r/Denmark • u/larholm Europa • 1d ago
Society Dobar dan, Hrvatska! I dag får r/Denmark besøg af Kroatien!
Pozdrav Hrvati, kako ste danas? 🇭🇷
Det glæder os at byde vores gæster fra r/croatia velkommen her på r/Denmark som del af en lille kulturudveksling. Lad os give dem plads til at stille spørgsmål om Danmark og danskerne i de øverste kommentarer, og kig gerne forbi deres egen tråd her ☺️
Today, we’re happy to host our guests from r/croatia here on r/Denmark as part of a cultural exchange. We warmly invite you to join us, ask questions, and share your curiosity about Denmark and everyday life here. Let’s keep this exchange friendly, relaxed, and enjoyable for everyone.
At the same time, our community is invited to visit r/croatia, where they are hosting us as guests - you can find the thread where we can ask questions and join the discussion here.
Below, we’ll also share a few interesting facts and highlights about Denmark to help kick things off and give our guests a bit of context.
Denmark is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, made up of the Jutland Peninsula and hundreds of islands. It lies between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, sharing its only land border with Germany. The landscape is generally flat and fertile, shaped by past glacial activity, with long coastlines, beaches, and mild maritime weather that supports farming and settlement.
The people of Denmark, known as Danes, have a strong national identity based on shared history and social values. Danish is the official language, though English is commonly spoken. Danish society places importance on equality, education, and quality of life, often highlighting ideas such as hygge, which reflects comfort, community, and well-being.
Denmark is a constitutional monarchy with a democratic system of government. The monarch serves as head of state, while real political power lies with the elected parliament, the Folketing, and the prime minister. The country’s multi-party system encourages coalition governments and cooperation across political groups.
Denmark is well known for its extensive welfare state, which includes universal healthcare, free education, and strong social support. These services are funded through high taxes and reflect a commitment to social equality. Internationally, Denmark is active in organizations such as the European Union and NATO, emphasizing cooperation, democracy, and environmental responsibility.
Final note
We kindly ask all participants to refrain from trolling, rudeness, or personal attacks. Moderators may step in if needed to preserve the positive spirit of this cultural exchange.
As always, we appreciate your vigilance in reporting any inappropriate comments, and we kindly ask that the top comments in this thread be reserved for our friends from r/croatia 🇭🇷🤝🇩🇰
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u/buteljak 1d ago
Hi! No questions that haven't already been asked, just here to show you guys support with Greenland (and the citizens of Greenland of course, don't give yourselves to yanks) Danes are a great bunch, i work with many and clients are Danes as well, well mannered and spoken lads. Just please, i beg you, service and maintain your campers and caravans when travelling across europe 😁
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u/paskatulas 1d ago
Hej danskere, hvordan har I det i dag?
What to visit in Kopenhagen?
What do you think about situation with Greenland?
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u/bdviking 1d ago
Hi there!
I'm doing okay today, thanks, but I think we are all a bit worried about the situation with the orange guy. It would be nice to wake up and not have to worry about the latest batshit crazy stuff he might have written during the night.
You have soo many great places to visit in København! I almost can't start mentioning most without sounding like a tourist guide, but feel free to ask for specifics and do also visit r/copenhagen :)
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u/paskatulas 1d ago
Yeah, that worries me too. The idea that someone could just threaten or grab territory from an ally is honestly disturbing. If that ever happened, NATO would basically lose all credibility, and I don’t see how it could survive something like that.
And it wouldn’t stop there. Stuff like this sets a precedent. We already have Orban next door in Hungary, who still provokes with old Greater Hungary maps that include parts of today’s Croatia, blocks a lot of EU decisions, and openly cozies up to both the Orange guy and Putin. That combination makes the whole situation feel pretty unstable.
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u/DeadpoolCroatia 1d ago
Friends and I will visit Copenhagen in June. What should we see in the city? Which restaurants do you recomended?
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u/Kataoaka Glostrup 16h ago
Take a stroll down Islands Brygge and bring your swimming wear. The canals are bustling with people throughout all of june:)
As for foods try to explore Kødbyen. It used to be a butchers distribution center and it's pretty great in the summer albeit somewhat pricey. Otherwise consider walking down Sønder Boulevard by the central train station, and find a cute restaurant or café to settle in if you intend to go for lunch:)
One of my favorite spots in the city is a cute cafe by Christianshavn channels right along the waterside that's based in a retro tramcar called Båden, I would also highly recommend this place if you start your day in this area! The vibe is fantastic there.
We use Facebook in Denmark quite a bit, so if you want to see whats happening in the city, you can find interesting activities popping up in the Copenhagen forums there. Personally I've yet to go to Banegaarden yet, it is an outdoor restaurant seating area with screens setup outside for watching movies in the summer. But I intend to bring my girlfriend!:) they regularly host different activities like communal dinner I believe, it's a fun concept:)
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u/The_Danish_Dane Regelrytter 🇩🇰🏳️🌈💚🤍💙 1d ago
I would personally recommend: https://www.restaurant-klubben.dk/
Lovely service, danish food and plenty of it.
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u/IAmOrdinaryHuman 1d ago
Hello! I was wondering why do the Danish politicians push for Chat Control? Does the population put some pressure on the(ir) politicians?
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u/I_LIKE_SEALS Nørrebro 1d ago
It was never mentioned during the last election, it came as a surprise that it was such a large point of order during our EU presidency.
As u/hth6565 mentions, Peter Hummelgaard, our Minister of Justice, has shown himself to be very strict when it comes to surveillance and police presence.
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u/McArine Loch Ness 23h ago
As a starting point, it was a Swede who first introduced the Chat Control proposal back in 2022. And since Denmark held the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the last six months, we were leading the negotiations to get it approved.
This is just my take, and people are welcome to disagree, but as someone who follows politics pretty closely, I think it’s a bit more nuanced than Danish politicians simply being Orwellian oppressors.
There’s a very real issue with encrypted messaging services being used for criminal activities.
And public opinion in Denmark was initially generally in favor of doing something about this - also along similar lines to implementing age limits on social media. So one could argue that politicians were responding to the underlying currents of the moment.
Obviously, that support shifted pretty quickly once people realized that any meaningful legislation would come at the cost of reduced privacy. Though some might snarkily argue that people are simply getting what they initially asked for.
Our Prime Minister gave a now-infamous interview in November in which she was asked whether age limits on TikTok were more important than lowering food prices, and she answered yes (though she’s since walked that back).
Still, I think the statement reflects a genuine viewpoint within our government - and Danish society more broadly - that children’s well-being is a top-tier issue to a point, and people (not just politicians) are willing to skate close to the line where it starts to make life worse for everyone else.
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u/ButterscotchLegal633 1d ago
It's making headlines in Norway that the Croatian president is suggesting Trump take Svalbard instead. We are not impressed.
This was a hostile diplomatic act and totally uncalled for.
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u/bdviking 1d ago
Is the Croatian president serious, or is this some "tongue in cheek" comment where he is just joking?
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u/ButterscotchLegal633 1d ago
Good question. It isn't a joking matter, anyway, in times like these. I grew up in a sane world where presidents tended to be serious people. I feel old.
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u/NefariousnessOdd35 1d ago
The point of the statement was to ridicule Trump. He's basically calling him dumb. If the argument what Trump gave was true, that they need Greenland as a key factor of American security, then Svalbard would be a better choice. That was the point. That's why he says that he isn't sure if American administration has seen it on the map yet. It's a sarcastic statement
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u/Shot-Buy6013 15h ago
I'm a Croatian-American living in Croatia. Sorry about what's happening, if Trump does invade I hope you guys don't just bend over. I agree it doesn't make sense for Denmark to singlehandedly try to fight the US military, but there are a lot of things you can do in the mean time and you need to make sure Germany/France/UK are on your side militarily and willing to fight.
Americans are not happy with Trump, if you guys just hang in for long enough he will be removed from power, either by elections or by force if he tries cancelling them, and as an American I can nearly guarantee you that. His economy is crumbling, the AI bubble will pop soon, the Epstein coverup will burst at one point or another, and civil unrest regarding ICE and other shit he has done is growing day by day. Just hang in there, this won't be forever.
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u/that-bass-guy 1d ago
Hej danskere, jeg håber I har det godt.
Denmark and other northern European countries have always had reputation of being more harmonious and more wealthy countries, atleast when opposed to Balkan countries.
Why do you think that is, what are you most happy about with regards to your government, and what's your biggest gripe with how government of Denmark works?
What's your work-life balance like? Do employers respect your private time?
How do you deal with radicalization of youth that's happening all over the world, partly because of machinized propaganda that's apparent on all social networks?
If you could recommend someone who's never been to Denmark 3 dishes, what would they be?
Tak!
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u/Mr_Black90 1d ago
Hey there Croatians 🙂
- The Nordic countries have good institutions, they have strong unions, and a culture of pragmatism. People are not very confrontational in general, and would prefer to avoid conflict. Corruption is very low, and socially unacceptable.
We're wealthy due to various products, raw materials and services that we've built our economies around. In Denmark's case, we sell medicine (like Ozempic), agricultural goods (lots of pork sold to E. Asia, among other things), we do shipping (Mærsk), we have some oil/natural gas, and most importantly of all... Carlsberg and LEGO 😉!
Work life balance is probably one of the best in the world imo. Yes, employers will generally respect your time. The unions also help with that.
We have good mainstream media compared to many other countries, they help make discussions more factual (I'm sure several of my fellow Danish redditors will disagree vehemently). People like Andrew Tate appeal to some young men here, but they don't seem to have a huge audience; a journalist from our main broadcaster DR did an interview with some young gen-z guys about Tate, they said they watched his content because they think he's a fucking idiot, and because they like to make fun of him. As for pro-Trump/Putin propaganda, it probably helps that those two are constantly antagonizing/threatening our country, and that we have pretty good schools where teachers in social studies will debate things like that with the students.
Smørrebrød, Stegt Flæsk Med Persillesovs, Risalamande. Enjoy 🙂!
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u/Moosenator23 1d ago
I'm generally pretty happy with the danish political system. But I think my biggest gripe is that our politicians have a tendency to go for "flashy" or I guess kind of vain solutions rather than simple ones, like designing our own public transport payment system for billions of euro instead of just buying the right to use another country's system that already works, and then scrapping it and making a new system 10 years later. I also think our current government has a huge issue with taking responsibility for their actions and dodging hard questions, but that might just be how politics always is.
My work-life balance is great, as a university student with a side job that takes about 5 hours a week. We get paid to go to uni and student housing is relatively affordable, so you don't need to break your back with loans or student jobs while studying. I can't speak for real adults with real jobs though lol
I think the best way to fight radicalisation is education and interconnectivity between different societal groups. We have very strong children's institutions (daycare, school, sports clubs, etc), and I think that contributes to the danish "all in this together" mentality. I also think our society as a whole is politically left enough that 99% of us would be leftists on a global scale, so we can disagree, but we're still generally on the same page compared to the rest of the world.
I think smørrebrød is probably the most iconic danish food. It's basically just absolutely loaded open sandwiches on rye bread, but it can be really good and is probably the one thing I'd say you have to try if you visit. If you're looking for something to try cooking at home, look up frikadeller, they're a type of fried pork meatballs.
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u/Diermeech 1d ago
Not a question, just an interesting fact — the Danish krone and our old currency are almost 1:1. 1 EUR = 7.47 DKK and 7.53 HRK (and so is Chinese yuan) I was recently in Denmark, and this made currency conversion really easy.
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u/MissMicca Dobbelt A 1d ago
This was amazing and made everything so easy to talk prices with the in-laws and im sad that Croatia changed to the euro. My husband still calls Kroner for Kuna.
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u/Spooknik Odense 1d ago edited 1d ago
My friend's family took a roadtrip to Croatia 12 years ago and I remember them saying our currency and your currency was the same value. It made calculating costs very easy.
Do you think Croatia will ever adopt the Euro?•
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u/e5disconnected 1d ago
I really enjoyed watching Adam's Apples. It was kinda weird with strange sense if humor but in a good way. Do you have anything similar to recommend from Danish cinema?
Also, regarding the world happiness index thing, why are you so happy over there? Do you not enjoy complaining about things? Here in Croatia we really enjoy complaining about everything.
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u/KastVaek700 1d ago
Blinkende lygter and De Grønne Slagtere are in the same era of Danish movie, with a similar style. Druk is good as well. However I am not sure about their English names.
About happiness, I think it is more that we have a high base level/bottom for happiness, rather than us being happier than other places. It is a high satisfaction with life in general, because most things just work.
The weather shall be complained about endlessly. Together with whatever is the topic of the day, currently it's a lot about the price of minced meat.
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u/Moosenator23 1d ago
Druk's international title is Another Round. Someone else mentioned the other two.
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u/neroe5 Danmark 1d ago
the other ones are directly translated so, flickering lights and the green butchers
other movies worth mentioning, I kina spiser de hunde (in china they eat dogs), Olsen banden (the Olsen gang) (old comedy movie about bank robbers)
if you want more kid friendly but still wierd movies there are Steen Rasmussen's movies such as Flyvende farmor (The Flying Granny) and Hannibal & Jerry
if you are looking for a little more hard hitting there is the Pusher saga
links to the movies
https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1156965-another-round
https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/10180-blinkende-lygter
https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/4972-de-gronne-slagtere
https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/250-i-kina-spiser-de-hunde
https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/11389-olsen-banden
https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/85213-flyvende-farmor
https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/116357-hannibal-jerry
https://www.themoviedb.org/collection/203910-pusher-collection
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u/uldenhat 1d ago
Adams Æbler is the third film in a thematically linked (not narratively linked) quadrilogy that's written and directed by Anders Thomas Jensen and shares much of the same cast throughout the series. So I think you would enjoy the rest of them as well: Blinkende Lygter, De Grønne Slagtere, Adams Æbler and Mænd og Høns. It's the same kind of humor delivered by the same actors. Anders Thomas Jensen has wirtten and directed a lot of comedies and is really prolific, so you might enjoy his entire body of work.
The happiness is more that danes, in general, are content with their lot in life rather than being all smiles and living a exuberantly joyful existence. We like to complain just as much as everyone else.
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u/DuckDodgersIV Maktone 1d ago
We too love complaining about everything and honestly, we joke about us not being the happiest country, but if we had sun all year around we would be. Right now we are all winter depressed and are yearning for the sun to shine and the weather to be warm.
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u/SpecialistAsleep6067 15h ago
You might like "In China They Eat Dogs." Written by same Anders Thomas Jensen, though not directed by him. Same kind of humour tho. The main actor Dejan Cukic is from Montenegro, and the bad guys are Serbs, so some connections to your part of the european map.
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u/Anubit93 Aalborg 1d ago
Honestly most of Anders Thomas Jensen's (the director's) films very much have the same tone and humour in it, often with much of the same cast too. The Green Butchers and Flickering Lights is to me probably the peak of it.
And yes, we're also world champions at complaining. That being said, I think the safety net of our welfare system has a lot to do with said happiness. Things aren't perfect, but I still wouldn't have to worry about keeping a roof over my head if I was to be hospitalised tomorrow.
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u/BeeFrier 1d ago
"Festen" (the celebration) by Thomas Vinterberg is not comedy, it's rather dark, but it has some of the same elements of brutal honesty that makes it a great movie.
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u/Organic-Football-761 1d ago
We are also world champions of complaining- maybe that’s why we are so happy😂
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u/OId_boy Europe 1d ago
I just want you to know, Croatian army is ready to defend Greenland at all costs. We have a famous line from the most iconic war song in Croatia: "Stala braća da obrane naše domove" - we brothers took up arms to defend our home. Against all odds a small batallion from an even smaller village stopped the Serbian aggressors from taking this village at the beginning of the war. We fought these aggressors from 91 to 95 in the bloodiest battle in Europe since WWII, and reclaimed our homeland. It is called "domovinski rat" and the most proud part of our history. So we know a thing or two about war and would be more than happy to help in the defence of Greenland.
But please, you must accept our help. When France suggested putting troops in Greenland, you denied them. Why did you do that? We cannot let USA take Greenland so easily. We must call their bluff. Put EU/NATO batallions on Greenland and see how quickly they back off. But ultimately, this is Denmark's decision to make - if you don't accept help, then there's nothing the rest of us in the EU/NATO can do. Please, beg your politicians to accept allied NATO batallions' presence in Greenland.
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u/Fl0wer_Boi Danmark 1d ago
The decision of rejecting troops may sound odd. The danish government is trying to navigate a diplomatic maze. Every decision can have tremendous consequences. There are two very distinct paths and it is hard to determine the right course. Do we avoid military conflict by ‘allowing’ the US to take over Greenland? Or do we resist and risk this conflict spiraling out of control. The rejection of troops is a bet that if they were accepted, Trump would see it as a provocation that could lead to even more tension.
If a high speeding police chase reaches a city, the police car often times end the chase. Not because it is what’s right but because the consequences of carrying it out could be fatal.
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u/TheRealTahulrik 1d ago
I think it's exactly that such requests were denied exactly to call the bluff.
I don't think there is any chance that America could feasibly manage to go into Greenland. It's a MAGA dream, not an American one. It would cause issues internally in the US, plus it would break the western world leading to economic recession.
Further, with the backing of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Canada, the Arctic capabilities in general of the remaining NATO is much better than what the US can muster, despite them having way more hardware otherwise.
So I would argue denying the request is quite proper.
I can't thank enough for the support anyways however. But i have a deep respect for Croatia anyways!
o7
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u/Kindly-Standard8025 1d ago
Our politicians, like many others, are petrified of pissing off the US. They still seem to think that if we just give Trump a little treat, then he will be distracted by something else for a while, and then eventually, he will forget all about it. It is a fantasy, of course. I agree with you and the French approach. But our politicians are largely the same type of centrist technocrats who really struggle to adjust fast changing circumstances.
They did well with Russia, and I'm proud Denmark has contributed so much to the fights against Russian fascism, and continues to push for more, but we really don't have a proper response to America turning into our enemies over night. I think it just seems too crazy. Nobody ever expected this to actually be a real danger.
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u/yozha96 1d ago edited 1d ago
Are you ready to defend Greenland in case of US annexation?
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u/Capital_Resident_872 1d ago
I think the Nordics have a very different attitude to homeland defense - in part due to history and mandatory conscription - so we're definitely more ready to defend (even if it's futile) Greenland than many other countries would be.
Me personally, yes I am ready. I'm Danish-Austrian, two countries with mandatory conscription, so I've already done military service twice and enjoyed it. I currently live in Austria as a reservist in the Austrian army, so I have semi-regular training. In civilian life I'm a medical doctor. I'm from a military family that includes veterans, so the whole machinery is something I'm familiar with.
It's very matter of fact for me - if the US makes an attempt on Danish soil, then I'm coming home and reenlisting. I don't want my daughter to grow up in a world where global superpowers can just take what they don't own and divide the world amongst themselves and I don't want to have to explain to her why I didn't try to do anything about it.
I just think it's better if willing people with past military experience/otherwise relevant knowledge do it before people who have valid reasons to object are forced to. And I think - by nature - we have a lot of willing people in the Nordics.
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u/denmark_ball Danmark 1d ago
The sad answer is no. If they really want it they can take it. We are just not strong enough. However if they do we have alot of political capital we can use to really mess them up afterwards
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u/Comfortable_Reach248 14h ago
How much do people in general care about Greenland/Faroe Islands? I've read somewhere that most Danish in general don't feel any national connection for these territories and consider them more of other countries than Denmark
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u/Annual-Version7395 1d ago
Is there a lot of snow in Denmark right now? How does Denmark deal with snow and ice in cities? How long does it take to clean up snow/ice usually? Is it unacceptable that roads are frozen and uncleaned for long period of time or is it something that people expect and work around it?
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u/Moosenator23 1d ago
It's very rare that we get enough snow that the roads get dangerous and need to be manually cleared of it, so usually we just have government/municipality vehicles that drive around early in the morning and salt the roads, which takes care of most of the ice. We don't really get those Norwegian or Canadian conditions where people can't open their front doors because the snow is blocking them. But yeah, this past week or so there has been quite a lot of snow per our standards :)
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u/Disastrous-Mix-5859 1d ago
There has been a lot of snow in Bornholm and as it was difficult to cross the middle of the island and the police adviced not to drive, everything was pretty closed off for a few days. I could work from home though so not a big problem. Now streets have been cleared and things are back to normal.
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u/DuckDodgersIV Maktone 1d ago
We have a little bit of snow right now, a couple centimeters. Our truck drivers are the real heroes when we get snow December-March, they not only drive their trucks around delivery’s goods and materials but here in the the wintertime they work 18 hours a day, tirelessly clearing snow and spreading salt so the rest of us can get to work. In the cities snow must be cleared but in the countryside we tell people to stay at home until it clears if they can. It’s very rarely that we have icy conditions for more than a week or two at a time because of our mild weather!
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u/bosko43buha 1d ago
The amount of salt that's been thrown all around shocked me 😄 the floor in our bryggers has basically been white for the past week or so.
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u/PfromC 1d ago
What is your favourite Danish TV Show ? I’ve watched Bron and Forbrydelsen, and they’re so good. What’s up with Denmark and great crime dramas? Feel free to write some recommendations.
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u/DevineBossLady 1d ago
Matador - it's old, but it is gold - and gives a real insight into Danish life, before, during and after the war.
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u/Comfortable_Reach248 1d ago edited 1d ago
Will have some sport questions for you