guess Dames don’t really do casual dining – even a McDonalds burger costs the equivalent of $12 Cad. And that doesn’t include fries or a drink. 

As a result, we had a pact that we would eat many meals at home. And lucky for us, our kitchen was well-equipped and our apartment within a 10 minute walk of 2 full and 2 mid-size grocery stores, offering ample opportunity to pick up food quickly and easily.

Rugbrød

Traditional Danish bread, which is essentially a really dense rye bread with a lot of delicious seeds and grains. It’s actually very nutrition rich, and delicious. We bought many loaves of rugbrød, many of them from a wonderful (and I mean wonderful) bakery about a 3 minute walk from us, simply named Brød. 

Smørrebrød

In essence, these are open faced sandwiches served exclusively on rugbrød. When I first heard about these, I was quite hesitant as I pictured a kind of bland, boring sandwich served open. Was I ever surprised when I bought my first few smørrebrød! They were topped with fresh, colourful, and flavourful combinations of egg, meat, and fish. While these are apparently the Tier 1, modern twist to smørrebrød, they were nevertheless delicious! I definitely recommend Aamanns (it came highly recommended to us by multiple people) and Kahler in Aarhus, as well as at the delicious food stalls at Torvehallerne and PapirØen, or Paper Island.

Aamanns’ lunch

Paper Island food hall snack

Authentic Danish Dinner

One of our first nights in town, we met up with a high school friend who lives in Copenhagen, and he took us to an authentic Danish restaurant where I had the Pariserbøf, essentially minced meat with an egg on top. It was delicious! And neat to go to a traditional, neighbourhood Danish restaurant. 

Set Course Dinners

I think we’ve had a total of three of these in Denmark, two in Copenhagen and one in Aarhus. In two instances, they came with drink pairings, which was fun. 

We loved Manfreds in Nørrebro, which was in a cozy little caveroom, and Kahler in Aarhus served fantastic smørrebrød with some of the best bread I had in Denmark. It’s a concept store featuring beautiful Kahler decor items, namely serving dishes, vases and candleholders. They’re for sale in the store a few doors down, land in select shops throughout the city. I couldn’t help but pick up a couple of the cute, tiny little striped vases. Lastly, we went to Øl & Brød on our last night for a dinner paired with local craft beers from Mikkeller, which I mentioned in my Drinks post. Also a super neat spot – great food and casual atmosphere. 

Freetown Christiana 

An autonomous, self-governing commune in Copenhagen, Christiania is home to a couple of restaurants that we were introduced to by local friends of a friend. We went to for dinner, which was delicious and always has a vegetarian option, and to Morgenstedet for a vegetarian, organic lunch made with vegetables and herbs grown right there in Christiana. Delicious food with a very laid back atmosphere. 

Yoghurt – in a carton!

I am extremely predictable when it comes to breakfast. My go-to is yogurt, fruit and cereal. I was a little surprised on my first day here to only see a couple flavours of yogurt at the grocery store, especially since I’d heard Denmark had a sizeable dairy industry. After about a week, I discovered that the vast majority of yogurt is actually available in a 1 litre carton! This is the format where you can choose from a very wide assortment of flavours! 

Game Food

We went to a Copenhagen FC game at the large stadium, where we saw this sign advertising all the park food. We opted for a delectable Fransk hotdog, served in a bread tube. As hilarious as I found it, it’s actually very practical – it’s far less messy than a standard North American bun. 

Shawarma 

There is no shortage of shawarma in Denmark! We found a spot near our place that was reasonably priced, and delicious. There are a number of spots along our strip, and a local noticed us eyeing the spots and trying to decide so he offered his recommendation. We tried that spot, loved it, and returned several times. 

Traditional Danish Cake

On my last day, I was introduced by an old classmate to La Glace, an institutional and traditional Danish cake shop in the heart of Støget, their central pedestrianized shopping district (the largest in Europe). The spot is a must-try, dating back to the late 1800s with traditional Danish decor. It carries a selection of about 20 cakes on hand. My cake had a lot of nougat and whipped cream, but at the same time wasn’t overly sweet. It was just the right balance! 

Danish cuisine is varied, with many ethnic options and local cuisines in a wide variety from very traditional and simple to New Nordic, and in a wide array of price ranges. Having gone in with slight skeptism about Danish cuisine based on limited research, I was extremely impressed. 

Playing Tourist in Copenhagen

After having spent just over one week in Copenhagen, I can report that Ian and I have checked off several of the major tourist attractions in the city, in addition to having done a lot of neighbourhood exploring.

The Little Mermaid

This was pretty disappointing, which is kind of what TripAdvisor and other blogs indicated. Nevertheless, we had to go to see her for ourselves. After waiting in a disorganized line, we finally shoved our way down to get a shot of with this famous sculpture inspired by H.C. Andersen’s fairy tale. She is rather removed from the city centre with many tour buses parked in the lot around her.

Requisite visit to the Little Mermaid

Rosenborg Castle

Rosenborg Castle

Picturesque 400-year-old castle in the centre of Copenhagen. Its treasury (basement) houses crown jewels and royal regalia. This and the Long Hall in the 3rd story were my favourite aspects of this castle. Otherwise, most rooms housed various furniture pieces collected over the years both within the castle and from other royal residences. While I was pleased that this castle housed furniture, I was fairly disappointed that it was not staged as it had once been when occupied.

To see such a palace, I will have to go to Christian VIII’s Palace at Amalienborg, the royal familiy’s current winter residence. Christian VIII’s palace was maintained exactly as they were lived in, which is really neat. More on Amalienborg once I go for the tour this coming weekend.

Crown jewels in the castle’s Treasury

Rosenborg wine cellar.

The Long Hall, with the king and queen’s thrones, guarded by 3 silver lions (1670).

Loving the curved stairwell.

Renaissance decor and Flemish tapestries, plus the ceremonial arms collection and a China cabinet.

The beautiful Kongens Have (the King’s Garden), Denmark’s oldest royal garden.

Christian IV’s wine cellar.

Carlsberg Vistors Centre (and Museum)

Where in Canada can you wander around a museum with a draft beer in hand? Probably nowhere. But at Carlsberg, which is basically in our backyard, an admission ticket includes two beers, which you can grab from any of the museum’s 3 bars. So naturally, we grabbed ours at the first bar located alongside of the first exhibit. This was a very well put together museum, outlining general beer making history going back to the 1600s, then recounting Carlsberg’s rise to fame and prominence, in both Denmark and various foreign markets. The tour ended with more beer in the gardens.

Beer drinking and museum wandering.

Oh, and the little mermaid’s little sister statue is on display here. This replica was made when the original was shipped to a World Fair in China.

The Little Mermaid’s little sister.

And lastly, the Carlsberg Museum had a HUGE collection of beer bottles from countries around the world.

The world’s largest collection of unopened beer bottles.

Museum of Copenhagen

This museum is free on Fridays, so we popped in last Friday. It’s conveniently located in our neighbourhood, Vesterbro. The museum was largely a social history of Copenhagen, with a strong emphasis on immigration. This was especially interesting given the current situation with Syrian refugees, many of whom are traveling across Denmark to Sweden, where they are seeking to claim asylum.

One Copenhagen taxi company puts stickers on its cabs highlighting its employees’ countries of origin.

There were a couple neat special exhibits as well, one called “The Past Beneath Us” which showcases artifacts discovered during the construction of the city’s City Circle Line, a ring of metro stations currently under construction. The 2nd special exhibit is “Kid City”, whereby museum curators worked with a particular 5th grade class to develop an exhibit of students’ most prized or beloved objects, from soccer balls or special pencils.

Remaining official attractions on our list: 

1. Louisiana, Copenhagen’s Modern Art Museum. Thanks to our Airbnb host, who works at Louisiana, we learned that a new exhibit opens Sept 17 on Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. In light of our forthcoming travels to Japan, we’re waiting for this exhibit to open. We’re going to ride the train to Louisiana with our bikes to bike around the nearby ocean trails. I’m hoping for a little sunshine the day we go!
2. Kronborg Slot: Aiming to go to a 2nd castle, just north of the city near Louisiana. It is apparently very well preserved, and is the real-life location of Shakespeare’s fictional Hamlet.
3. Tower of Christiansborg, at the Christiansborg Palace. This 106-metre high tower, from the site of the current Danish Parliament, offers a free panoramic view of the city. We went today, but it’s closed on Mondays. We’ll try again later in the week.
4. Tivoli Gardens, Denmark’s top tourist attraction, is an amusement park and entertainment complex literally right in the centre of Copenhagen, across from the central train station. We’re going next week, once we’ve returned our (kinda beloved) bikes, because it’s walkable from our apartment.
5. National Museum, Denmark’s premiere museum happens to be free. Awesome! We’ll pop in here on a rainy day, possibly also after our bikes have been returned.
6. FC Copenhagen Game: We’re aiming to go to a game either Wednesday or Sunday! It will be my first professional soccer game! No, I have never been to a Toronto FC game.

And with that – I’m off for a pint at a neighbourhood bar.

Top Quotes – July 20

For the most part, this week’s list shares the same theme as last week’s, at which time I had not yet made it to Straphanger’s conclusion. The last couple of chapters were extremely interesting and I really enjoyed the quotes below so I decided to go for it and share them. I promise next week’s source(s) will be different. I’m hoping to make a dent of my growing pile of fiction novels as I enjoy the beautiful scenery of Niagara-on-the-Lake, where I’m going for a mini little getaway.

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“Just as shopping malls killed main streets and sidewalks, and gated communities replaced real neighbourhoods, the private automobile usurped the social space once shared on subways, buses, and trains. When a society eliminates public space – when your only contact with your fellow citizens happens at 55 miles per hour, separated by layers of glass – it stops knowing itself, and can start believing the most outrageous lies: that crime is rampant, that people have no shared interests, that races and classes have no common ground.” – Taras Grescoe, Straphanger.

“[The motorcar] exploded each city into a dozen suburbs, and then extended many of the forms of urban life along the highway till the open road seemed to become non-stop cities…Streets, and even sidewalks, became too intense a scene for the casual interplay of growing up. As the city filled with mobile strangers, even next-door neighbours became strangers.” – Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media, 1964.

I found this one to be especially interesting because my interaction with neighbours on my cul-de-sac street almost always originates from passing them on the sidewalks as one of us makes our way on foot to do any number of activities, from grocery shopping, to going for a run, to going for a bike ride, to walking to school or walking/biking to work. Indeed, if my street was wholly dependent on cars, and not foot or bike, to get around, I would know and see my neighbours far less than I do. I love my street and I love that many of the people living on it are committed to remaining single car families.

My last quote is not about automobiles or transit; however it is great advice that will hopefully increase people’s awareness about the negative effects of light and brightness on sleeping patterns. So many people suffer from an inability to sleep or sleep well. Luckily, I am a mostly peaceful sleeper however I found these tips to be interesting in light of insomnia’s impact on society.

“Work-hard, play-hard cultures both prize the hours stolen from the night. The question is how we manage our health in a 24-hour society. If we know how much light we need and make sure we get it, we may live better, longer and more happily.

Light Up Your Life: 12 tips for a better day’s light and a better night’s sleep

1. Get up and go to bed at the same time every day, even at weekends
2. Open your curtains each morning and embrace the day, not your privacy
3. Spend time outside by day
4. Don’t draw the blind – move your desk
5. Try to work by a window – a room with a view isn’t just a good novel
6. Play video games by day, not at night
7. Buy an extra desk lamp
8. Have a romantic dinner with the lights dimmed – every night
9. Don’t use your computer or tablet for two hours before bedtime
10. Install f.lux software on your computer
11. Make your bedroom dark or sleep in a face mask
12. Turn off the light half an hour earlier. It could save your life.”

– Rosie Blau, The Economist, June 14th-20th.   

That’s all for now. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful week!

Marseille: A Real Place with Real People

When Ian and I told people we were going to Marseille while in Southern France, they questioned what attracted us to the city, commonly ignored by tourists. True, the city is a little gritty and has fewer typical tourist attractions than most in the region. However, it’s also a real city with an authentic pulse that does not rely heavily on tourism. A true Mediterranean city with a strong North African cultural influence, Marseille is France’s 2nd largest city proper.

We took a regional train from Avignon Centre to Marseille St. Charles station, located downtown. This was the gorgeous panoramic view from the top of the train station stairs.

Our first view of Marseille!

We wandered around and stumbled upon the Noailles market, a market unlike any I’ve seen before. I was a little awestruck and as a result forgot to document it. But many others have so I’ve used a google photo below.

Noailles Market

Next, we went to the Vieux Port, which is very much still a functioning port with fairly little by way of tourist attractions aside from a shoe statue, a reflecting ceiling reminiscent of the Chicago Bean, and a ferris wheel which I was sad to learn was closed and decommissioned. On we went for lunch.

Many recommendations in our guide book were closed on Mondays, the day we were in Marseille, so we hunted down a restaurant with Bouillabaisse, a traditional fish stew, listed on its menu board. We found a great spot in the centre of a lovely, sunny square and eagerly placed our order. We were a little surprised to receive the dish pictured at left in the photo below – not exactly what we had in mind based on Google findings.

Not-Bouillabaisse and Bouillabaisse

However we figured this particular restaurant must have put their own spin on the dish. So we began eating. Until our waiter came over and asked if we had received Bouillabaisse; we looked back at her and said we didn’t think it was Bouillabaisse but we were Canadian and didn’t really know what it was – classic fall back, “je suis Canadien, je ne sais pas”. She apologized profusely – someone had got our order wrong and we didn’t even know! The owner came over and continued to apologize and ask how he could make it up. He told us to finish our meal, which was delicious, and brought us a Bouillabaisse to share so we could at least try the dish! It was tasty but I must say that I actually preferred the first dish we received so it all worked out well!

We then wandered for a while, finding a winding road along the Mediterranean which offered some pretty views of the water, but with very few areas to sit and enjoy.

After an afternoon pit stop for beer we wandered into the city’s edgier side and we stumbled upon Walter White.

Marseille graffiti talent.

Venturing further into Cour Julien, a really neat mixed use space with plenty of young kids playing, teenagers lounging about, and adults sitting on patios sipping wine and drinking beer. Unfortunately, many cafes were closed for the day Monday so we only wandered through briefly. There was an obscene amount of graffiti, not necessarily in a bad way, but my photos don’t do it justice. We then turned onto a side road which housed a former prison now repurposed as an elementary school. Pretty creepy but an interesting use of space.

Extensive graffti in Cour Julien and Prison Chave (now an elementary school)

We continued through more residential neighbourhoods situated along the city’s new tram line. One road, pictured below, was a gorgeous, tree-lined main street with plenty of boulangeries, patisseries, pharmacies, etc.

Lovely tree-lined boulevard

Overall we had a great day in Marseille and were very pleasantly surprised. The city was certainly not Avignon – it had few major historical attractions, although a new museum recently opened, the MuCEM. While we did not have time to go ourselves, it’s indicative of Marseille’s slow but growing cache amongst a certain kind of tourist, one who isn’t afraid to immerse themselves in local culture. The Vieux Port area is also undergoing a rejuvenation project, with a 4 star hotel under construction. Marseille is also home to a 3 Michelin star restaurants. If you’re ever nearby, I highly recommend at least a day or night in Marseille.

Welcome to my Blog!

I love travel and exploring new places. As I began researching to plan my upcoming 2-week escapade to France, I found myself relying heavily on others’ blogs. I decided to record my trip planning and travel experiences with the hope that someone might find them useful. Or at least interesting and worth a read.

We’ll see where the blog takes me following my trip to France.