– scroll down for the German version / nach unten scrollen für die deutsche Übersetzung –

Today’s post is about a very sympathetic Danish artist. I’m going to introduce you to Lukas Graham,
a well-known band in Denmark. Sadly, I have never heard any of their songs outside here in his home country. I have the feeling that quite a lot of people outside of Denmark don’t know the band. We’re going to change this today 🙂

The first time I listened to Lukas Graham was a couple of months ago,when I moved to Copenhagen. I instantly fell in love with it. The songs feel so personal with a melancholic and touching sentiment. I really like that the topics make me think about love, family or life in general for a while. The lyrics are catchy and deep at the same time. My favourite song ?ordinary things? is a mix in between soul and pop.
You should really listen to it, while we are at it.

Well, apparently Lukas Graham is around for quite some years now and I ?discovered? them pretty late. Nevertheless, it’s still worth sharing. Unfortunately the band never made it really big international. Not yet at least.

Honestly, I don’t see an explanation why the lead singer Lukas and his band, aren’t famous in Germany or other neighbour countries of Denmark. They are young, talented and write their songs themselves, which is quite rare nowadays. They got forgotten after their One-Hit-Wonder “Drunk in the morning”.
Let’s hope the the best for them and believe that they will be back in the top of the international charts again.
Until then, take a few minutes from your day, try to listen and enjoy a few songs.
I promise, it’s definitely worth it.

I hope you liked it. Feel free to leave your impressions about Lukas Graham in the comments.

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Lukas Graham (deutscher Text)

Heute möchte ich euch einen sehr sympathischen dänischen Künstler und einige seiner Songs vorstellen. Lukas Graham ist eine recht bekannte Band in Dänemark, leider habe ich sie aber außerhalb ihres Heimatlandes noch nie im Radio laufen hören. Vielen geht es so wie mir und sie haben noch nie von der Band gehört. Wir werden das heute ändern 🙂

Das erste Mal habe ich Lukas Graham in Kopenhagen gehört, als ich vor ein paar Monaten hierher zog. Ich verliebt mich sofort in sie. Die Songs gehen einem sehr nahe, mit einer melancholischen und berührenden Aura. Es fühlt sich persönlich an. Ich mag es sehr, dass die Songs mich zum Nachdenken verleiten ? über Liebe, Familie und das Leben allgemein. Die Texte haben Ohrwurm-Potential, sind aber zugleich tiefgründig und sehr durchdacht. Mein Lieblingslied “Ordinary Things” ist eine Mischung aus Soul und Pop und wurde bereits vor Jahren in Deutschland veröffentlicht. Ihre Single “Mama said” kam vor einigen Tagen raus.

Offensichtlich ist Lukas Graham schon seit einigen Jahren aktiv und ich habe sie jetzt so gesehen erst spät ?entdeckt?. Leider hat die Band nie wirklich den großen internationalen Durchbruch geschafft, nur “Drunk in the morning” hat es vor einigen Jahren in die Topspitze der Charts geschafft. Danach hörte man nichts mehr über Lukas Graham in Deutschland. Aber bald kommt der ultimative Durchbruch. Ich bleibe optimistisch und glaube daran, dass sie es sehr bald schaffen.

Ehrlich gesagt, sehe ich keine Erklärung dafür, warum der Sänger Lukas und seine Band in Deutschland oder anderen Nachbarländern von Dänemark vergessen wurde. Sie sind jung, talentiert und schreiben ihre Songs selbst, was heutzutage doch ziemlich selten ist.

Hoffen wir das Beste für sie! 🙂

Bis dahin – nehmt euch ein paar Minuten Zeit, hört und genießt ein paar Songs von meiner neuen Lieblingsband. Ich verspreche euch, es lohnt sich auf jeden Fall. Gerne könnt ihr mir eure Meinung und Ansichten in den Kommentaren mitteilen.

Tuni
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I moved away from Bremen almost 2 years ago and there are some things I simply took for granted back then. I recently thought about what I truly miss since I moved here to Denmark. Let me share a few thoughts with you, about little treasures from my beloved Germany.
First of all, everything in Denmark is insanely expensive, especially in Copenhagen. It hit me like a train, when I ran out of shampoo the first time and went to the supermarket to buy some new ones. Not even the cheap discount brands are what I consider cheap, nothing is under 25 Krones, which is almost 4 Euros. As a consequence, I buy my shampoos and toothpaste and basically every other kind of cosmetic in Germany and bring it back.

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Strøget in Copenhagen
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I miss the German styled drug stores. We have a chain store called Mattas here in Denmark, which comes quite close to it, but the price is way higher. I sincerely miss the days, where I could walk into Rossmann or DM, buy some small things like shower gel and make up remover and paid less than 5 Euro for it. I didn’t know that it was a privilege, but now it feels like heaven everytime I visit my parents and go shopping. Of course, it’s not only cosmetic,which is expensive. Almost everything is double price compared to Germany. Buying nutella, candy or chocolate is a luxury, therefore some students go on involuntarily diets.
Anyway, did you realize that I used the word ?luxury? in the last sentence and I wrote it with an ?x?? I just want to point it out, before I go to my next point: Danish words mostly have ‘ks’ instead of ‘x’. Well, you could say that I am getting petty-minded now, complaining about the language while living in that country. It is not the language in general, but honestly, I miss the letter ‘x’. I never noticed it, until I saw my Danish teacher writing ?luksus og ekstrem? on the blackboard. It was a tiny, but still recognizable itch in my eye. It just doesn’t feel right and it looks strange to me. My brain wants to have an ‘x’, so it would look like this: ?luXus og eXtrem?. I want some ?eXtra? ketchup and not ?ekstra?. However, it’s just a minor thing, which feels weird for me. Funny enough, they still call the movie X-Men, not Eks-Men. 😀

A matter,  I can’t laugh about are the parking fines in Denmark. I sincerely, with all my heart, miss the German parking and speeding tickets. This is one of the major things I want to have back in my life. The tickets in Germany are a joke compared to what I have to pay here, when I get a fine. Similar to the first point, it’s basically about the expensive life in Denmark. For people, who are lucky enough not to know: a regular parking ticket in Copenhagen is around 600kr / 80Eur.

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510,- Parking fine
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I got two tickets so far, once for parking at a supermarket lot without setting up my little timer on the wind shield. When I came back a few minutes later, I had a wonderful, bright yellow fine waiting for me. No mercy. My friends in Germany are complaining about their tickets, which is not even half of what the authorities in Denmark would take. I honestly envy them.. A German parking tickets seems like a fairytale to me. 15Eur for parking or speeding 10km/h in Germany is around 600-1000kr (80 to 125Eur) in Denmark – for the same faults.
The only positive thing is that most people will learn from that lesson and extremely avoid to get another ticket

 

Last but not least, I miss my doctors and my dentist. I remember the days, where I felt so safe and secure. Years ago, when I could go to my general doctor to check my blood, my skin doctor to ensure that my birthmarks are normal and my dentist to look after my teeth ? everything at least once a year and for free. Most of my friends in Denmark only have one doctor for all kinds of trouble. They go there, when they have the flu, stomach aches, headaches or when they need the pill. If it’s something that doctor cant fix or isn’t specialized in, they will be sent to the hospital.

When I had the flu this winter and spend a week in bed, I had to visit my Danish doctor ? the first time since I moved here. All she did was look at my throat and then sent me home, to drink more tea. I felt lost and insecure, because I was used to more tests from my past doctor. I was sure that my lovely Hausarzt (general doctor), who I trusted for years, would have taken greater care of me. During all these sick days and litres of tea, I deeply missed my doctor. The one who checked up on me for years and whom I can’t visit anymore. Maybe I was over-reacting and dramatic because I was sick, or maybe I am still not over the loss of my Hausarzt.

Fact is, Denmark has all these extraordinary things like good transport networks, the educational system and an entirely electronic communication between Kommune and citizen, but in my opinion, the health care system needs a few improvements.
Nevertheless I do not regret moving to Copenhagen at all, and like everything in life ? happiness comes with a small price 🙂

 

Tuni

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What I loved about my travel mate

About 2 years ago I graduated from high school and like many other teenagers, I packed my things and left to Australia. I didn’t book my trip through an agency, but I planned it alone and left to the other end of the world. After a few days in Sydney, I found a job and on my first day I met a girl named Giang (pronounced similar to ?sun?). We had a great time together and soon, we decided to travel up the East Coast in Australia together. For 2 months, we discovered everything from Sydney to Cairns and we spend every single day together. Of course we had bad days and small fights, but in the end she was truly the best travel mate, I could have met and shared my time with. Together we were partners in crime.

Today I want to write about my personal experiences with Giang and how we managed to stick together. These are the main reasons we worked out.

 

Honesty

Nothing will last for long if you both aren’t honest with each other. In my opinion, you have to be direct about your opinion and your wishes, especially if they are different from your travel mate’s plans.

One of Giang’s traits was her pure honesty, no matter what. If she didn?t want to have that kind of food or go to a certain place, which she didn’t like or we went shopping, and the dress didn’t look good on me ? I ensure you, Giang would let me know straight away. The more time I spend with her, the more I appreciated her being straightforward. It made things way more simple when you don’t have to guess what the other person thinks.

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Fraser island – Australia
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Communication

If you are both direct to each other, you can?t avoid having one or two conflicts during your time together. In that case, you should talk and try solving the problem together. You could figure out a compromise. Giang and I had our fair share of conflicts and sometimes we wouldn’t speak with each other for a while. However, after we both cooled down, we told one another what annoyed us, and we would find a solution together. Most of the time we met halfway, so none of us felt let down.

 

Having space

Traveling with someone you just met can be exhausting. We were no exception. Some days we just needed a break from each other and do something alone or with other people. In our case, it was never more than a few hours, but we met travel partners, who split up for a few days and then came back together in another city.

Giang and I didn’t separate for one day, but we did take some time off each other. I remember one night when we went out to get drinks with two different groups, and we met up in the same club. Another time she decided to bake cakes with friends and I went to a pool party. A lot of times, one of us sat at the reception and used the WiFi to watch movies while the other one would go to the beach for a walk or simply slept in. A bit of private time is a must when you spend 90% of the day together.

 

Patience and compassion

Giang and I had many great days and we made so many memories together. Nevertheless, there were days, where one of us would feel sad and miserable, for whatever reason. It’s human and sometimes things don’t work the way we wish they would. In these days, Giang and me both were both patient and caring for each other. She always listened to my troubles and she tried to help and support me as much as it was possible for her. I did the same thing for her when she needed me. We were in a distant place from home, far away from our family and friends. We only had each other. Giang became one of my closest friends because some things I only shared with her and no one else.

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Brisbane – Australia
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Sharing is caring

When living out of a suitcase, there is only a certain amount of things you can carry. To avoid using the same stuff over and over again, Giang and I combined our wardrobe during our time together. We exchanged everything, from tops to skirts and shoes. What was mine, was hers too. Mi dress es su dress.

Moreover, we shared our laptop and tablets, cosmetics and of course food. This is one of the things that made us feel closer. We didn’t have any barriers, so to speak. Personally I think, if you are too strict with keeping your things separated, it will distance you from each other.

 

Compatible

As important as the things above were for us, we wouldn’t have had such a good time if we weren’t alike. We had the same interests, we came from the same country, we could talk about everything and most important – both of us came to Australia to have ?no worries?. We liked to enjoy beautiful beaches and explore the cities and meet many people from all over the world. We both weren’t big fans of having a strict plan, we just jumped on the bus from one place to another, being spontaneous and free to do whatever we want. We left if it wasn’t exciting enough, but other times, we stayed way longer than expected. When we were in Airlie Beach, we just fell in love with that town and we couldn’t get ourselves to leave.

Australia was our big adventure. In hindsight, I couldn’t have been luckier with Giang as my travel mate and I always think back on our time with a smile.

What do you think are the most important qualities in a travel partner? Would you agree with me or did you have a totally different experience? I am Looking forward to your stories.

 

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Feel Free to Comment Below 😀
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Tuni

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Me working at Formula1
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Why do girls watch Football, and not Formula 1?

I always wondered why all my female friends love football, especially during the European Championship or World Cup, but they have a very negative opinion about Formula 1.
I can only speak for myself, but I think that Formula 1 is a very intense sport and quite fascinating.
Of course I can?t deny that I really, really enjoyed being a German last year in July, when our national football team won the world cup and the whole country celebrated all night long!

But why aren’t most girls swept away by fast cars with over 800 horse power and 340 km/h top speed? Formula is known for the high society around it. Actors, models and stars are coming to the racetrack to be seen and of course, there are some nice looking young drivers, too.

Some might say that it’s just not a sport, when 20 cars are driving in a circle for hours. Then again, isn’t football just 20 guys running back and forth and two others standing and jumping in a goal? My opinion might be a bit subjective, since I like Formula 1 a lot and I was lucky enough to work at the race track for several races during the last 2 years as merchandising assistant.

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RedBull Ring in Austria
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The atmosphere around the event fascinated my colleagues and me. So many people from all over the world coming to have a good time and see an exciting race, maybe with their favourite driver as winner or a lot of crashes and close overtaking manoeuvres.

The entire weekend starting from Thursday to Sunday is packed with events and races. It is not only Formula 1, but the whole entertainment around it. My colleagues and me sometimes went to concerts and parties after our shift and enjoyed a beer among all the F1 fans.
The Qualifying, the Saturday before the race, is sometimes even more interesting than the race itself. On that day all the drivers are trying to drive the laps as fast as they can, in order to get the pole position. The goal is to start from the front row at the race Sunday.  Less than split seconds will decide who is starting from which position. During the race you can be the fastest, still that does not mean that you are the first at the same time.

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Silverstone – UK
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The Formula 1 race is always the glorious final of the weekend. During these 50 to 78 laps, the drivers have to show their ability to control an insanely fast car, overtake the cars in front of them and defend their position from the cars behind.

They have to be tactically smart enough to preserve the car and get it over the finish line safe and sound. Besides all these factors, they have to deal with extreme weather conditions of the country they are racing in. One week they have to endure tropic heat in Malaysia, another they have 50 degrees in the desert of Dubai and a few races later they most likely have heavy monsoon rain in Suzuka, Japan.

The team behind every driver has to work as a perfect unit, simply because a single mistake could ruin the entire race weekend and all preparations.
Most drivers keep themselves in good shape as well and do extreme sport in their free time. My favourite driver Marcus Ericsson is mountain biking 120km through the heat in Thailand, when he is off the racetrack. Jenson Button just finished a marathon. You can see that they do more than just driving around in circles for hours.
The next race is in Barcelona this weekend (8^th to 10^th May 2015). Maybe you might give it a shot after reading my post and watch it through my eyes 🙂

Tuni

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I was born in Germany. But my parents are Vietnamese. Therefore I must be Vietnamese too. So I am German with Vietnamese roots, right? No, I am German, no doubts about that.. Actually, I don’t know. I still can’t answer this simple question about where my home is. Its not really a place in Germany, since I moved a lot as a child and never felt like I truly belong in any city. I was always that ?new girl that just moved here?. But neither is Vietnam a place, where I feel most welcome. So since I can remember, I actually don’t feel entirely home anywhere.

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By Trueshot.de
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Two and a half years ago I left my parents house in Bremen to go out and explore the world, in hope that I might find a place, which makes me feel at ease. During that time, I had memorable days at places far away from my usual daily life without any worries. For me, ?home? wasn’t a place anymore, but a feeling I got every time I boarded a plane or got into a train heading to my next destination and adventure.
Regardless, everything in life comes to an end – and so did my travels. At one point, I had to settle down, find a job or a study, and go back to reality.
I decided to move to Denmark and for the past 6 months, I am happily studying and living in the capital city. Copenhagen became something meaningful to me. For the first time ever since, I can say that I found my place, even though its a short time compared to the 19 years I lived in Germany.
I write this blog in order to share impressions and experiences of my travels, the reasons Copenhagen became my safe haven, the lifestyle as a student in one of the most beautiful metropolis in Europe and some days, it’s just about my desire to go away again .

 

Tuni
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