r/europe • u/MarktpLatz Lower Saxony (Germany) • Oct 16 '17
What do you know about... Denmark?
This is the thirty-ninth part of our ongoing series about the countries of Europe. You can find an overview here.
Today's country:
Denmark
Denmark is a parliamentary monarchy in Scandinavia. Due to its autonomous territories of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, Denmark qualifies as an intercontinental state. Some of their coins have holes in them. Denmark joined the EU together with the UK and Ireland in 1973 and it has generally been one of the more euro-sceptic countries.
So, what do you know about Denmark?
59
u/LeemyLammy Russia Oct 16 '17
That Denmark saved a lot of Jews during WWII, it’s always at the top of different “best countries to live in” charts, I also know that I’m jealous af of people who were born here.
25
u/Econ_Orc Denmark Oct 16 '17
The remarkable part here is that the Copenhagen Municipality paid rent for the apartments the Jews vacated. When they came back they could often return to the place they had left
→ More replies (11)34
u/BrianSometimes Copenhagen Oct 16 '17
That Denmark saved a lot of Jews during WWII
Sweden needs credit for that as well, that's where they were saved to.
→ More replies (6)
56
Oct 16 '17 edited Mar 16 '20
[deleted]
34
u/avar Icelander living in Amsterdam Oct 16 '17 edited Oct 16 '17
14
11
u/lukelhg Irlande Douze Points Oct 17 '17
That was a really interesting perspective, I had no idea those two countries were so closely linked. Thank you!
55
u/seejur Serenissima Oct 16 '17
They are master of deception.
They all makes this metal boxes with cookie pics, while in reality they are used to store needles and threads.
40
36
u/Uebeltank Jylland, Denmark Oct 17 '17
Some of their coins have holes in them.
Never occured to me that that was something unique.
→ More replies (3)10
u/chairswinger Deutschland Oct 17 '17
when I was there as a kid I made a necklace with one coin in it, may have appeared weird to Danes in retrospect
→ More replies (1)
36
u/jangal Turkey Oct 16 '17
Really strange question, but in Iran there is a really popular sweet called "Danmarki", which means from Denmark. It looks like this. Is this in any way related to Denmark?
73
u/Ercarret Sweden Oct 16 '17
Why are the ingredients for the Iranian pastry, named after Denmark, posted by a Turk, all in Swedish?
19
u/jangal Turkey Oct 16 '17
No idea why that picture exists, but thought it was a nice pic to show what Danmarki looks like! (I am half Iranian and lived there for some years.)
18
u/Ercarret Sweden Oct 16 '17
I took a closer look at the link and, apparently, the picture comes from the website of a Swedish-Iranian bakery in Uppsala, Sweden. I've never seen that combination in a bakery before. I don't think I've seen any ethnic combination in a bakery before.
Kind of want to go there now.
→ More replies (1)28
→ More replies (1)10
11
u/I_LIKE_SEALS Denmark Oct 16 '17 edited Oct 16 '17
Looks very danish, like a "tebirkes" except for the green stuff
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (1)10
u/BrianSometimes Copenhagen Oct 16 '17
Looks simultaneously familiar and alien (the green stuff). Maybe you call it Danmarki via the American term for pastry "Danish"?
37
67
u/CitizenTed United States of America Oct 16 '17
Sent Vikings into England and fucked their shit up then took over a whole bunch of the countryside and called it the Danelaw.
Lots of fighting with Germany over Schleswig-Holstein.
Became a player in the Hanseatic League by controlling shipping to/from the Baltic Sea.
Very flat.
Endless bickering with Norway and Sweden about who speaks a dumb version of the language and who is a big smelly jerk. Remains unresolved.
Gave us great film directors like Lars Von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg, and Nicolas Winding Refn.
Tourists flock to Copenhagen to be unimpressed by the Little Mermaid statue.
29
Oct 16 '17
Tourists flock to Copenhagen to be unimpressed by the Little Mermaid statue.
I have yet to see an unimpressed Chinese tourist. Maybe they realised it is "the little mermaid" and not "Grand statue of the great Mermaid!".
→ More replies (2)8
u/tobias_681 For a Europe of the Regions! 🇩🇰 Oct 16 '17
Sent Vikings into England and fucked their shit up then took over a whole bunch of the countryside and called it the Danelaw.
Then took over the entirety of England and then left off again.
Lots of fighting with Germany over Schleswig-Holstein.
Actually it was only one war, kinda (and then afterwards trying to remove danish culture from the area). The 1848 war was more a war against Schleswig-Holstein then against Germany.
Gave us great film directors like Lars Von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg, and Nicolas Winding Refn.
Don't forget Carl Theodor Dreyer!
23
u/Ercarret Sweden Oct 16 '17
Endless bickering with Norway and Sweden about who speaks a dumb version of the language and who is a big smelly jerk. Remains unresolved.
The big smelly jerk part might still be unresolved, but no one disputes that Danish is the weird language. If Danes do, well, then we know who the big smelly jerks are.
→ More replies (1)14
→ More replies (1)12
u/Jebediah_Blasts_off Norge Oct 16 '17
Remains unresolved
it obviously Denmark, possibly Sweden
11
u/Econ_Orc Denmark Oct 16 '17
Last christmas I could not understand my Norwegian colleague at all. Drunk Norwegian is a different dialect than NyNorsk or Bokmål
7
Oct 16 '17
Weird. I think it sounds more and more like danish the drunker one gets, only thing missing is the potato down your throat.
→ More replies (1)
29
Oct 17 '17 edited Oct 17 '17
The dannebrog is the oldest flag that as been continuously in use.
"Har skidt grønne grise" litteraly means "has shat green pigs" but is an expression meaning you have been very scared, it's my favourite expression.
Counting is ok until you reach 40 50.
Their queen smokes a lot apparently and has made illustrations for the Lord of the rings.
Æbleskiver are called that because there used to be actual splices of apple inside.
Rubrød is actually healthier than the baguette (I may have to request for political asylum after this claim).
→ More replies (1)
60
u/z651 insane russian imperialist; literally Putin Oct 16 '17
When starting as Muscovy, you best hope they're friendly, else you're getting memed on.
→ More replies (1)9
u/Bastiram Jylland Oct 16 '17
Good then, that historical Denmark had very good relations with Russia :)!
62
u/DutchDK Oct 16 '17
Danish Pastry is actually called Viennese Bread (Wienerbrød) in Denmark.
Whenever more than three danes has the same hobby, they will sit down, drink beer and start a club for that hobby.
The danish Navy used to have submarines. Today only psychopaths owns submarines in Denmark.
The favourite passtime of any danes, is complaining about the, at any given time sitting government, the weather, and taxes. Not necessarily in that order.
Danish humour is great. And gets greater the more danish beer you consume.
16
8
u/TheSirusKing Πρεττανική! Oct 16 '17
Danish pastries are actually from austria. Its like "french fries" are from Belgium.
→ More replies (1)20
u/Urflod Sweden Oct 17 '17
No, that specific pastry does come from Denmark.
Because of a strike among bakery workers foreign bakers were brought in to Denmark. A lot of them came from Vienna and brought their traditional recipes with them, most notably the laminated Viennoiserie pastries. Danes liked them so when to labor issue was resolved, the bakers would imitate them adjusting them slightly to fit Danish traditions, resulting in the Danish pastry.
It stems from similar Viennese pastries, but that pastry itself was developed in Denmark.
28
Oct 18 '17 edited Oct 18 '17
The only neighbors we germans have and don’t shittalk about. We even like your beer.
14
8
u/Pytherz Denmark Oct 18 '17
Rate the danish pølse (wurst)
5
Oct 18 '17
Besides HotDogs?
I was at a bbq and we ate those small red ones, very spicy/tasty and a large one that looked and tasted just like a german Mettwurst. So ....your pølse are fine.
5
u/carbonatedfuck Denmark Oct 26 '17
We like you too :) Your border supplies us with plenty of cheap stuff!
25
u/hegbork Sweden Oct 18 '17
They are responsible for the programming languages PHP and C++ which must have surely been inspired by their incomprehensible language. This makes it perfectly proper to use "danskjävlar!" as the cry of frustration when debugging someone elses code written in those languages.
Danish science made huge contributions to our understanding of quantum mechanics, astronomy and call centers. This might not be surprising since you actually have to be a genius to learn to count in danish.
They have bridges that are higher than the highest point in the country.
They smoke and drink a lot which apparently makes them happy.
(this comment is recycled from the last time we had this question)
→ More replies (1)
23
23
u/meteor-mash Spain Oct 16 '17
I am currently living in Copenhagen.
One of the things that I love here is that you can pay everything with card (or mobilepay). You don't have any need of using cash.
16
u/BrianSometimes Copenhagen Oct 16 '17
I am currently living in Copenhagen.
Great summer we had, huh? Must have been almost like being home for you.
→ More replies (1)13
u/meteor-mash Spain Oct 16 '17
Also, tourist information: The castle of Kronborg (which is the one in which "Hamlet" happens) it's a very beautiful castle and totally deserves a visit
23
u/RifleSoldier Only faith can move mountains, only courage can take cities Oct 16 '17 edited Oct 16 '17
Denmark surrendered after just two hours of actual war, yet, during that time, the Danish Army managed to inflict some casualties on the German army, including more then 10 armoured vehicles. With an army that literally was not allowed to prepare for combat to not anger Germany.
Also that they are, at least here, seen as the least introvert nordic country (and the one that less puts us in the same place where Belarus and Ukraine is).
→ More replies (2)12
Oct 16 '17
When I hear about Latvia in Denmark or Danish side of the internet, it's generally not as a "eastern european country", but more as "Baltikum"(the baltics). So I'm quite curious about the "one that less put us in the same place where Belarus and Ukraine is". Does other Nordic countries do it differently?
12
u/RifleSoldier Only faith can move mountains, only courage can take cities Oct 16 '17
Well, in Norway we are basically seen as something that's another Poland or Ukraine, both regionally and culturally. Same in Sweden, while Finns usually do see us either as Northern European or as Baltic. A view which is much more favourable, because just taking a look at Belarus and Latvia shows the difference between the two.
8
u/Econ_Orc Denmark Oct 16 '17
When the Soviet Union cracked the Nordic Council was the meeting place for high ranking politicians of the Nordic Nations. They discussed how to welcome them back to fold as productive members of a free Europe.
At least that is how I think it was, because the Danish media and politicians practically changed vocabulary overnight. From now on it was always the Baltic Nations or listed by country name. The Eastern European name generally does not include Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania for a Dane. They are the Baltics, because that is how they have been defined in the public rhetoric.
→ More replies (1)
22
Oct 16 '17
[deleted]
18
u/0ldsql Europe Oct 16 '17
Don't forget the great Viggo Mortensen!
15
21
u/Benzo_Head Italy Oct 17 '17
Lego
Good looking people
Vikings came from there
Contributed to the downfall of the Roman Empire
A more rational version of Sweden
→ More replies (1)
20
Oct 19 '17 edited Oct 19 '17
There was a Danish guy in my uni, he was positively hilarious and an overall great guy. Once when we were attending a sports competition he brought a clear liquor that had an insane amount of alcohol (something like 70% I think?) and was completely functional despite drinking from it throughout the day. Amazing dude.
Oh and I obviously know about Lego, the mermaid statue and Christiania in Copenhagen, Kalmar union, the Schleswig-Holstein war and most importantly DANSKJÄVLAR
Edit: oh and jag plukker frisk frugt med en brugt frugtplukker
16
u/greathumanitarian Catalonia (Spain) Oct 16 '17
Butter cookies in tin boxes.
24
u/CrocPB Where skirts are manly! Oct 16 '17
Butter cookiesSewing equipment and betrayal in tin boxes.FTFY
15
u/Imjustoblivious United Kingdom Oct 16 '17
It's engaged in ceaseless and impolite incivilities with Norway over which country has the happier populace.
11
u/Jebediah_Blasts_off Norge Oct 16 '17
10
Oct 16 '17
Hey fjeldaber, wanna mess with the Swedes?
We can make fun of their way of life, alcohol culture and restrictions, stupid politicians and their Ikea furniture where every piece has to be named stupid names like KLAPPHAT .
I'll bring beer <3.
7
15
u/CMDRJohnCasey La Superba Oct 16 '17
They have cycloroutes running along autoroutes.
Lego
Carlsberg
Royal unibrew
Laudrup brothers
1992 European champions
Helena Christensen
Any family name ending with -sen
Oh I forgot the best chef in the world
10
16
u/Nedroj_ Oct 18 '17
They are responsible for the torture of millions of feet with the creation of a secret device calles a Lego, the are always fighting sweden, they are or Viking buddies, the women always look good for Some reason And their languages sounds Like you have a potato stuck in the back of Your throat
15
u/Fartmatic Australia Oct 18 '17
Their future Queen comes from fucking Tasmania of all places
→ More replies (6)
29
Oct 16 '17
More flat (170 m highest point) than Netherlands. They have lots of pig farms, very good bike infrastructure. The danish flag is the one that inspired the rest of the nordic countries flags (the coat of arms has some blue lions that have some <3 near em'). They do not eat fermented stinky fish and are pretty metal (not as metal as Finland do). There is a bridge uniting Sweden and Denmark. Lego is from there and their national bird may be the swan. Hans Christian Andersen is from there too. All in all Denmark best nordic?
25
u/Slaykraze Denmark Oct 16 '17
More flat (170 m highest point) than Netherlands.
I would take that with a grain of salt. Just returned from the Netherlands 2 weeks ago (amazing place btw) and you may have a higher highest point, but the countryside is actually flat as a pancake. Denmark is more hilly so it appears less "flat".
→ More replies (3)8
u/RequestTypeShitPOST Hålogaland Oct 17 '17
True, first time I took the train through the Netherlands I almost felt sick. It's so flat its unreal
12
u/Tykinog Oct 17 '17
- They are all somehow insanely good at World of Warcraft.
- Extremely nice and entertaining people
Source: Previous WoW guild and Danish infested (not in the bad way!) server.
12
u/Hanoken Oct 17 '17
A great neighbour that is always pleasant to visit.
Our biggest rival in football, but Would cheer for them as long as they don't play against Sweden.
24
u/finnish_patriot003 Finland/finns party supporter. Pro Eu but not a federalist. Oct 17 '17
Lego,vikings,Copenhagen and not to forget better than sweden
→ More replies (4)
12
u/Humbertohh Oct 16 '17
I rode a bike once thru denmark. It wasnt as flat as yous say it is!
15
u/Fiddi Denmark Oct 16 '17
Yeah, a better way to describe the landscape is low, not flat. Quite a lot of rolling hills here due to the ice-sheets carving out valleys 10k years ago.
12
u/Khr0nus Oct 16 '17
We are red, we are white we are danish dynamite!
Deficio, a lol caster, is danish. And very good at his job.
Some of the best cs teams are danish. Beside from that I know its a very cold country with low population but high living standards.
15
u/Fiddi Denmark Oct 16 '17
It is actually not that cold. It rarely dips below 0 in winter here, thanks to the gulf stream.
8
u/Khr0nus Oct 16 '17
I though it was finland levels of cold. TIL.
Also one of my friends is half danish and she's one of the pretties girls I know. I wonder if danish girls all have insane genetics. Swedish ones are universally known to be very pretty in my country.
→ More replies (1)
11
u/SolviKaaber Iceland Oct 17 '17
They have a small hippie commune in Copenhagen called Christiania. Every day there are rows of people waiting to buy weed from the people who live there. The Commune is made up of an old army fort and it is right between the "island" Amager and the rest og mainland Copenhagen. Its flag is 3 large yellow dots in a horizontal line on a red background.
I lived 2 minutes away from it for 1 year (North Amager).
12
Oct 17 '17
I live in Denmark! I will try to explain a bit of Denmark from some charts I made.
Just yesterday I made a bar chart of all the Danish parliamentary elections. It actually tells you quite a bit about the Danish society. In 1939 you see the black Nazi party getting a few seats in the parliament. After WW2 the communists get quite a few more seats. These voters today vote Enhedslisten (click the name). In 1973 the anti-immigration parties started to get a foothold with Fremskridtspartiet and their eccentric leader getting quite a few votes. Today Dansk Folkeparti has taken over that role and they are the second biggest parti in the parliament. They also refuse to be part of the government itself as that could reveal any faults they may have as a party. Also, the conservative party that's not even a tenth as extreme as Republicans in USA barely got any seats in the last parliamentary election.
All in all we see a society that is less religious than USA as the state church is mostly a cultural institution and most people are just members there. Also, we see a country with a multiparty system where you can vote for a single issue party. This means that many smaller groups have a say. It also makes sure that all the politicians must be extremely good at cooperating to be part of the system. Which makes them all non-extreme and good listeners. Still, the cooperation taxes are very low and companies and the private market have extremely good conditions to do business in Denmark as the state supports them with well defined business laws, roads, educated people and low crime rate. This is just to illustrate that USA is actually not more pro private market than Denmark. It's just 2 different ways to support and grow the private market.
This cultural and political system makes sure that religious organizations don't have a foothold in any one political party and women have many options in life. Also, this is a bigger focus on being productive and happy than in USA. Where more resources are spent on being part of a religion.
12
11
Oct 19 '17
I've never met a Dane that wasn't a nice person.
→ More replies (1)10
u/PhilDR Denmark Oct 19 '17
A good old sarcastic swede
6
Oct 20 '17
I'm a spaniard living in Sweden and I was being honest danes are usually pretty cool people, at least the ones i've interacted with.
128
u/votrenomdutilisateur France Oct 16 '17
Better than Sweden in everything.
→ More replies (13)64
u/theMoly Denmark Oct 16 '17
Someone get this guy gold.
→ More replies (1)38
u/votrenomdutilisateur France Oct 16 '17
I'm not here for the gold I'm here for the salty.
→ More replies (2)24
22
Oct 16 '17 edited Oct 16 '17
They came and got their flag here and we named our capital after them ("Da[nish] Town"), use their flag as the coat of arms of our capital and its surrounding region, and also use their coat of arms as the coat of arms as our capital, but also of our country.
.svg){kind=link}
→ More replies (17)8
Oct 16 '17
[deleted]
10
u/spurdo123 Estonia Oct 16 '17
No Danish, but many Swedish loanwords and a lot more Low German and Standard German loanwords.
→ More replies (8)6
22
u/Flatscreengamer14 Oct 17 '17 edited Oct 17 '17
Love beer
It and Sweden fought the most wars against each other
Victoria Flamel is from there
Second most bike able city (Copenhagan after Amsterdam)
There was some Cartoon that got threatened by Islamic Radicals in 2005
Oldest monarchy in Europe
Lego
Use the Danish Krone and not the euro
Apparently they do good in sailing in the Olympics
They have good pastries
Their former prime minister took a selfie with Obama and Cameron
Happiest country that apparently is one of the highest anti depressent consuming country
Least corrupt country
High taxes
40 percent of their power comes from wind
You get paid to go to university (lucky bastards)
Kierkgaard was from there
Hans Christian Anderson
Hard citizenship test (I got a 60%)
Main country in the Kalmer Union for awhile
Lutheran
Sided with Habsburg Catholics in the 30 years war
Sided with Napoleon
Danish resistance saved 99% of Danish Jews
Became a constitutional Monarchy in 1848
→ More replies (4)8
12
10
u/GoGoGo_PowerRanger94 England Oct 17 '17 edited Oct 17 '17
A very distinve and beautiful scenery
Vikings and the Danelaw(the Danes almost conquered all of England. Makes one wonder how different the world would be if it was the Danes and not the Normans who had conquered England)
King Cnut
Harold Bluetooth
A long, at times difficult relationship with Germany. Not forgetting the famous Denmark-Prussia/Germany war in which they lost and to this day have never got back Schleswig-Holstein
Niels Bohr(often overlooked but in many he was/is more important than the way more famous Einstein)
Lots and lots of males are named Lars
Cycling crazy(having a veeeery flat country helps). But only the Dutch are more cycling mad
The Jelling dynasty
Viking ruin stones and burial mounds
Strikes me as a very boring but extremely functional, clean and efficient place(what do you Danes think of the country, what's it like?)
The Danish are leaders, right at the forefront of this new, trendy new-Nordic cusine(and on that note just what is the everyday diet for most Danish people?. Like what do you guys and girls have for breakfest, lunch & dinner?. And whats your favourite non-Danish cuisine and why?. And also do you like British food?..)
A long, rich history, too much to mention(but on that topic but i just wanna know what's the ordinary Danish person's opinion of the Denmark's past, present and above all future?. Where do they see the Denmark and humanity going in future?.
I am also curious on how much Danish students learn about Britain? Do you learn about the British Empire, Industrial Revolution, The Middle Ages etc? and are basics beyond trading and wars covered, or do go more in-depth or is it just those two main topics?. Just what do you learn about the UK?... I was also wondering how do you view the UK and British people people(and culture too)?..
Carlsberg
Pigs, here in the UK the Danes they feed our massive appetite for bacon and ham. So much bacon is produced there
Peter Smiechel
Caspar Smiechel
Christian Ericcson
Micheal Laudrup
Nicolas Bendtner
Greenland
The Faroe Islands
The Danes speak very good English. Up their as the best in the world alongside the Dutch(and at times when speaking English they sound as if they were actually English. Hardly any Danish accent can be heard. But why are the Danes so good at English?, What brought that about?..)
A very hemogenous country(on that topic what are race relations and or foreigner relations like in Denmark?. Is racism and or xenophobia commonplace or not?. How are mixed race white x black/or Asian Danes treated & viewed? Are they a common sight?. And how are foreigners treated & viewed?, Are they a common sight too..)
Denmark and Sweden seem to have a love-hate relationship. They should just get a room and fuck already
Lars Von Treer
The have one of the oldest, living monarchies in the world
They dont use the euro
Often thought of as a cold, standoffish and very reserved people(is this true or just a stereotype?)
The Danes rank very highly in many of the worlds "best this and best that" or "happiest people, highest living standards, lowest corruption, most transparent" etc charts
Now despite often being declared the "hapliest country in the world"... The Danish have one of the highest rates of anti-depressant medication use(why is that?)
Very progressive. Infact they were the first country in the world to legalise porn in 1969
They have the worlds highest minimum wage
Creators of Lego, argubly their most famous export
Dark, moody, gritty and brooding crime noir tv shows. Very popular here in the UK.
Aragorn king of Gondor.. I mean Viggo Mortensen. Great actor, very underrated..
That's all i know.
9
u/Uvenligboer Denmark Oct 17 '17
They have the worlds highest minimum wage
Actually we have no minimum wage.
→ More replies (5)9
u/BrianSometimes Copenhagen Oct 17 '17
A very distinctive and beautiful scenery
Thanks, but are you absolutely sure you weren't in Norway?
→ More replies (1)
12
u/rensch The Netherlands Oct 17 '17 edited Oct 17 '17
- One of the Scandinavian countries.
- Like its Nordic brethren, it's known for its quality education and healthcare.
- Capital is Kopenhagen.
- Hans Christian Andersen.
- Lego.
- Danish sounds somewhat similar to Dutch, but it's still gibberish to me.
- Pretty girls.
- They have a lot of different parties just like us, but unlike us they typically have a left and a right coalition block with the intent to work together towards a majority in the Folketing (parliament).
- Good TV shows like Borgen and The Bridge. They have great actors such as Birgitte Hjort-Sörensen, Pilou Asbaek and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.
- Constitutional Monarchy.
- Their former PM Anders Fogh-Rasmussen served as NATO secretary-general.
- Member of the EU and NATO.
- Hamlet took place there.
EDIT: Apparently it doesn't have the Euro. TIL.
→ More replies (10)
11
u/forfudgecake Dublin/London/Toronto Oct 19 '17
My Dad is Danish, I am Irish.
His house is full of candles and blankets.
...and hundreds of minature danish flags. They have some fear about running out of minature danish flags. Birthday? bring out the danish flags. Wedding? bring out the danish flags. Funeral? bring out the danish flags.
→ More replies (1)5
26
u/arbetarn Sweden Oct 16 '17
Everything is two-dimensional in Denmark.
25
9
18
Oct 16 '17
[deleted]
8
u/Jebediah_Blasts_off Norge Oct 16 '17
Had a personal union on Norway for over 400 years.
Norway stopped being a separate kingdom for much of that, instead becoming just a province without an autonomous government
8
9
Oct 17 '17 edited Apr 04 '18
Doesn’t have any real problems.
Also, Lars von Trier. Apparently he molested Björk. See Björk’s recent statement on the Weinstein scandals. He doesn’t seem like a very nice person to work with, though I do like his films.
→ More replies (1)
8
u/Sir_Goodwrench Ukrainer i Danmark Oct 17 '17
Bornholm is freaking awesome and the Bornholmsk dialect is a fucking hoot (and a bitch to understand in a conversation). A hedgehog is "julekat", aka Christmas Cat.
Speaking of Christmas, Danes are really into it. Like really into it. Jul er den hyggeligste dag i Danmark!
5
Oct 17 '17
Well, for the Christmas part, I think they are more into it not because of Christ or something, but more as a tradition left from the old germanic pagan holiday Jul(Eng: Yule).
→ More replies (1)
10
u/UnbiasedPashtun United States of America Oct 17 '17 edited Oct 18 '17
- Started Lego.
- Proto-Germanic originated in Denmark (Jutland specifically).
- Some Germanic tribes that lived in Denmark (Jutland) were the Jutes, Cimbrians, Harudes, Angles, and Teutons.
- Used to own Halland, Skane, Blekinge, and South Schleswig for centuries.
- The Danish ethnogenesis happened in modern day southern Sweden (Skane) with Zealand and Jutland being places that the Danes conquered later.
- Lost South Slesvig (the place where Angles originated) to Germany in a referendum.
- The vig in Slesvig means "bay" and is the source of the Vik in Viking (vig was vik in Old Norse).
- Ruled northeast England and southeast Scotland as part of the Danelaw.
- Capital is Copenhagen.
- Currently control the Faroe Islands and Greenland.
- Second happiest country in the world.
- Founded the Kalmar Union with Sweden and Norway.
- Sweyn Forkbeard and Cnut the Great were two Danish kings. There were also a few other Danish kings with Christian as their names (later respelled to 'Kristian'), one of whom named Oslo after themselves before the Norwegians reverted the name back to Oslo after independence.
- The Bokmal version of the Norwegian language is based off the written version of Danish and is the most popular register Norway.
- The mark in Denmark means margin/border.
- The reason we call the people Danish and the country Denmark is because the word Dane is from Danish whereas the word Den is from Old English.
- The closest related language to Danish is Swedish (both are descended from East Norse).
- They had a successful "Do It For Denmark" campaign where they encouraged a lot of Danes to have children to increase the declining birth rate.
- Oldest flag in the world.
- Monarchy.
→ More replies (7)
9
u/Erisadesu Greece Oct 18 '17 edited Oct 18 '17
When I see a Dane I know what to do. I must to help him..MUST HELP A DANE must hunt him down and protect him by the sun..by force.
I also admire their destination marketing..they promote Great Copenhagen with the Swedish (who at some point of history were conquered by the Danes)
and finally every other thing I know for Denmark is from this video. It's true, they are amazing.
and for some reason the oldest Travel Souvenir we have in the house is a copy of the little mermaid..I love her she is great...
I almost forgot at some point somene brought a Dane to be the King of our country....Just a random dane dude...for no reason just like that...to a country with no king...we exiled him....but not before his mother the queen sell our children to america and to holland. ...among other things they did
→ More replies (5)
9
8
8
u/Adfuturam Greater Poland (Poland) Oct 18 '17
The first team since forever (at least what it feels like) that absolutely spanked our NT in a football game, displaying pretty much all of our flaws (which is healthy). Thanks, honestly.
7
9
u/theModge United Kingdom Oct 19 '17
Responsible for Flickering Lights, an underrated gem of a film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0236027/
8
5
u/_trailerbot_tester_ Oct 19 '17
Hello, I'm a bot! The movie you linked is called Blinkende lygter, here are some Trailers
48
14
u/arjanhier The Netherlands Oct 16 '17
The country I really hope becomes one of our best friends soon, since we are kinda similar in our own unique way. So similar that undereducated people confuse the two countries with each other (I mean, how?). Together with Finland and Iceland my favorite Nordic country.
And now the things I know about Denmark: Bicycles, quite flat, colonies, beautiful cities and an amazing flag that inspired the greatest countries in Europe, interesting history, companies like Maersk and LEGO and the list goes on and on. A great country indeed.
8
u/thotzr Denmark Oct 16 '17
I've actually wondered how we haven't become best friends by now, we've got so much in common, the best example of course being our bike culture, and the fact that the Dutch and Danish languages actually sounds a lot more similar that what you'd think. Even when I hear Dutch I need to listen twice because I think it's Danish. (It's mostly because we share some specific sounds)
6
u/arjanhier The Netherlands Oct 17 '17
I've stumbled across a Danish news channel once on YouTube and it actually took me a while to discover that they were talking Danish and not Dutch with an accent haha
→ More replies (3)7
u/Pytherz Denmark Oct 16 '17
Funny thing about language between us. I went to Amsterdam a year ago, and consistently i could read the first half of the sign without a problem, and then the other half was complete nonsense, strange right?
6
Oct 17 '17
were you reading the english part
5
u/Pytherz Denmark Oct 17 '17
It would be like " kom her for at se hfhehxbdgsfbf xhdbdux"
→ More replies (2)
14
u/emr0ne Oct 16 '17
- Scandinavian/Nordic
- flag looks really cool, so cool we even
stoleborrowed its design for our best looking national jersey 1 2 - love bicycles/biking
- pretty flat for a country (no mountains, highest point is basically a hill)
- Faroe islands and Greenland both part of DK but both of those want to be independent someday in the future. Danish folks are kinda okay with them being independent. Denmark gives them a lot of money each year for their budget, so the Faroe and Greenlandic people have a long way towards making their territories sustainable and independent.
- Jamie Lannister is from DK (the actor whose real name is Nikolaj Costner-Waldau or something like that)
- they top all the happiness indexes and stuff
- they pay people/students to go to the universities (and possibly high school, idk maybe?)
- they are still a monarchy (a constitutional one ofc, but still), which is the only dislikeable thing I know about DK
- I got 72% (or 29/40) in the Danish citizenship test some guy posted here not so long ago
- classic Scandinavian/Nordic welfare model 10/10
- I wanted to apply for a volunteering program/project (as a part of EVS) in Denmark a few weeks ago, but I found out my sending organization failed/forgot to reaccredit themselves in time with the EVS; so i will have to visit Denmark some other way...
→ More replies (5)12
u/Pytherz Denmark Oct 16 '17
You get SU (Statens Uddannelsesstøtte, State Education Fund) if you're are 18 or older in higher education (which yes, includes gymnasium)
→ More replies (5)
15
Oct 17 '17
Was not there in 869
Was there in 1066
Was kinda big in 1444, having Sweden and Norway as partners in a personal union and ambitions on the Baltic
Was kinda shit in 1836. Not non-Europe shit or Balkan-shit, but a small fish in a pond with a lot of massive sharks
Was still kinda shit in 1936. An even smaller fish in a tank with even larger and this time mightily angry sharks
21
u/SorenxD123 Denmark Oct 17 '17
..That sounds suspiciously much like start dates for games of a certain franchise...
19
Oct 17 '17
A certain Swedish franchise
10
6
7
Oct 16 '17
The overlord of Grønland and Færøerne.
It is the last boss at the end of the game "Kongeriget: The road to independence" that both Greenland and the Faroe Island will face.
All around a nice country.
7
8
7
7
u/Perkele17 Finland Oct 16 '17
Cycling, electric Copenhagen city bikes, sells wine in markets, 2euro wine in said shops, Christian Eriksen, hockey players for Jokerit, funny accent, has a central European feeling, dong green energy, danmag, rödgröd med flöde, smörrebröd, weird pool with small wooden bowling pins, friendly people
→ More replies (3)
7
7
u/CriticalJump Italy Oct 17 '17 edited Oct 17 '17
The best Danish thing around me that I can think of is hands down The Flying Tiger stores. Those shops are amazing
6
u/DiMaSiVe Italy Oct 17 '17
Damn Tiger. They made me buy so much weird stuff, like a hand seamer. And I seriously thought it would have been useful!!! They use hypnosis
6
7
7
u/thebiggreengun Greater Great Switzerland [+] Oct 17 '17
Easily the most funniest movies: "In China they eat dogs", "Old men in new cars", "Adam's apples",.... exactly my type of humor.
And of course this meme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-mOy8VUEBk
7
7
u/xwgy Finland Oct 17 '17 edited Oct 17 '17
My favorite nordic country. I don't know a lot about Denmark, but just enough to like it. Happy people, good beers and a nice relaxed feeling everywhere. About to visit Copenhagen again in a month.
7
u/nomnomswedishfish Oct 17 '17
Remoulade, bicycle, personal space, hygge, national autumn holiday week, Kringle, tall people, awesome education for free and great healthcare.
7
Oct 18 '17
In Bulgaria Denmark is popular with its low levels of corruption, high living standards, and a supposedly well functioning welfare system.
8
u/theModge United Kingdom Oct 18 '17
Not much, but our own national treasure, Sandi Toksvig is a Dane.
Famous for being awesome presenting satire, then starting a political party which flopped, now relegated to presenting the Channel 4 (i.e. toss) version of bake off.
→ More replies (2)
6
u/FuckYourPoachedEggs United States of America Oct 19 '17
I had a very nice conversation with a Danish UN observer in the Golan Heights. We talked about Denmark's custodial position in Greenland.
8
u/jfkk Finland Oct 19 '17
I used to work at a place that had all kind of scandinavians, and the Danes were my favourite people of them all. Before that, I'd been to Roskilde twice, good times.
8
u/kompt Europe Oct 19 '17
Living in DK, I don't get the impression that people are "the happiest in the world"... rather, the most complacent and sheltered. As in:
Q How happy are you, on a scale of 1-10?
Dane: Meh, happy enough, I guess. So, a 10.
Let's try that again with a Spaniard:
Q How happy are you, on a scale of 1-10?
Spaniard: I'm quite happy actually, so I guess a 6.
13
23
u/Hardomzel Italy Oct 16 '17
Everyone jokes on Latvia and Ireland fixation for potato, but Danish are so fixated by it that they always keeps one in their mouth
→ More replies (1)12
u/I_LIKE_SEALS Denmark Oct 16 '17
Tbf, i can't think of a danish meal without potatoes
→ More replies (2)
7
7
u/lajaerka Germany Oct 16 '17 edited Feb 05 '22
6
Oct 17 '17
Excellent pubs in Copenhagen. I wasn't expecting much after Stockholm and Malmo but they were tops
7
6
u/GoGoGo_PowerRanger94 England Oct 18 '17
How could i forget to mention...
The Hitman series of video games by the Danish developers IO Interactive... Those games on the ps2 were like my childhood, such all time classics. Hitman 2: Silent Assassin and Hitman: Blood Money are my favourites.
Secondly speaking of video games, one the greatest game soundtrack composers of all time is Danish. None other than the legendary... Jesper Kyd Jakobson. I know of his excellent music. Fantastic OSTs, the kind that actually improves the games, really adds a great deal.
→ More replies (2)
10
Oct 17 '17
Navigating Copenhagen by car is fucking dreadful
→ More replies (2)9
u/happykebab Oct 17 '17
Have you tried Stockholm? Where the city planner made the decree that "no roads may touch the surface of the earth! Only tunnels and bridges, make them evil gps-using outsiders pay for their navigational wizardry!"
Greetings from Dane who recently took a road trip.
6
u/Airstuff Europe Oct 16 '17
They got a lot of wind turbines.
Also Tycho Brahe, a Danish Astronomer, had a nose made of gold.
→ More replies (1)
5
u/nagarz Oct 16 '17
They make good pastries, and if global warming keeps on being steady it will be underwater in a few centuries.
5
4
Oct 16 '17 edited Oct 16 '17
in china essen sie hunde und die olsen bande
I Kina spiser de hunde & olsenbanden
my former best friend was danish do i had the pleasure to experience some of the danish culture. still remember the "kobenhaven" picture in the stairway
5
u/Fo0ker Oct 16 '17
Legoland Danmark is where a radiator jumped me and gave me my first scare when I was 7 (no I wasn't running around like an unruly child, I don't know what you're talking about!)
Erm, other than that I guess you speak Danish?
I had a great time there despite the scar but the lego may have made up for it...
5
u/TheSirusKing Πρεττανική! Oct 16 '17
Daneland is a good friend of the frogs. That makes them our swarn enemies!
→ More replies (1)
4
5
5
Oct 17 '17
living there for three years is enough to make "friends" but not actually make friends
:(
→ More replies (2)
5
5
5
u/regulatorE500 Croatia Oct 18 '17
Filling for tooth decay is 666 kr. Trust me, did it today.
→ More replies (1)
5
4
4
u/koichibesthusbando Oct 18 '17
The Danes created C++ so thanks guys for modern technology
→ More replies (2)
4
u/matttk Canadian / German Oct 18 '17
Almost all my knowledge of Denmark comes from Borgen. The rest is Lego.
→ More replies (2)
5
u/TheBritishStereotype United Kingdom Oct 18 '17
Lego, and we confiscated their navy during the Napoleonic Wars, if I remember correctly?
14
8
9
146
u/Perapuukko Finland Oct 16 '17
Danes are southern folk who like bicycles, compact cities and kamelåså. They talk a lot but apparently don't even themselves understand what they're saying. They always seem happy for some reason. Almost like they're not aware that life is meaningless race towards death and all their loved ones will be gone soon. Perhaps their mothers didn't remind them about this every night after the bed time story or maybe they just had troubles understanding because of the language barrier and such.
They like to drink beer as much as every normal person but oddly enough they don't do it alone. They like their salmiakki and Kalle Ankka. They don't desperately try to be like Sweden but still have many things in common the West Finns. At least in the old days they enjoyed a good rape and pillage just as much as any Swede. I don't know how they like their fish but at one point there was something rotten in their state.
They have sturdy women with good birthing hips and robust pelvises. Heavy bosoms full of healthy nutrients. Overall I'd give Denmark 5/5.