Guest Post: Random Parting thoughts on Danish Culture

Today  Wednesday---we left Copenhagen and Denmark, and as such, I thought I would share some of my observations on Danish culture from our brief, albeit action-packed stay.

Television:  Danish television can best be described as a ‘dog’s breakfast’ of programming.  What do I mean?  Well, lets just say that any 24 hour period on Danish TV stations can literally run the gamut of content......What follows is a real-life example of a programming lineup across a couple of stations available at a random hotel in Copenhagen.

• 9AM:  Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous (a film where Jessica Simpson plays a ditzy blond movie star that enlists in the army and goes through basic training....pseudo hilarity ensues).  Yes, such a movie exists and yes, we shamefully admit to watching it.  Imagine ‘Legally Blond’ set at Fort Benning performed with the quality of acting found at a poorly executed 5th grade play.
• 9PM:  South Park.  As an aside, South Park seems to be pretty popular in Denmark.  Besides being on Danish TV, I saw several people watching on tablets/phones.  If this is where the Danes get their dose of American culture, God only knows what these people think of us.....
• Midnight: Flip on the same channel that we watched earlier in the day and what do we find?  Hardcore porn of course...  Based on the quality of the acting and empty plot, I wasn’t sure if we had stumbled upon an as-yet-unwatched scene from ‘Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous’. This however, was in fact an adult film - not in the Skin-a-Max sense, but in the all out, rented from the locked room at the back of the a shady video store sense.....go up one channel, and you guessed in....more of the same.  For those of you counting at home, that is 2 of 10 available chanels.  I can only assume there is big demand here in Denmark...I would love to see the Neilsen ratings for the 12AM hour...  

OK, so I guess the same could be said about the type of variety you would find on US TV, but I couldn’t resist the temptation to draw a connection between Jessica Simpson’s acting and porn. Cut me some slack. 

Cafe/Bar Scene:  So we got to Denmark on a Sunday afternoon, and went for a late brunch.  Everyone was out and about at the cafes, drinking wine and beer and enjoying the weather.  On Monday, we got a late start and headed out around 11 AM.  Everyone was out and about at the cafes, drinking wine and beer and enjoying the weather.  On Tuesday, we got an early start and settled in for lunch in the Christianhavn neighborhood.  Everyone was out and about at the cafes, drinking wine and beer and enjoying the weather.  The Danes either don’t work or, are allowed to have a few drinks at lunch...either way, I appreciate their style!

Late-Night Dining:  There is none.  If you want to eat after 10PM in Denmark, best of luck to you. Your options are:

1. Peanuts from the hotel fridge
2. Grab a hotdog wrapped in a baked on bun with a gelatinous sauce in the middle from 7/11.  

There is a huge business opportunity here, except for the fact that apparently tourists are the only ones that stay up past 10PM (the streets are literally empty after 10pm. Chicken or the egg argument I guess...). 

Much more to share, including restaurant service, tattoos and smoking, but, enough for now...

Until later,

Jon