Time flies! I have been living and studying in Denmark for over 2 years now After all, I can say that I couldn’t be happier about my decision to live in Copenhagen. But there are a few things, that I have learnt here that I want to share with you. For example, that if there is no flag on top of the palace, the Queen is not home.
Skat
This word will be forever important in my new Danish life. It is both the name for your boyfriend or girlfriend, but also for the people you don’t want to owe money. Every year around April, people in Denmark wait anxiously for the tax report to see if they have to pay back a lot of money. Honestly, you should get a Danish friend to help with your taxes if you don’t understand their website and what you have to fill out. Otherwise you could have an unpleasant surprise next spring.
Jutland
In daily small- talk, people often ask me, how long I have been living in Denmark. I answer, that I have been studying here for 2 years, one of them in Sønderborg/Jutland. Most of the times the reaction is “Oh Jutland isn’t really Denmark though 😀 “.
Well, apparently Jutland doesn’t belong to Denmark, it is just Jutland 😉
German in school
Most Danes I know, had an awful and mean German teacher in middle school or/and gymnasium and therefore don’t like the language. Others just don’t like German because it sounds aggressive (I hear that often outside of Denmark too..actually I hear it all the time, besides when I am in Germany. I think, German is a beautiful language..)
Babies outside
Danish mom’s leave their babies outside when they enter a shop, an office or a café. They leave them on their own with a baby monitor. I was surprised but the moms seem not be worried at all about the baby being taken away or some other things that might happen. It is normal here; it’s like leaving your bicycle in close distance but outside.
The Danish language
I have studied English and French in school and Chinese in university now – so it is safe to say that I have experiences in learning a foreign language. Still, Danish is by far the most frustrating language to learn, even now when I understand a lot – it is hard for me to pronounce the words right. It seems like the Danish letters “g”, “a” and “d” have around a thousand different ways to be pronounced. And it still doesn’t make sense to me that the word “meget” is pronounced “ma-ahl”..and not like it’s written “meget”.
Their brother Sweden
Never compliment Sweden and say that they are better than Denmark, in anything. Never. Especially not after the recent football match.
Dane’s favorite word
There is a word in Danish (Swedish and Norwegian) that apparently can’t be translated in another language. You have to feel it and experience it to understand it.
So“hyggelig” is quite similar to the English word “cozy” (it is mostly translated like this in dictionaries as well), but that is not really the meaning. It means “feeling very comfortable (with someone maybe) and enjoying yourself”, but that is still not really the exact meaning.
I figured, that it is very difficult to express that feeling of “hyggelig”. I still haven’t found the exact meaning of it and by now I am too afraid to ask again.
So I just go with “cozy” or “heimisch fühlen”. Somewhere inbetween these two is “hyggelig”.
Spring 1991. That morning he woke up in his dorm room in Komarno/Czechoslovakia and spontaneously decided to sell his flight ticket, which would have brought him back to his home country within a couple of days. He was going to Germany. The wall in Berlin just fell, most of his friends made it into the Western paradise, so why not give it a try? Whats the worst that could happen?
So he went ahead and stuck to his spontaneous idea. A few days later, he was sitting in the back of a van, all his money he had paid the smugglers to bring him into the country as an illegal immigrant.
There were around half a dozen people in the back of the vehicle, sitting in the dark, heading towards the border of Germany. Everyone was full of hope for a better life, but feared what could happen if they got caught. Most of them were men like him, young and adventurous, and in their mid twenties. But in the corner sat the only two females, a mom with her daughter.
The girl was not older than 10 or 11.
So there he was, with no plans for the future. For the past 6 years, he lived near Bratislava. He was a student with a scholarship, who was supposed to return back to Vietnam after finishing his education.
Some of his friends had left to Western Germany a few months earlier, and they had written letters, telling him about this great country that provides for everyone. Germany sounded good, and way better than the life he could expect to live in Vietnam.
Suddenly the van stopped. . It was dead quiet in the back of the van now, everyone staring with expectations at each other and then at the door. The door got slammed open and one of the smugglers told them to get out.
As he stepped out, he figured that they were parked close to a meadow. It was in the middle of the night and it was a bit chill. He only wore a T-Shirt and a thin summer jacket tonight.
He could see an open field in between the trees. They got informed that Germany is on the other side.
Further away he could hear dogs barking and a helicopter was flying somewhere close by. Everyone was out of the van now. They all had to cross that field on their own. The transporter would get through the legal border control and pick them up on a parking lot next to the highway. On a German parking lot . Only the wide field that separated them from a new life.
Today, he doesn’t really remember when and where exactly they all started running. But he has a clear image of him running through the muddy field like a maniac! His mind fixed at the forest on the other side, he wanted to get there, that was all that mattered to him.
But nearly halfway there, the woman fell down with her daughter and they both couldn’t stand up. They remained there, crying and panicking, not able to move. Instinctively he turned back, grabbed the mom’s hand, carried the daughter on his back and started to run again.
The rush of adrenaline and panic kept him moving fast, not looking back; only focused on whats waiting right in front of him. They kept running towards the other side of the field into the forest. He would pull the mom by her arm, even if she was falling. He would drag her and she would have to stand up again and keep running. He didn’t let her go, nor did he stop. He kept running, holding the girl and dragging the mom.
The helicopter was close by now, the dogs barking got louder and louder. The police could catch them any minute.
But they didn’t. All three of them made it through the field and ran into the dark forest ? they are in Germany now. The hardest part was over.
From the forest they could hear the highway. They kept running towards it. The parking lot was easy to find and the van was already waiting. They were safe now. He handed the girl over to her mom. Both were crying, both were happy they made it. I don’t think there are words to describe how relieved they felt.
He looked around, everyone including him was covered in sweat and dirt. But everyone was there, not a single one got caught by the police. He smiled and stepped into the van. By the break of dawn they had arrived at their final destination.
The mom with her daughter got picked up by her husband. The other guys had some family to pick them up as well. Only he didn’t have anybody and any plans, what to do next. The woman came over to thank him and to say goodbye, but she figured that he had no idea where to go. She offered him to come with her family and they would give him a ride to the nearest train station.
He arrived at the busy main station in Hannover later that morning. People were on their way to work, students on their way to university. With nothing on him but his muddy clothes, he decided to go straight to the first police car he saw, which was parked right in front of the station. Without knowing a single word of German, the police men understood and helped him. They drove him to the next asylum and brought him to the registration counter. At last, they wished him ?einen schönen Tag noch?. (a pleasant day)
He filled in all the necessary papers, and they gave him some new clothes, food and washing stuff. They brought him to his room and when he entered, he couldn’t believe the irony of life. One of his friends from Czechoslovakia stayed at the same dormitory for immigrants. As they were catching up, he found out that one of his best mates only lived a few kilometers away. He borrowed a bike and went there right away.
When he arrived, he met his friend’s roommate. She was doing the dishes and pointed him the way to the right room.
Little did he know that this woman was going to be his wife and that they had their first daughter about a year after they met that day. Neither did he know that his spontaneous trip to Germany would be the greatest and best decision he had ever made. Its was going to be his home from then until now. His family is going to live there, his children will grow up there in a safe environment, with education and all the freedom in the world. They don’t have to live under the communistic politic and inequality in Vietnam. He will open his own business a decade after he came to Germany and some will be successful and some will fail.
It is the story of my Dad and how he came to Germany. In regards to the recent events, I wanted to share his past with you.
Although they were not refugees, my mom and dad came to Germany as illegal immigrants in hope of a better life. Financially and politically, this country provided them better than their home country even though Vietnam was not in war anymore. They came here with nothing.
Today, 24 years after they crossed the border, they established their own little business with hard and honest work and have their own little house in a little suburb in Bremen. They learned German and try to immigrate as much as they can. They show that not everyone who is coming to another country as an illegal immigrant is trying to rip off the state and the governmental support. And that they don’t have their own community in another country and ignore the Western culture.
I am speaking a mix of German and Vietnamese at home, my parents raised me similar to how my German friends got raised, we have Christmas and Lunar New Year every year. All my friends with Vietnamese background have the same experience. We happily live with a mixture of German and Vietnamese culture. And its awesome, I like it.
I am not taking a political side nor am I trying to push on you a certain opinion.
I am only saying that if they wouldn’t have come to Germany, my two siblings and me wouldn’t have such a privileged life. Now I am a German citizen with a German passport, who can travel the world, study and live in every EU country if I wanted to, lucky to grow up bilingual and in between two totally different cultures. Most important, I can do whatever I want in life. I wouldn’t have the same chance if I grew up in Vietnam, where education is tough, corruption beats hard work and no one really cares for traffic rules
After I graduated from high school, I worked and lived in Southern France and Australia without any problems. I am able to study in Copenhagen now and I travel several times per year to all different places, without facing any troubles crossing the borders. I can go and do whatever I want with my life and I can express my opinion freely, without political or other consequences. I wouldn’t have all these opportunities in life if my parents didn’t come to Germany back then.
I believe that the refugees deserve the same chance and I fully understand why they choose to go to European countries like Germany, Sweden or Austria.
– Thank you Mom and Dad for sacrificing everything for us,so we can have anything we want in life.
– 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.
_
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.
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.
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.
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 🙂
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.
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 .
