Denmark and the Danes. What do the Danes look like? Are they different from us? Life of people in Denmark, pros and cons

3. Despite the passion for sweets, you won’t find people suffering from obesity. Probably thanks to the cult healthy image life.
4. Most Danes work from eight in the morning to four in the afternoon.
5. Most stores close between five and six in the afternoon, so if you want to buy something in time, you need to hurry. This mode of operation is dictated by taxes. The longer a store is open, the higher the tax rate.
6. The average tax of an employee is about 43% of his earnings, which is negotiated when hiring. The rate may vary depending on income level. Various benefits may apply.
7. Most Danes are already confused and cannot know exactly how much the state is taking from them, but everyone is sure that it is too much.
8. To fire a person, you need to warn him two months in advance.
9. Employers are supposed to feed their employees. Breakfast from seven to eight in the morning, lunch from twelve to one, dinner at six. Each employee allocates approximately 50 euros per month for this, the rest is paid by the employer.


10. As a rule, every more or less large company has its own canteen and cooks on staff.
11. The most common transport is a bicycle. And this is not primarily out of love for nature or physical exercise- this is how it happened historically. After World War II, gasoline became scarce and it was necessary to somehow get out of the situation.
12. No one wears bicycle helmets, yet collisions between cyclists are a completely everyday thing.
13. The whole nation is obsessed with bicycle racing; famous cyclists are like rock stars for them, about whom they can talk for hours.
14. For most Danes, a car is an unaffordable luxury; the tax on ownership of this vehicle is one of the highest in Europe and is more than the cost of the car itself.


15. You can reduce the tax on a car by converting it into a truck - removing the second row of seats, thus increasing the trunk. The body is strengthened with special bars, similar to the safety cage in rally cars.
16. In Denmark, the most arrogant drivers (after cyclists) are bus drivers. Buses have to run minute by minute (at stops there are signs to show how much time is left until the next one), and if something interferes with this, everyone gets very upset.
17. Buses can tilt to the right to make boarding easier for disabled people and parents carrying children in strollers.
18. There is free WI-FI in transport, but in order to access it, you need to indicate your CPR - a unique identifier that completely destroys your anonymity.
19. Danish women are not very beautiful. However, this may be a consequence of their predilection for clothes comfortable for cycling - loose, shapeless sweaters, leggings, soft comfortable slippers without heels.

20. However, I was able to see Danish women in light sundresses, with heels, and riding on the invariable bicycle.
21. But Danish men deserve close attention - real Vikings. And not only externally. For a Dane, the birth of a child is a big event. And the new father almost completely takes care of him. Of course, we are not talking about breastfeeding. But changing diapers, feeding with a spoon, going out for a walk with a stroller is not a burden, but a real Viking privilege, which they bring to life with pride.
22. By the way, this also applies to household chores. Cleaning the apartment, washing dishes, shopping for groceries - all these are familiar tasks for a Danish man. Which they talk about with pride and irony.
23. Danish children are surprisingly quiet. They never scream or cry.
24. In Denmark you will not find buildings higher than six floors. But in fact, the first floor is not considered a floor, so officially there are five floors, the first is called the ground floor.
25. The number of rooms in an apartment is counted by bedrooms.


26. Real estate in Denmark is very expensive. And not himself best quality. Often the newest houses within the city have more than a century of history, rather cramped rooms and floors with creaking boards. Budget apartments (those that cost no more than 100,000 euros) are usually one-room apartments, where not only a shared bathroom, but even a kitchen can be part of the hallway.
27. An inseparable detail of the interior is a large flat-screen TV. And this is understandable: after six in the evening there is practically nothing to do. Everything you can think of except TV is either very expensive or unhealthy. That's why everyone watches TV. After an evening run, of course.
28. Danish humor is unbearable. Write Fuck You! instead of wishing him a happy birthday, this is an entirely appropriate turn of events. And it doesn’t matter how much short leg You are at.
29. The Danish language is also unbearable. Great amount guttural sounds (which, in principle, are the norm for Scandinavian languages) are combined with sometimes inappropriate softness, pronounced with surprising illegibility, and written in letters that are not at all what you expect to see. For example, the word “Gade” - street, is read only as “Geel”. Something between "Girl" and "Gael". What does it have to do with where the “l” came from when “d” is clearly written, which in all other cases is read as “d”. In general, to put it simply, the Danish language is somewhat similar to the way the French speak German.


30. The Danes are very enterprising. They sense their benefits very keenly and will never miss it. They say this goes back to the times when the Viking Danes were the threat of all of Scandinavia and modern Sweden and Norway were their possessions. But only then they acted with a sword, and now with a “long ruble.” That is, the crown.
31. Enterprising Danes are afraid and dislike Americans, probably because they are much more nimble in matters of business.
32. By the way, the southern territories of Sweden still consider themselves more Danes than Swedes.
33. Denmark has a very strange climate. Almost all year round their temperature is around 10–20 degrees Celsius. Well, it's raining. Not strong, a little, but there is always a certain gloominess in the sky. The Danes joke that their summer differs from their winter only in that the rain is slightly warmer.
34. Denmark has free healthcare. Insurance is paid for by the state (or from your own taxes). Each quarter has its own “house doctor”, whom a person should contact if he gets sick. If you are moving more than five kilometers from your former place residence, you can change your “home doctor” if you can’t get closer.


35. In Denmark, plastic bottles are not thrown away. And not because they are so conscientious, but because a used plastic bottle costs money. Collecting and donating plastic bottles is not only not shameful, but also profitable. And this is how it works. Buying a bottle of cola in plastic bottle, let it be 20 CZK, the person at the checkout pays a little more, let it be 22 CZK. These two crowns are the so-called “PANT” deposit, which you can get back by returning the used bottle at the collection point. They are, as a rule, located in all supermarkets and do not issue money, but a check for the amount of bottles returned, which can be redeemed in the same supermarket as part of payment for purchases. Thanks to this system, you won’t find used plastic containers on the streets with fire.
36. I don’t know why, but there are a lot of hairdressers in Denmark. Either their activities are not subject to such draconian taxes, or this is the only thing that emigrants know how to do (namely, in 99% of cases they own and work in such establishments).
37. In Denmark, you can buy flowers in vases and candles at almost every step. Both are placed on window sills and create comfort both for those living there and for passers-by.

Any lady in Denmark, regardless of income, weight and appearance, is a queen, and she is treated accordingly

When I moved to Denmark, I was most impressed by the number of happy families. It's no secret that in Ukraine happy families- rather an exception than a rule. Mass divorces, drama, insults and mutual humiliation have become almost a common part of personal relationships.

What are we doing wrong? After all, we, Ukrainians, are beautiful, feminine, sexy. And also smart, economical, caring, etc. Why are we, so beautiful, not respected and appreciated?! The answer “because all Ukrainian men are assholes” is not suitable. There are indeed a lot of goats, but they are everywhere, including in Denmark. The secret is that Danish women even manage to make a man out of a goat.

In this they succeeded to a large extent or to a lesser extent All are Europeans, but the Danes, in my opinion, have no competition.

Denmark was recognized at the World Economic Forum in Davos the best country for women - for promoting gender equality. But I would add to this the high personal status of women. Any lady, regardless of income, weight and appearance, is a queen, and the attitude towards her is appropriate.

Danish men are extremely attractive: tall, strong, handsome, athletic, elegant. They take care of themselves, their health, as a rule, they play sports and go to gyms. There is not a single man in my circle with my husband who does not play sports. Someone goes to Gym, someone runs - every day, regardless of the weather. A She in Denmark, to put it mildly, not very well.

Women here are different. They are significantly different from the blue-eyed, blonde Swedes. The average Danish woman is brown-haired with light eyes, and by no means stunningly beautiful. There are a lot of overweight people, there is a serious problem with obesity here. It’s not for nothing that there are clothing stores on every corner where they sell dresses that resemble covers for tanks. But no matter what size the Danish woman is, she is confident in herself and her attractiveness and chooses a partner Not according to the principle “he is so beautiful, I don’t deserve him”, but according to the principle “okay, this one can be given a chance to take over my beautiful body.”

A woman in Denmark can easily afford not to get married until she is “ripe”, but if a man is not yet married at 35, this raises many questions

The Danish woman is in no hurry to get married. The relationship between a man and a woman is very tested here long time. A couple can live with each other for several years and only then get married. Most people get married in adulthood: after 30, or even much later. The trick is that a woman can easily afford not to get married until she is “ripe”, but if a man is not yet married at 35, this raises many questions and is condemned by society. There is even a comic tradition of throwing structures made of rusty pipes and all sorts of rubbish under a bachelor’s house on his birthday so that he will somehow become more active and change his life.

But every joke contains only a fraction of a joke. If a Danish man is not married, it means “nobody wants him.” But if a woman is not married, it is believed that she “is not yet ready to honor someone with her attention.” Fortunately, almost all Danish women work, try to make a career and gain financial independence quite early. It is considered indecent for a woman not to work in Denmark.

Divorce is a separate issue. In most cases, it is initiated by women, and if a man is divorced, he is considered a loser who failed to save his family. Most of his friends and acquaintances turn away from him. In addition, this is a big disadvantage when applying for a job. But the most painful moment is that the ex-wife decides how many times, on what days and for how long her ex has the right to see their common children. The court is always on the woman's side.

Considering all of the above, handsome Scandinavian men bend over backwards to first conquer a woman, then persuade her to marry, and then please her so much that she does not want to get a divorce. All housework is distributed equally, moreover, in the kitchen and with children you can most often see the husband rather than the wife: Danish women managed to convince their husbands that even if a man has a longer working day, it is still more difficult for a woman, and she is more gets tired.

Here is a short story of women's happiness. Based on my professional practice, my personal life and observations of happy married couples in Denmark, I can give some advice to my charming compatriots:

1. Dear girls, be friends with yourself, work to ensure that you always feel good and comfortable in the company of yourself. No person can “make you happy” until you make yourself happy.

2. Appreciate and respect yourself for who you are, and if necessary, work on yourself. If you respect and value yourself, others will respect and value you.

3. Be independent: both financially and emotionally. You must have your own money and your own interests.

4. Learn, set new goals, develop in order to be interesting to yourself and others.

5. Your man should know that you are a reliable partner and if something goes wrong for him, you will insure him financially and support him morally.

6. Tell your man openly what you like and what you don't like. Discuss issues that need to be addressed, otherwise those “issues” will become problems.

7. Never allow yourself to be treated poorly. A man must clearly understand how he can treat you and how not.

8. If you understand that a man is a goat, and he has little chance of becoming a prince, do not be afraid to give him a knee in the ass in time and look for someone who really deserves you.

9. Be active, energetic, cheerful, enjoy life and yourself - it's sexy.

And don’t forget that it’s not a man who chooses a woman, it’s us who decide “whether he is worthy to be next to someone like me, the Queen.”

Someone will say: “Of course, Danish women are fine, they live in a different society, according to different laws.” But we ourselves shape the society around us. Danish women realized this in time, and that’s why they are happy.

God didn’t think for very long about the appearance of Danish women (he was more interested in Italians, Spanish women and Irina Shayk). He created half of them simply by cloning Rooney Mara, and for the second half he used the genes of Tilda Swindon.

WITH Danish men The creator completely profiled in best examples top manager of a Russian company before an audit. After lounging all the time in the jacuzzi of the world's oceans, drinking ambrosia cocktails, a minute before the project was due, he drew an image of a tall, blond, broad-shouldered bearded man with blue eyes and threw it onto the conveyor belt.
So, at least, one can judge by all the samples of the Danish football team at all world tournaments. Especially the one that in 1992, having also skipped all the training on the beaches, suddenly foolishly won the European Championship. Everyone remembers the dark, dyed back of his head and his native blond bangs, eleven curly hairs in a row. Well, the Laudrups, yes. These were the exception, these were the angels whom the Creator gave to Denmark, apologizing for past mistakes.

Of course, I would like to think so, but we all understand that in spite of current globalization and total incest, this is all a terrible stereotype. Sometimes you can’t tell a Dane from a Spaniard, and some who look quite French are actually Chechens and Mordovians at the same time and have an apartment in Grozny and Saransk.

7. Well, during my trip to Denmark I collected so many of these stereotypes, no less than shrimp at the Copenhagen fish market.

Stereotype one. The closer we get to the northern lights, to Thor’s menacing hammer and Odin’s lightning, the more often fans of the vocal-instrumental ensemble Hammerfall and other musicians in the genre of all shades of Heavy Metal are found on the streets. Literally every eleventh Laudrup wears torn black T-shirts, biker jackets, tight-fitting leather pants and lace-up boots. True, there is one less stereotype: Scandinavian metalheads prefer beards to traditional long shoulder-length patches

I came to Denmark because of my husband’s work: at some point the question arose of where it would be better for us to live - in Denmark or in Russia - and without a doubt, I decided - in Denmark. I arrived in Copenhagen in best time- in the spring, when everything here is buried in flowers, so for the first couple of months I did not notice the surrounding reality. And then it began.

The total dishonesty was striking. People walk around everywhere in dirty, wrinkled, torn clothes. Women don't take care of themselves at all.

A typical Danish woman looks something like this: unkempt hair tied up in a messy bun, a black robe with either a scarf or shawl on top, black tights and colored sneakers.

Children look even more depressing - it is absolutely not customary to spend money on children here; children most often buy used things, furniture and toys. It is very easy to distinguish foreigners from the crowd by their neat, non-black clothes.

It is customary for the Danes to sit directly on the asphalt or grass; they do not care at all that they may get dirty or catch a cold. A common occurrence is barefoot children. Our housemates are used to walking into the backyard in their socks to throw out the trash, and then going home to relax on the couch, no matter if it just rained. One day, returning with my daughter after a walk, I noticed that a neighbor was standing in the yard in socks and pushing a stroller with the baby. It was no more than 7°C outside.

Food is eaten immediately after purchase in the store. It is not customary to wash vegetables, fruits and herbs; I have repeatedly seen how the Danes ate carrots directly with the peel. You can easily see Danes putting food right on the grass at a picnic in the park.

Uncleanliness has led to the fact that many Danes have acquired lice, and they are not ashamed of it and can easily go to the hairdresser or catch lice from a child in full view of everyone. On buses you can see the announcement “Caution, we have lice!”

They are obsessed with everything environmental - many products are labeled “eco”, despite the fact that they, like the rest, are packaged in plastic. “Eco” can be not only products and clothes, services too: I once saw a hairdressing salon labeled “eco”.

Kindergartens look especially frightening, or rather, the places where children spend time, because this has nothing in common with our kindergarten. With very rare exceptions, there is simply no fenced designated area, but there is a room where parents bring their children, where they play, and if they want, they rest on mats (there are no cribs or naps during the day). Children are taken for walks or taken by public transport throughout the city to various public areas, fed with dry rations “sandwich, banana, egg”, given something to drink raw water, typed right there on the landing in the toilet. They feed on benches with tables located on the site; the food is placed directly on the table, and it doesn’t matter that crows were jumping there before.

Children are allowed everything - they can drink from a puddle, they can roll in the mud, pour it on their heads, run in socks or barefoot, take off their clothes, even if it’s winter, or even run naked.

There is no talk at all about wiping your hands before eating. Educators follow the only rule “You cannot yell at children or physically punish”; here this is prohibited by law, but everything else is welcome.

Local medicine is a separate topic. Here they deal with the patient when the case is really serious, in all other cases the most popular answer is “Watch or take Panadol.” Medicine in Denmark is free, but to get treatment, you have to try: before you can see most specialists, you need to get approval family doctor, and only after that join the waiting list, which can last for several months. Private clinics exist, but there are few of them and the prices are monstrously high: for example, a one-time visit to a dermatologist costs about 20 thousand rubles in our money.

It is impossible to call an ambulance, apparently there must be some kind of extraordinary case, but if small child the temperature is about 40, the ambulance will not arrive.

In general, no one bothers about children here - the principle works natural selection, children in the summer without panama hats, in the winter without hats, dressed out of season, always dirty, snotty, often with an allergic rash, many children have flat feet, but the Danes do not pay any attention to this, they sit the baby bare bottom in a dirty puddle and are touched.

What’s nice about Denmark is the attitude of employers towards employees: you can adjust the work schedule, leave during the working day for personal matters, for example, go for a run in the park. Most Danes finish their workday at 16.00. The Danes are obsessed with sports, travel by bicycle, and love jogging, so almost everyone is slim and fit. There is a very large middle class, everyone lives approximately the same with equal incomes, it is not customary to boast here, the Danes strive to be like everyone else. I am very impressed by the Danes’ passion for flowers: with the arrival of warm spring days they bloom everywhere, on any piece of land, and in summer and autumn roses delight the eye, Andersen and his Kai and Gerda immediately come to mind. The grass is neatly trimmed everywhere. And the air is clean, because there are not very many cars, and the wind blows from the sea all the time.

Shutterstock Citizens and tourists prefer to use bicycles instead of cars or buses to get around Copenhagen

By our standards, salaries here are high, but taxes are also high, they amount to 27-60% of wages depending on the situation. The average Dane has: a bicycle, the most necessary furniture and dishes from IKEA, a minimum set of clothes from H&M and a rented apartment or a mortgage for 20-30 years. Rental prices are very high: an apartment of 54 square meters. m in an old house, 4 km from the city center, including utility bills costs 70 thousand rubles. monthly, the cost of such an apartment is about 15 million rubles. Food prices look something like this: vegetables and dairy products are comparable to ours, fruits, bread, groceries and meat are higher.

Other goods and services are much more expensive: for example, the simplest men's clipper haircut will cost 1,500 rubles at best, and the service will be simply disgusting.

Dentist services are very expensive: simple treatment of one tooth can cost about 60 thousand rubles.

Pensions here are high, so pensioners feel best. They can afford to live on the Mediterranean Sea for a couple of months a year, travel actively, go to bars and restaurants and dress decently. Nevertheless, you can see how decently dressed, well-groomed pensioners, sitting at a bus stop waiting for a bus, look into a trash can in search of an aluminum can, so that they can then return it to the reception center for 10 rubles.

The attitude towards Russians is ambiguous, but rather negative than positive.

I think the media is to blame for this; videos about Russia with negative connotations are broadcast on buses.

I tried to make friends with my neighbors, but they did not make contact, preferring to be friends with each other. The mentality of the Danes in general is very different from ours, it is impossible to understand them, you need to be born and raised here to think in similar categories.

Having lived in Denmark for five years, I made an unequivocal conclusion for myself - it is better for Russians to live in Russia, to love and appreciate what they have.

Life of people in Denmark, pros and cons. Family values ​​in Denmark, men and women, standard of living

Family is an important part of the life of the Danes, and despite the total emancipation of women in this country and the maintenance of separate budgets for husband and wife, even in restaurants you can see how couples pay for dinner separately. Denmark is not the most attractive country for marrying a foreigner, and the reason for this is that Danish women are too beautiful, with whom it is very difficult for Russian beauties to compete. Potential Russian brides can be recommended to choose instead of Denmark, where there will be more chances. In Denmark the local population is different tall, Danish women are almost all of model appearance, slender blondes with regular facial features, and at the same time proud and independent. Only women from other countries or patriotic men who have nothing else to be proud of can consider Danish women ugly.

Men in Denmark are also good, at the same time too well-groomed, they love comfort too much for men, they spend too much time raising children, do too much housework and are uninitiative, not amorous, cold-blooded in relationships, they are very reluctant to part with money, as generous as men from Russia or Turkey, in fact, this is the complete opposite of hot-blooded peoples. That is why Russian wives, against the local background, are greatly losing their, so to speak, traditional consumer properties, namely the image of a beautiful wife, a loving mother and a conscientious housewife. However, in Copenhagen there is a fashion for iPhones and for girls of Asian appearance, at least you can see many couples where the man is local and the woman is oriental in appearance, this is, on the one hand, exotic, and on the other, a salvation from the annoying excessive sense of equality among Danish women. Child benefit in Denmark is just over $1,800 per child per month. A mother or father can easily leave work for half a day under the pretext of taking care of their children; children are sacred in Denmark.

A man in Denmark who expects to invite a foreign woman as his wife must give the state a deposit of $6,000, not be on social security, have a large apartment for his wife and children, and the period for obtaining a permanent residence permit has been extended in Denmark to seven years.

Child benefit in Denmark is just over $1,800 per child per month. A mother or father can easily leave work for half a day under the pretext of taking care of their children; children are sacred in Denmark. Denmark has the highest female employment rate in Europe, even if the family does not need extra funds, a woman who does not work is not approved by society. It is believed that a woman who also works has a lot of responsibility, so men in Belgium do at least half of the housework. By the way, in Denmark, household chores are not divided into men's and women's.

The Danes live by the slogan “keep your head down.” From an early age, children are taught that it is a shame to be better than others and to show off. Denmark is a country where everyone is for themselves, in special cases you can expect help from the outside, especially when it concerns relatives, but you should not expect help or support from work colleagues, in Denmark everyone acts as a competitor. However, this competition is rather fair; the Danes do not strive to look better than their neighbors, if a Dane has bought a new car, any expensive thing or got his child into a prestigious school, he doesn’t try to brag about it. This is what primarily distinguishes the Danes from, for example, Russians and Ukrainians, who are looking for any reason to stand out from their peers. Any excesses in Denmark are hidden, this can be seen in modest but good-quality clothing or in traditional minimalist white.

In the company of Danes, many Russians feel like boasting, so to speak, and these can be quite understandable topics, for example, an A in school for a child of a caring mother, but such an attack will be followed by a puzzled pause or complete indifference among others, this may be considered disrespect for others.

It will be easier for a foreigner to become one of the locals if he is interested in the local culture and conscientiously learns the Danish language. The Danes are distinguished by German punctuality; if they promise something, it will certainly be fulfilled. It is very difficult to visit a Danish family. Denmark is considered a country of coziness, comfort and a leisurely lifestyle; of course, at this moment we remember that Denmark is a Scandinavian country. However, compared to the Finns and Swedes, the Danes are more reminiscent of the Italians, but if you compare with the speed of life in or, then Denmark allows you to stop and think.

In Denmark everything is planned out, everyone local knows exactly what his life will be like in 10 or 20 years and what he will do. The Danes love to go on tourist trips, and especially abroad; most likely it will be some kind of sunny country. Trips to sunny places are very important for the Danes, so home country nothing new is happening, life in provincial towns may seem especially boring.

Despite their sandwich diet, the Danes are different slender figures, the famous buffet was invented by the Danes, and this is a table with sandwiches with herring, as well as cutlets. There are many immigrants in Denmark, by the way, thanks to them, the Danes have awakened an interest in foreign cuisine. In large cities, restaurants can be Asian or Asian; there is no Danish cuisine as such, and in general calling it a cuisine is a great flattery.

Bicycles and sports in Denmark

Everyone in the country is passionate about sports, women and men, which can justify the low obesity rate among Danes. Prices for gyms and swimming pools in Denmark in Copenhagen are two times lower than in Kyiv, not to mention Moscow, in other words, given the level of salary, it costs the Danes nothing to strengthen their physical spirit. To this we add the total presence of bicycles. Streets and roads are in every possible way set up for the use of two-wheeled friends, although public transport is excellent, and you can’t get to the central areas of cities by car. Bicycles, at the request and coercion of the authorities, can provide great savings, since gasoline and public transport tickets are very expensive, and parking is simply unbearable. However, from the airport to Copenhagen you can easily get to the very center of the city in 10 minutes and 2 euros.

The weather in Denmark is very changeable and windy, winters can be snowy and not very snowy, during the day the sun and clouds change hundreds of times, you need to dress accordingly, but temperature fluctuations are insignificant.

To adapt to a foreigner, knowledge of the Danish language is necessary; fortunately, unlike other European countries, Danish language schools are free; once you have mastered the language, you can continue your studies in college and then get a job with a large salary. Almost all Danes speak English fairly well.

Somewhat surprisingly, bosses in Denmark often talk about relaxation, quality free time and family time in meetings. Denmark provides six weeks of annual paid leave. Awareness of significance family life, this is a central element of the Danish work culture; high labor productivity, as the Danes believe, fundamentally begins with have a nice rest, you really need to miss work.

Denmark is probably the first country in the world that began to openly promote reductions that are unfavorable for capitalists. working day for ordinary workers and employees. It is no secret that over the last hundred years, the productivity of the tour has increased tens, or even hundreds of times, while the duration of the working day has remained at the same level; it is believed that already in the 60s of the last century, the level of technology development could have made it possible to reduce the working day to one hour per day to fully provide the worker with everything necessary for comfortable life, however, this did not happen. In many countries of the world, people need a week to feed themselves and their children; with such a workload, there is no energy or time left for self-development, education, raising children and measures to improve society. It is important for the employer that employees do not have enough opportunities for self-realization.

Yes, they are tall, just as the Swiss love to go shopping, so the Danes go shopping.