Denmark: perception vs. reality

A little while ago I was speaking to an American friend who wanted to visit us in our new host country following our move to Denmark last year. I said the usual refrain: “come in summertime, with Copenhagen at its most hospitable”, but was surprised to hear his response of “I think I prefer to come in the middle of winter – I’m thinking Northern Lights and all that”.

His comment got me thinking about how far reality is from most people’s perceptions of Denmark around the world. I should be more accurate and say that in fact most people around the world don’t have a perception of Denmark at all – to my friend’s credit at least he knew Denmark was a country, somewhere in the Nordics. After living 9 months here I still get the occasional friend abroad asking me how my Swedish is progressing, and whether I’m getting along with the Norwegians. Yes, it might be a surprise to many Danes, but most people around the world tend to refer to Scandinavian countries interchangeably, and Denmark often seems to be more easily forgettable in relation to its higher-profile neighbours. And there are still those who think that people in Denmark speak Dutch (as I wrote in my very first blog post about our friends’ reactions in London when we told them we had decided to move to Denmark), or that Denmark is the capital of Sweden or Holland.

Those however who do know that Denmark is a country (and even those who know that the residents of Denmark are Danes, and that they speak Danish) still seem to have fantastical ideas about it: from those thinking it’s an arctic Nordic country home to igloo dwellers and ice hotels, to others imagining a place where everything and everyone is stunningly beautiful, stylized and super-modern. Then there are those who think it’s a haven of nudity and promiscuity, or efficiency and austerity. Or all of the above. Perhaps the funniest contradicting perception of Denmark is that of a place where everyone is happy, yet many are depressed and commit suicide.

Of course some of these perceptions have a kernel of truth to them, but basically they’re all pretty far from reality in my opinion. So why is it that Denmark has such a low profile in the world compared to other Northern European countries like the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden? And why are perceptions of it seem to be so removed from reality?

To answer to the first question, it might be the fact that Denmark is smaller in population compared to countries like Sweden and the Netherlands, that it doesn’t have striking fjords (or oil) like Norway, that it never managed to attract as many tourists from countries outside the region as its neighbours did, and that it never had global consumer mega-brands associated with the country like the Swedish brands IKEA, Volvo and even ABBA (there are of course Lego and Carlsberg, but no-one seems to associate them with Denmark). Or maybe it has something to do with the fact that for many years there wasn’t an internationally known mainstream Danish figure in contemporary culture or sport (something that’s changing now with phenomena like Noma and Wozniacki).

As for the second question – perceptions of nations are often extreme and one-dimensional, but they might be even more removed from reality (and influenced by anecdotes) when the country in question is little known and seldom visited.

While undoubtedly a low profile can hurt a country’s economy by limiting export, investments and tourism – there’s something to be said for a country that is relatively obscure abroad. I find it quite entertaining when people I speak to don’t exactly know what Denmark is and where it’s located – almost like a quaint little place I can keep all to myself.

Then again I have to admit I too experienced a gap between my own perceptions and reality of Denmark when I moved here and realized that Copenhagen is much less international and cosmopolitan than I had previously imagined, despite having visited the country more than a dozen times in the past. Perhaps the flip side of being unknown to the world is that the world is a bit unknown to you. It might be a good idea to work on raising that profile after all…

The plight of the returning Dane

Foreigners living in a new country seem to attract one another – every time I’ve lived in a foreign country I seemed to befriend other foreigners first, before meeting and befriending some of the locals. Be it through communities and associations for foreign professionals, co-workers in international companies with foreign employees, friends of friends from one’s home country or simply a chance encounter that promises the joy of commiseration.

Denmark was no different for me – following my arrival in Denmark I quickly met other expats and foreigners through my Danish language school, my job searching activities and my networking efforts across various expat associations. But this time around I found another group yearning for an opportunity to share frustrations and exchange criticism of the host country: Danes who have lived abroad for a few years and returned to Denmark.

Otherwise known as ‘repatriates’ (as opposed to ‘expatriates’), people who live outside their home country for many years and then return to it often experience a sort of a ‘reverse culture shock’. And according to conventional wisdom they tend to find this reverse culture shock more surprising and difficult to deal with than the original culture shock when moving abroad. I can personally attest to that, having a severe case of reverse culture shock at home – my partner.

So what do Danish repatriates talk about when sharing their frustrations over Denmark? One Dane I met, who spent a few years in the US, said “the first thing I noticed after I came back was how poor customer service is in Denmark, and how unfriendly people are here”. Another friend who spent a few years in London and Barcelona, confessed as follows: “soon after moving I realized that Denmark isn’t as open – and Danes aren’t as open-minded – as I once thought. When I moved back here this realization hit me even harder”.

Several returning Danes I’ve met said something like “I have always been taught to believe that everything in Denmark is superior to the rest of the world. Now I know that’s completely untrue”; others complained that the Danish health care system is far inferior to those of other countries they’ve lived in; many laughed about the myth of ‘superb infrastructure’ which in their minds proved to be just that – a myth; one friend slammed the entire Danish education system when she said: “this mentality of mediocrity and discouragement of drive, ambition and competition has so many negative aspects, but nobody ever talks about it!”; and others claimed that the social welfare system no longer provides value for tax money, and robs them of the personal freedom and choice they’ve grown accustomed to abroad.

I guess it’s natural for people who left their home country, discovered the world and then moved back, to think that their homeland is provincial, narrow-minded and mono-cultural. But the Danish phenomenon of reverse culture shock seems stronger and more widespread than anything I’ve encountered as a foreigner living in the US and the UK. I can’t help wondering why that is.

Perhaps it’s the fact that Danes cannot find the freedom (associated with anonymity and foreignness), which they’ve grown to like in other countries, back in the small and culturally homogeneous city of Copenhagen (as opposed to Americans returning to New York and Brits returning to London – two huge multicultural cities where even locals can feel free and anonymous). Or perhaps it has something to do with the Danish tradition of ‘nurturing a collective self esteem’, or in other words – the patriotic indoctrination most countries practice, but which Denmark seems especially good at. I was once told this is a result of the loss of territory and power in the 19^th century, requiring the building of a new type of national pride not linked to international political might. Whatever the reason, it worked brilliantly!

This might be the reason behind the conviction held by many Danes that Denmark is in fact a perfect society. I can see then why when Danes move abroad and find their home country is not perfect (as all people do when living abroad), they struggle more than others (something I can personally identify with coming from a country that’s exceptionally good in the art of nurturing a collective self esteem, which I tend to call good old nationalism).

I can keep speculating about the real causes of the plight of Danish repatriates, but a more important point is that every country in pursuit of continuous improvement can benefit greatly from its nation’s repatriates, who bring a different perspective and often a strong will to change things for the better. I’ve met many of those in my last few months in Denmark; now the question is whether their insights can be utilized for the benefit of the country.

What Dankort says about Denmark

During my happy days as a travelling consultant – based in London but spending most of my time in airports and on planes – I had the privilege of visiting scores of European cities on a regular basis. Fortunately, paying for products and services was always easy, as my UK-issued debit and credit cards were accepted everywhere, from Istanbul to Madrid, Rome to Oslo and anything in between. Actually, there was one exception – Copenhagen. Yes, years before even considering moving to Denmark I experienced a great Danish contradiction – one of the most technologically advanced and digitized countries on earth turned out to be the only one in Europe where a large proportion of retailers do not accept foreign credit and debit cards. Uncanny.

Being a curious chap I started asking the Danes I knew what the deal was with the Danish Dankort. It turns out the story is essentially a positive one – in the early 80’s the Dankort was launched as a regulated and cheap (for both merchants and consumers) payment card, in order to encourage stores to accept cards and encourage people to use them. It was so successful that apparently more than 90% of Danes possess one, and almost all retailers accept it. Already in the early 90’s Denmark experienced higher payment card penetration rates than most other Western countries due to the success of the Dankort initiative. So far so good.

Enter globalization. Increasing tourism (yes, even to Denmark) and international business bringing more and more foreigners to Denmark. And none of them holding a Dankort, naturally. What are they to do? “there’s a cash machine around the corner, you can use your foreign card to take cash out” was the typical answer from the salesmen at the store / supermarket / cinema / ticket office / ferry or any other of the thousands of retailers that never even seemed to consider accepting any other card. (OK, maybe not the ferry – no point looking for a cash machine around the corner there…)

So a story with good intentions (wanting to accelerate the penetration of payment cards in Denmark) ended up back-firing by discouraging retailers from accepting any other card than Dankort, since most other cards carry higher charges for the merchants compared to the cheap and regulated Dankort. How could the authorities completely overlook the entire non-resident constituency (tourists, foreign business people and other visitors) when launching this important initiative? And what does it say about public policy in Denmark? Well, it was the 80’s after all, perhaps visitors’ numbers were not quite high at the time.

Back to the present day – I shockingly find that many retailers in the big ‘cosmopolitan’ metropolis called Copenhagen still do not accept any other card. My shock deepens when I find out that it’s not only foreign debit and credit cards that are refused – it’s also local Danish debit cards that are not Dankort! Why does this matter? Because Danish banks refuse to give new customers the precious Dankort until they have a ‘regular income’ over at least 3 months. “But it’s not even a credit card, it’s a debit card linked to my bank account, and I have enough money in the account to cover my outgoings, so there’s zero risk to you” I said to the bank clerk. “Sorry, those are the rules” he responded. So here I am, living in Denmark with a local bank account for 8 months now, and I am still shown the way to the closest cash machine by many a salesperson in many establishments. I can get by with my Danish debit card all over the world but not in my hometown of Copenhagen. Embarrassing.

This bizarre situation probably explains why most expats and foreigners I meet here mention ‘getting a Dankort’ as one of their biggest frustrations in starting a life in Denmark. The banks don’t give it easily, and many retailers don’t accept anything else.

So what does all this say about Denmark? To me it’s another example of how Denmark is indeed a well-functioning society – for locals rather than newcomers. I experienced (and wrote about) it before – when confronting the job market, the real estate market and the vuggestue waiting list – and I will no doubt experience (and write about) it again. Sometimes this country feels like a place that completely ignores the fact that there are some people in the world who weren’t born here and didn’t grow up here, but nevertheless are interested in visiting, living, studying or working in Denmark. Hopefully those people will be considered next time the country launches a Dankort-type initiative.

My wonderful Copenhagen, Denmark

In the spirit of the festive season I decided to dedicate this post to the things I like most about my new ‘host’ city Copenhagen – and about Denmark in general. Having been away on holiday actually helps, as I can already tell what I miss about this place when I’m away. So here goes:

The bread. A small but important thing. Real bakeries are a thing of the past in London and New York, notwithstanding the occasional feeble attempt at a revival, but in Copenhagen they exist in decent numbers (perhaps not at Parisian levels, but still impressive). Yes, they’re outrageously expensive, but it’s nice to have good quality freshly baked bread so accessible. And while we’re on the topic of outrageously expensive food items I should mention coffee, too – once you get over the price you appreciate the ease with which you can get a good cup of coffee in a European city outside of Italy.

Then there’s the waterways – the lakes, the harbour and the canals of Copenhagen make it a place where water is visible in so many areas, giving it a sense of beauty and serenity that every big city needs. Another thing that renders Copenhagen an aesthetic place is the soft light glowing through its residents’ windows – I’m always amazed how light in Denmark is a soft yellow as opposed to the harsh white seen in most of the world. Without doubt one of the best aspects of the ‘hygge’ culture. And the fact that most flats and houses have no curtains on the windows says so much about people’s desire to bring the outdoor inside and not shut themselves away behind closed doors and blocked windows, creating an inviting sensation and adding beauty to Copenhagen’s night-time cityscape. I love that.

And of course, how can I not mention the bike lanes, Copenhagen’s pride and joy – and rightly so. I’ve never experienced such an efficient and comprehensive cycling infrastructure, making transportation within the city so quick and easy, and keeping everyone in shape while at it! Even though I sometimes feel Copenhagen’s cyclists are the equivalent of New York’s cabbies (I once saw a cyclist speaking on the mobile phone on one hand and holding a cigarette on the other, while trying to put on a jacket – and overtaking me at the same time), I’ve taken to cycling like I never have before.

As for Denmark in general the list is quite long: I love that there’s nothing unusual about people leaving work at 16:00 to pick up the kids from childcare, irrespective of gender and seniority. I love that in my daughter’s ‘pegebog’ the bus-driver is a woman rather than a man, and the parent pushing a baby-stroller down the street is a father rather than a mother. And what summarizes this point better than the fact that Denmark has a ministry for gender equality. This says so much about the values and priorities of this region, and I can only hope the rest of the world one day follows suit. Some countries already have.

I also like that people here are annoyingly good looking. It often makes me feel jealous and inadequate, but it adds so much to the general aesthetic nature of this place. And I never cease to be impressed by the average Dane’s language skills, superior to all other nations I’m personally familiar with. A while ago I watched the TV show ‘Udland’ and was dumbstruck when I saw the host Erkan Özden switch to fluent English to interview an American living in Denmark, followed by fluent Turkish when interviewing a Turkish band visiting Denmark. It’s not only the fact that he could speak 3 languages fluently that I liked, but also the fact that the entire sequence was aired on Danish public television as a matter of fact. Somehow I can’t see that happening in the US.

Another thing I recently saw on TV struck a chord with me – it was a female politician being interviewed in a news program wearing a smart suit… and hiking boots. It was snowing that day. I thought it was just great that neither she nor anyone else saw anything wrong with a senior politician appearing on national television wearing a suit and hiking boots. There’s something very Danish about that, and it says a lot about the focus on substance rather than style in Danish politics.

And a couple of more points on the topic of Danish politics – it’s so refreshing to see the level of trust Danes have in general in their politicians and political system. I realize it’s on the decline, but it’s still significantly higher than in most other countries, and I hope it stays that way (a recent international survey on this topic by the British Office of National Statistics ranked Denmark first in the world, with 50% of the population trusting politicians). And it’s great to witness how engaged and involved the Danes are politically. While many Western nations are showing increasing political apathy, the Danes seem to be actively debating anything from immigration and pollution to social policies and international diplomacy (anything except for taxes it seems, but that’s a topic for another post), making this a dynamic democracy.

I could mention a lot more things, like the genuine and direct way in which the Danes express themselves, dispensing with the multitude of filters and formalities so beloved by Anglo-Saxons (yes, the result can be offensive but communication is less formal, companies are less hierarchical and people are more real). Or the fact that trains and airports can cope with snow blizzards without a complete system breakdown. What a change from England! But if I keep going I might lose any credibility as an objective critic of Denmark so I’m going to have to stop here. Happy new year everyone!