Denmark

Danes are very introverted people and most of what they don't like to stop and talk to strangers on the street, especially if they feel like you're gonna try to sell something to them. One thing about Danes is they're very caring, loving people. If they think they can help you in any way or even just if you spark a conversation, often they'll be the ones that ask you the questions.

We hear of introvertness of the Danes, how quiet they are, how interrelatable they are. It's all very true. My little piece of advice would be to learn to love others. Danes are very loving, caring people. Even though it's hard for them to come out of their shell, they love one another. They truly do care for one another. And if you have that love for them, then they're going to open up. They're going to want to be your friend.

Fashion matters in Europe and even color schemes matter, like don't wear black and red together, like no black suit and red ties or black slacks and red ties. In terms of culture, Danes are pretty laid back, they're pretty nonchalant I guess you could say. I don't know, they just live life really. If I had a culture tip, I would try to be less American. Like Danes, they love all sorts of people, but you know, they really appreciate it when you really get to know them and what it is that they do, their traditions, especially around religious holidays, they have a lot of traditions around that. Just be sensitive to that.

The Danes love their beer. So, any holiday has its own special brew of beer for that holiday. And they have teenagers from the time they're 12 to 13 that are able to drink a lower percentage of alcohol beer. They love their beer.

Danish people are very, very prideful about their country, I'd say. If there's any aspect that's good about another country, they'll say, oh, that's very Danish. You know, that's very Danish of them to do that. Another thing to watch out with that is don't badmouth Denmark at all. It is a very great country, and people are very proud about its institutions and the fact that they're able to have what they have in their country. And they're very, very passionate about their American politics, I'd say, actually. Just remember that, you know, they think their country is great, and if you acknowledge that, they'll love you.

In Denmark, the people are very friendly, but often they won't be very friendly to perfect strangers. So it takes getting to know them, but once they know you, you know, you have a friend for life. In Denmark, it's very common when you're talking to someone for them to go, yeah. So they inhale as they say the word, yeah. So it's not really a spoken thing so much as like an inhaled whisper thing. And that's very common. You'll hear it all the time when you're talking to people. Another culture thing is that a lot of the guys will sit, you know, like in America, you cross your legs. You usually don't put your, you know, knee to knee. It's usually like ankle to knee. But in Denmark, it was very common for men to sit with their knee crossed over knee like we do here in America. You typically see women sit, but you'll see men do that a lot. And it's very common, just part of their culture, part of the way they do things.

The first thing that comes to mind with culture is that Danes and Scandinavians in general are very, they're very introverted people. They're kind of closed off and they don't open up. But once you do, once you do meet one who's willing to open up and, you know, you become friends, then they're some of the most sincere and kind and caring people that you can find. And so, you know, culture advice would be to be kind to them, be yourself, be kind and allow them to feel comfortable that they can open up to you and you can create friendships and you can have an impact on people that you otherwise would be missing.

So one thing that a lot of people are saying on here is that a lot of Danes are very quiet, very introverted, which I would agree to an extent until you get to know them. A big example, and this is a cultural thing, when you're walking down the street and you go up to a random stranger, if you do that in America, you'll say, hey, how's it going? Right? It's very normal. In Denmark, you only say how's it going to people that you already know. So if I were to go down the street and, you know, wave to a random stranger, say, hey, how's it going? They would probably respond to something like, excuse me, do I know you? Kind of thing, right? They might seem a little cold at first, but once you get to know them, they definitely open up, are super kind and very polite. I mean, super fun to be around.

I was in Denmark from 1983 to 1985, but I have been back since then, and here's what I will say. You can always tell American tourists because they look weird and wacky. Here's what I did. I went with Danes, usually young adults, and had them help me find ties and things like that that were Danish appropriate. Another thing is that the way we act in stores and everything, taking turns, being polite, all those kinds of things. Be like the Danes are and copy what they do. Watch other Danes and see how they act in stores. It's much different than in our culture. It just really is.

Danes are very quiet. That was one of the first things I noticed that as Americans we're just really really loud. That'd be my only culture tip is be quiet.