Danish Self-Censorship and Islam

Danes are great at executing their freedom of speech only when it comes to the public sphere. In the private sphere they're (in)famous freedom of speech morphed into something completely different - self-censorship.

I am not sure how to explain how it came to be this way but I will give it a try, with saying that is only my speculation. Freedom of speech, which they took so far - by some - also entail that one needs to form an opinion about a certain topic. It would be hard to voice it without having one. Now, having a right to speak and hold an opinion, apparently in Denmark also entails the right to not have your opinion challenged. So if one thinks that pink baby unicorns are the best thing that happened to Denmark, he has the right to voice it and not have it challenged. Challenging that opinion would by default cause a potentially unpleasant situation since a heated discussion could ensue and could potentially destroy hygge. Since voicing your opinion in person, will in a lot of cases imply social gatherings and social gatherings are all about a good atmosphere that is almost sacred in Denmark. People will simply refrain from stating their opinions if they know that it could potentially start a discussion, which would in turn make the hygge situation much less hygge. So, in this way, Danes morphed their beautiful freedom of speech into a self-censorship monster when it comes to private gatherings and parties.

But if you think about it self-censorship isn't such a foreign concept in modern society. A lot of things, in a sense of the word, became self-censored with the rise of awareness in political correctness. It is not considered appropriate to call the person of African-American heritage a ******, it is not ok to flaunt around casual nazi jokes, jokes about people with disabilities or sexsist jokes. As I write this, there is a huge debate going on in Denmark about sexism and a couple of high political figures stepped down from their posts because they were accused for sexism by their victims from 10 years ago. And they were not accused of rape or any other type of violation on that level, they were accused of inappropriate advances towards women. If you are a high appointed politician in modern day Danmark, you could end up with a resignation if you cracked a sexist joke out in public.

So self-censorship is socially accepted and self enforced in modern day Denmark. And as such it represents a self imposed and society imposed limits to the freedom of speech and that is not considered a problem. Because, we became aware that the aforementioned type of humor could be insulting to certain members of society and that is why it became a cultural norm to willingly refrain from voicing those types of opinions. 

But there is another debate/event that resurfaced recently in the world, Denmark included. The problem of Muhammad drawings that were originally posted by Jyllands Posten in 2005. They caused a global uproar among muslim population in the whole world and they are causing it again today as they were dug out again. Recent events got me wondering, if self-censorship became so widely accepted today in the most of the world, because we came to the realisation that certain words, opinions and actions could insult certain groups in our society and it basically became a cultural norm to refrain from voicing such opinions in public, like the ones I have mentioned earlier. And not a lot of people would be willing to step out and say, he has the right to voice his opinion about, (INSERT GROUP HERE) because it is his right to freely express his opinion, even though it is insulting to (INSERT GROUP HERE). How come that same type of willing, civilized type of self-censorship does not extend to Islam? 

So we will not crack nazi jokes because we know that it is insulting to people of jewish heritage, even though it is in our rights to free speech to do so. We will not call people of African-American descent ******* because we know that it is insulting to them, even though it is in our rights to free speech to do so. We will not crack sexist jokes because we know that it is insulting to women, even though it is in our rights to free speech to do so. But when it comes to words or actions that are insulting to people of Islamic cultural heritage, then it is considered appropriate because it is in our rights to free speech even though we know it is insulting to them. Why is it so? Why are they not deserving of the same considerations, awareness and political correctness just as women, people of jewish cultural heritage and people of African-American descent are? They get equally insulted or more. Is there some double standards here or am I missing out on something?

Freedom of speech: Are Danes taking it too far?

This is one of the topics I have touched on a couple of times but I have never dedicated a blog post to it. It is also one of the things Danes take great pride in, freedom of speech. I think that a number of Danes would say that Denmark is all about the freedom of speech. The thing is that Danes do not take great pride with a lot of things but they do with this one and with H. C. Andersen, even though they didn't like him that much while he was alive.

Freedom of speech, the thing that made Denmark infamous in the world when the "Mohammed" cartoons were published by the Jyllands Posten back in 2005. They weren't much better at the beginning of this year when the same news media published an article about corona with the Chinese flag that had the particles of Corona virus on it. A day later Chines embassy contacted Jyllands Posten and demanded an apology and that their modified flag be removed. Neither happened, on the contrary, Danish government sided with Jyllands Posten saying that the freedom of speech is everybody's inalienable right and that everyone can exercise it as one sees fit. So the Chinese didn't get their apology. Are they taking the freedom of speech a tad bit to far? The other day I saw a status by one of my ex-colleagues, where she inquired, how is it freedom when you are insulting religious feelings of a certain group and in consequence potentially causing harm? Shouldn't other people have the freedom of not being the receivers of harm? How is it appropriate to mock the biggest pandemic the world has seen since The Spanish Flu? Nobody considers it funny anymore, including Denmark, but they will say it was still a good joke at the time. 

Well, no matter these considerations, this is how their society works. Everyone has the right to say whatever they want, nobody will prevent them, but if they break any other laws while doing it, they will be adequately punished. 

There was one bizarre example during their last parliamentary elections. One extreme right wing candidate that was running for parliament, Rasmus Palludan, as a part of his campaign, went to the neighborhood with a majority of people with Islamic religious background and he started spewing all sorts of vile insults he could find on them. Couple of police officers protected him, he had no supporters present around him and later he ended up in jail for his little performance because he went across the boundary of hate speech. The point is that no matter how extreme his political views are and no matter that by doing it he was breaching other laws, his right for free speech was respected. 

Are Danes going a bit too far with it? I have a pragmatic take on it. If we would limit the free speech with taking into consideration that nobody gets offended, we could barely say anything and sometimes I get the feeling that this is the direction where the world is heading. 

I will give one benign example. I have one opinion that I know stands out from the majority. I dislike Christmas. That holiday never resonated with me well. To have a part of the year where everyone just goes on an spending frenzy and suddenly becoming do-gooders, which they are not for the rest of the year. I just find the whole holiday a bit fake and forced. But I will stop here because this is not the point of this blog post. 

The point is that, if we would limit the freedom of speech by saying that one is free to say what one wants as long as it doesn't hurt anyone's feelings, or that it doesn't offend anyone, we would become unable to voice our opinion about things as benign as the one I just offered. I am sure that there are people out there who love Christmas and who could be potentially hurt by my take on Christmas. Should that be enough to prevent me from expressing it? I think not, that would be too extreme. 

And then there is the case of people like Rasmus Palludan. Should his freedom of expression be limited because of what he has to say? I don't think so either, because people with extreme political views are present everywhere and repressing their freedom to express their opinion would not accomplish that these opinions would go away, it would just suppress them in the underground but they would still be there. The difference would be that not a lot of people would know about it and how strong they are but with freedom of speech, public is informed about them. We know who are they, where they are and how many of them there is. And knowing is always better than not knowing. So, no I don't think that Danes are taking it to far. There is an unexpected twist to their freedom of speech but I will cover that next time.

How to tame your teachers

Three weeks ago I had an opportunity to talk to an English teacher who is working in a high school. That got me very excited because I have heard about some things that are allegedly happening in Danish schools which I wanted to check with someone who actually works there so I can get information from the first hand. And it is as bad as I have heard. Danish schools have completely eliminated any form of upbringing of children and as a consequence have degraded the professional integrity of their teachers. Danish students in schools have a free reign to act as they want, no boundaries and teachers can do nothing about it. They became a well paid punching bags.

But let's start from the beginning. When I just started with language school, there was one teacher who was always starting her classes in the way that was foreign to me. She would present the topics of today's class with "I was thinking maybe we could..." or "I suggest that today we...". After she would present it she would ask "if everyone is ok with that?"

That confused me a bit. I wasn't sure why is she asking for our blessing. None of us in class knows Danish and that is the reason why have we came to school, we came to learn. On the other hand, she is the teacher, she is the professional. I assume that she has the knowledge and the tools to teach us. When it comes to knowledge and expertise, in the classroom students and teachers are not equals. The teacher know and have the tools and students don't. And, I assume that she has the tools and the knowledge to teach me danish because she is the professional.
 

When I came home I commented on the event with Luci and asked her what was that all about and what happens if the student declines the suggested lesson? She said that students indeed have the right to decline lessons and that is why the teacher is offering them as a suggestions at the start of the class. But what can the teacher do in the case that the student declines? Basically nothing! If the student declines the suggested lesson, teacher can proceed with the planned lesson with other students but she will have to find something else for the student that refused. If the student keeps refusing the teacher will have to proceed with the search for a lesson that the student will accept in the end. This was indeed a shock for me but it was only the first one.

Then there was Rita. Rita is a very popular Danish TV show about a super cool school teacher. TV show is about her private life but also about the school life and some problems that both teachers and student are facing. While it is fiction and the TV show does exaggerate a bit, but in essence it does portray what is going on in Danish schools. What is going on in Danish schools is at least a bit chaotic, a bit of education and 0 upbringing. From the perspective of values, Danish students can learn that bullying teachers is institutionally approved, that having no respect for others is also approved and that whatever you do, there will be no consequences for your actions.

Here is the most extreme example. In one episode a student mounted a blow up sex doll on the ceiling of the classroom and the teacher was completely powerless to do anything. The only thing he could do was ask the student politely to take it down, which he refused. As that student was the class leader, he started throwing pebbles at the teacher and the whole classroom followed. At that moment the teacher couldn't take it any more so he got up and went out of the class. The student that started it all went after the teacher saying: "You can't touch me, you can't touch me!" In the end, the teacher couldn't take the bullying anymore so he stops, turns and slaps the student, which in the end leads to his dismissal from the school. Do not get me wrong, of course that was very unprofessional from the teacher and he had it coming, but how come that he was powerless do do any form of disciplinary action before the situation completely went out of control?

But ok, it was just a TV show, so at that point I didn't want to jump to any conclusions. Fortunately I didn't have to. Two weeks ago I had a chance to talk to a teacher and he in essence confirmed everything I have been seeing and hearing. The teachers indeed have no tools to bring order into classroom if it starts descending into chaos.

I asked him: "Let's say that someone starts causing a mess during the class, what can you do in that situation in order to put a stop to it in that moment?"

The answer is... nothing. You can politely ask him to stop and if he doesn't, you are powerless. The best thing you can try to do in that situation is to turn the class against him. So you can hope that the rest of the class wants to participate in a lesson and that they will enforce the discipline because you are not allowed to do it. So instead of giving teacher proper tools to enforce discipline in the class, teachers are in the complete mercy of their students and if they can resort to any tools it is subtle manipulation? Sounds like a good recipe to bring out the worst in people

Teachers can do certain things but only after the class, not during the class. They can go to the principal office and call in for a parents-school-teacher-student meeting and try to talk some sense into the student and/or the parents but there is a distinct possibility that they will be dismissed. A number of parents in Denmark is bold enough to question the teachers ability to teach, the teachers ability to choose work materials and instead of trying to educate or up-bring their kid, they will defend his/her unruly behavior and teachers again, can do nothing against it.

Of course that the teachers are not perfect. I had my share of bad teachers and there wasn't one of my ex students who didn't experience at least one bad teacher while they were in their study years. So there is something to keep an eye on. With that being said, teachers are still the people who spend a lot of time with children. In Denmark, maybe even more then their parents spend with them. Don't they deserve at least the basic human decency? Why are schools fighting against bullying among students but allow bullying of teachers by students? At what point did students became the untouchable holy cows who demand royal treatment from others but can treat others like garbage without any consequences? And I am at a total loss to figure out how is that in any way helping with their education and upbringing? Is being disrespectful indeed became a positive value in the modern world and if it did, when?

Railway as a reflection of society

Recently I have heard something very interesting from an acquaintance. It was a nice sunny day, we had a BBQ and were chatting, "solving the world problems", sharing experiences of life in Croatia and Denmark and discussing problems that both societies face. As we touched on traffic issues in Zagreb, I mentioned that for me the biggest surprise was how good Danish railways are.

When I moved here and Luci and me decided that we are going to live in Roskilde, I immediately started thinking that I will have to find some work in Roskilde. My statement surprised Luci and she asked me why do I think that. And I said because of commuting. How should I commute every day from Roskilde to Copenhagen when the two cities are 40 km away without a car?" By train ofc., she added, we have good railways. I was very sceptical about that considering that I come from Croatia.

Commuting on a daily basis by train&bike in Croatia would be mission impossible. First of all the round trip would last too long in order for it to be a feasible commuting option and putting the bike on the train would be madness. It just couldn't be done because Croatian railways are horrible and the service isn't very user friendly.

Train ride between two cities 60km away lasts for over an hour and the trains are not going often enough in order for it to be feasible for commuting. But the real train ride horror story is the train ride between Zagreb and Split. These two cities are a bit over 300 km apart and it takes the train 9 hours! Fortunately for me, I didn't have a lot of first hand experience with Croatian railway but there was one that put things into perspective. I was traveling from Zagreb to Brno by train. It was a looong ride in general but the part in Croatia was a neverending story. For those first or last 50 km it felt like the train was crawling at the speed of a bicycle. It was just so slow! But when it entered Slovenia, it started flying.

With having this knowledge and experience with Croatian railways, it is no wonder that I was a bit sceptical of the train rides when I moved to Denmark. But then I tried it and boy was I in for a surprise. 

First and most important thing is how fast the trains are. It takes a train from Roskilde to Copenhagen between 19 and 25 minutes, depending how many stops they make. There is no way you can make that trip with a car in that time. If the roads are empty it will take you approximately 45 minutes. So the car is a better option only if you are going somewhere that is far away from the railway. Secondly, there is a train going every 10 minutes, so I don't even need to think, what train am I going for. I just go out of the apartment and if the train went in front of my nose, next one will come within 10 minutes.

The usage of trains is very friendly. It is simplest to have a rejsekort with which you just check in and check out on the stations. And you can have everything with you on the train: bike, baby stroller, dog, a lot of luggage. Every train has at least one compartment for people with bikes, baby strollers and dogs. And nobody is bitching about it. In Croatia it was always a struggle to get the bike on the train but I need to admit that my knowledge about that is a bit outdated.

Danish railway system is incredibly reliable. In a more then a year and a half that I have been living here and commuting to work every day trains didn't run 1 time and that was because someone commited suicide so they had to close down the traffic. On 2 other occasions trains were running slower. 3 times in a year and a half! That is impressive.

It is indeed a very interesting correlation, one that I could never figure out my self, but when I started to think about it it makes a lot of sense. A society, that is far from perfect, but that runs like a well oiled machine with full employment and by some measurements with the happiest population in the world has a railway system that is user friendly, fast and reliable.

On the other hand we have a society that is barely lubricated and stutters all the time, having a hard time getting away from its past, that is heavily depopulating has a railway system that hasn't been updated since the 19th century (metaphorically speaking), that is user unfriendly, slow and unreliable. How does all that compare to China or Japan where the trains are running over 300 km/h? It makes me wonder....

Corona, corona, corona

Corona is ramping up again and this time around Denmark is "the bad boy" of Scandinavian countries. Number of newly infected per day in the last two weeks started from a bit above 400 per day, then it went to a bit above 500 per day and last weekend it went to above 600 per day. Sweden is currently doing better even though their total corona death count since it all started is still a lot higher. I wonder would party-Danes be deserving of the same welcome these days in Sweden, as party-Swedes were shortly after the lockdowns started?

With corona party ramping up, corona measures started ramping up as well, with an increasing number of them having no to little sense. I need to be fair and say that one did make sense. Use of face-masks is now necessary in all public transport and that one did make commuting easier. Before face-masks were obligatory one had to make a seat reservation for every train ride. That was causing a lot of problems in daily commute because sometimes you just couldn't get the seat reservation in the next hour. I was kicked out of the train at least once because I couldn't get a seat reservation and I had no plans of waiting for more then an hour.

But at this point reason goes on holiday. As the number of newly infected started to ramp up it was clear that new measures are on the way but boy were we in for a surprise with the brilliance of the new measures.

Sneezing in restaurants and Copenhagen night life

After bombastic announcements of the looming Prime Ministers press conference everybody was on the edges of their seats and then she said that... night life in Copenhagen is problematic and that it needs to be controlled. In order to do that restaurants, cafe bars, night clubs and bodegas must close down at 22 in the evening and not at 2 in the morning as it used to be. Another measure implemented is the usage of face-masks in restaurants, cafe bars and bodegas. Face-masks need to be used only while standing. Once you sit down, you can take the face-mask off. Let's say that a person has corona but he is asymptomatic. That person will still be able to spread corona in the restaurant since he still can sneeze, cough and spit unobstructed after he sits down.

Second brilliant measure is the suggestion how to limit socializing. The suggestion is to cherry pick 10 people with whom you want to socialize and restrain yourself from seeing anyone else all they way up to next spring because winter is coming immune systems are going down and corona will be extra successful while spreading so we need to limit it. Makes sense right?

Well not quite because by that count nobody could socialize outside of work or education with anyone all the way until the next spring. Luci would use up her quota on her co-workers and I use up my quota on my fellow language school students. So, if we want to be corona-responsible we should not socialize with anyone until next spring.

Honorable mention from Croatia: keep the music down and play Vivaldi

Croatian crisis headquarters - a temporary body in charge of implementing all the corona measures came up with a new creative measures to keep the spread of the virus. They are suggesting to keep the music down. When you lower the loudness of music people have less need to be very close to the person they are talking to. So in essence, the quieter the music, the better social distancing is. But that is not the only brilliant conclusion they have reached. They have also issued the list of "corona songs". So allegedly some songs are better to play if we want to keep the virus from spreading and of course that all the songs on that list are classical music pieces. I love classical music and listen to it often but I just don't see who will play Vivaldi in a cafe bar or a night club.

As I said before when I was writing on corona. I am in no doubt that the virus is here, that the precautions are necessary and that we need to make adjustment in our everyday lives. But these measures are just ridiculous. To me it looks like the countries are implementing them just because they need to do something since it is getting worse but they are not sure what. On the other hand, countries are unwilling to go back to the full quarantine mode because it is too disruptive to the modern way of life. But there still are simple measures that could work: implement obligatory usage of face-masks in all closed public spaces, everybody who can work from home, should work from home, switch all education online. I do not understand why something like this couldn't work? I assume there are smarter people then me making those decisions. Hopefully I will continue to enjoy my Vivaldi at home only.

Plan me in advance 'cause I am busy

After you move to Denmark, you will have a lot of challenges to overcome if you want to socialize with the locals. First of all they are a little skittish and hard to talk to in public spaces. There is a lot of them, but they keep their head down, are absorbed with their devices and they like to keep their distance. Even if one manages to overcome the first obstacle, their language is hard to understand and even harder to speak as a tiny mispronunciation can lead to complete misunderstanding. 

While working, which is their favorite activity, they want to talk work but they are hard to extend work relationship outside of the work place. And after they leave the work area, if they are not in public spaces they are unusually hard to find. It is like they disappear. If you are really hell bent on socializing with them, you need to find them first without invading their private residences because that will make them even more skittish. So where are they hiding? 

Most likely they are hiding in some organized union involved in some activities that people in the union find fun. So, next logical step is to think about your favorite activity, google it, find out if it exists in your place of residence, see where and when it is being organized and go there.

You may think that it is over now since you are socializing with the locals but, trust me, you are barely scratching the surface. For now, what you are doing is only participating in the activity that you all like to share. But forming a closer relationship will take some time. One reason is that most of the conversations will revolve around the activity you are involved with.

They call it the significant third. It is an activity which everyone enjoys and which serves as a connecting tissue for the people who are gathered around it. So, what happens is that the significant third is an easy topic that comes naturally but going beyond it is a bit hard. But I guess that for you extroverts out there it is a bit easier.

So, you have successfully overcame all the above mentioned challenges and you have found a person you would like to hang out with. Then you are over, right? Wrong! Now you need to fit into his or her schedule, and that is much harder then you think. Danes plan everything and they plan it far into the future. Christmas planning starts a day after Christmas. Family gatherings are planed couple of weeks in advance. In Denmark nothing is spontaneous. Spur of the moment activities are virtually non existent and the absolute worst thing that you can do to a Dane is to cancel an appointment or just barge in unannounced. That makes them go completely ballistics. They will rage! In silence of course because emotional expressions outside of funerals are illegal.

Now you have yourself a potential friend. Be vary though, if he invites you to his home, do not bring presents, you may scare him away.

Insurance insanity

Two weeks ago on a Wednesday I had an opportunity to witness an event that was completely blown out of proportions, at least in our case.

The building where we currently live has a basement with a garage and in that basement residents have storage spaces that belong to the apartments. Most of those storage spaces are completely full. They look like there is enough stuff inside that their respective owners could completely equip one more apartment.

But our doesn't and that is the most important thing in this story. Our storage space is almost completely empty. The stuff we used to keep in our storage space is the following:
 

- 4× car tires
- 2x bike tires
- 2x canisters of stuff used for the balcony maintenance
- couple of moving boxes
- one dirty ancient blanket that was in the box
 

So, one weekend Luci calls me after a short day at work and says: "Our landlord just called. There was a flood in our basement. Can you please come done with the key for our storage unit. We need to empty it so they can clean it."
 

So, I went down and was expecting a total disaster in the basement. And then there wasn't any. I mean there was, a bit. The air had a wonderful sewage smell but everything was looking as it usually does. So I thought, ok there was a bit of a sewage spillage but obviously it wasn't a lot since the drainage took care of it. We came to our storage unit and the co-owner of the building was there. He told us what I expected. Sewage spilled a bit but the drainage took care of it, so other then the lovely smell and a bit of poop on our car tires there wasn't much else.
 

And then he started talking to Luci about the insurance. He said that she should call her insurance to see if they would cover for the damages. And it wasn't something mentioned once, no he was grilling her about it for good twenty minutes. I was seriously surprised with that. While he was saying it, we were standing right next to our storage unit, that stood there as empty as I described it, with the only things that can be reused being the tires and the two canisters but all of that can just be rinsed with water. At a point I started thinking that the man must be blind since we are standing, now, right next to our almost empty storage unit while he is ranting about insurance covering for the damages. Damages of what? Plus even if we did have something of value in the storage unit, it is his building in which we live and where the sewage failed, so it should be first and foremost his responsibility to cover for the damages and not ours.
 

So, at least 20 minutes of my life went on that pointless rant. But unfortunately, Luci took him seriously and she called her insurance company and she started asking: "how much did you pay for the bike tires, how much did you pay for the car tires...etc"
 

After approximately half an hour and her call being rerouted three times or more, she finally came to her senses and said: "I am not doing this. We will rinse the tires and the containers with water and put them back and we will throw out everything else" So we did that.
 

But truth be told, we should feel lucky that we are not hoarders and that there was nothing of value in our storage unit. I do feel for other residents. Most of the other storage units were full to the top. And all that stuff smelled beautifully and some of it got damaged. They should hope so that the insurance will cover for it.

Minimalism for the win!

Feed meeee, for I am starving!

About a month ago we were going to Herning for a weekend and our schedule was packed as it usually is. Herning is my girlfriends home town where she grew up and lived until couple of years ago so she wants to cram as many events as she possibly can in those two and a half days that we have. Plus she wanted to take me to Randers Regnskov.


So, we went to the "Danish Amazon" first and then to her friends place. And it was great, all of it! Randers Regnskov was a very unique experience and the conversation with her friend is always interesting. He is very insightful and sharp. We were sleeping at her moms place and we arrived there late, around 23:30. Even though it was a great day, I went to bed starving. The last time I had something to eat was around 2 o'clock in the afternoon. It was the first thing we did when we arrived to Randers Regnskov.


Why was I starving later? I was starving because the arrangements we made with her friend and her mom did not explicitly include eating. So no one offered and I didn't ask so I went hungry.


But why didn't I ask for food you might wonder? Well, one part of the reason is personal, I am a bit shy and I do not want to be an inconvenience to others. Other part is cultural. I come from a culture that is all about hospitality towards your guests. When you visit someone in Croatia after a minute or two of small-talk you will be shown to the room where socializing will take place and after another minute or two you will be asked what will you have for a drink? Even if the deal did not include food, there would be snacks and the host could ask you if you want to eat something real.


During the whole visit you will be catered all the time. The hosts will be serving drinks, snacks and food and they will be taking away used up plates and glasses. Guests in Croatia are treated as kings. Last summer when we visited my parents, at the beginning my girlfriend had a bit of a hard time with that custom because she is used to help out with stuff like that, especially with the dishes after the meal is over. So hospitality customs in Croatian and Danish cultures are very far away from each other.


When you are visiting Danes it can vary a lot based on what the arrangement is. So, on the day when I went starving, the arrangement was that we are going for a VISIT at her friends place. It was meant to be just talking. We came, we started talking, it was very cozy and engaging but we were not offer anything at any point, 0. Except for going hungry I was starting to get dehydrated as well. For me it was the first time at his place, so I didn't want to impose. My mouth started going seriously dry when finally my girlfriend popped the question: "Can I get something to drink?" It was a life saver!


In the evening it was the same at her mom's place. We came late, we agreed on the sleep-over. We did talk a bit, but not too long and we went to bed... and I was starving.


It is completely different when you arrange dinner plans. Then you will get a complete service, very nice meal and drinks, served table and the only thing that will be expected from you will be to help out with putting the table away after it is done and to help out with the dishes. You will definitely not go hungry. On the contrary, when dinner plans are put forward in advance, Danes are very hospitable. In most cases they will go out of their way and not only prepare food and drinks but they will go that extra mile to make a cozy atmosphere. Which is actually the moment where they will surpass an average Croatian host. Hospitality in Croatia is all about a nice food and drinks, good company and making the guests feel welcome but hygge is definitely not a big thing.


So, to conclude. When it comes to hospitality Danes are a bit split. If you arrange it in advance for a specific activity, prepare yourself to be amazed but otherwise brace yourself for a potential intermittent fasting. Which in it self isn't too bad if it lasts up to 8 hours but it is definitely not hygge.

Take a Panodil and stop pestering us!

I am one of those people who is a bit hard to get to the doctor. It is not that I do not trust them, I do. It is just that I do not want to go to the doctor until it is absolutely necessary.
 

Something started to brew in my head in the middle of July. I started getting the weird feeling of pressure (not headache) in my head and I started to feel like I have low grade fever but all of it was coming and going. After three days of that I decided to take the COVID-19 test. Just as I have made the decision all the symptoms vanished. Week later they came back but stronger. At that point I decided that it is the time to call the doctor.
 

That first phone call was at least weird. After I have described the symptoms, I got two questions, did I go for a COVID-19 test and what do I think is wrong with me. I said that I did but that I still didn't get the results. The lady on the phone responded that they can't consult me until I get the results back and until then I should just take a Panodil. Panodil is the universal "magical" cure for everything in Denmark just like Andol is in Croatia. That was just so frustrating, I am not feeling well and they do not want to help me and they are asking me to self-diagnose myself. That goes against everything I was taught and that is one feels unwell, one should contact the doctor, describe the symptoms and receive help. What one shouldn't do is to try and self-diagnose! And they are telling me to do just that.
 

It has gotten worse the next day. The pressure in the head and the feeling of low grade fever was combined with dizziness. Fortunately for me, test result for COVID-19 came back negative, so I was hopeful that now I will get proper medical help. So I started calling again. My doctor, the one I called yesterday went for holiday so the answering machine was instructing me to call the service called "medical-assistance". So I did after work, I described all the symptoms in detail and two hours later they called me back and said that I should take antibiotics and if it doesn't get better that I should call my doctor on Monday.
 

I got a bit better between Thursday and Sunday morning but on Sunday afternoon dizziness came back in full swing. And in accordance to doctors instructions, I called in my regular doctor and told that I am getting worse and that COVID-19 test results came back negative. Despite that, she was dismissive and condescending. She refused to take me in with two explanations. Firstly, I need to give antibiotics some time to work until Wednesday and secondly, even though I have a negative COVID-19 test result I might have contracted it in the mean time and they have a strict rules for patient care (or patient non-care) during COVID-19 times. 

 

Wednesday came and there was no improvement, so I called on Thursday morning. This time, finally I was talking to the doctor who wasn't trying to get rid of me but she explained for how long can I expect the dizziness to last and that I should get a time at ear, nose and throat specialist and she will take me in for a blood test.
 

The dizziness persisted but at least now I was more at peace because I knew what to expect, because the doctor finally took me seriously and because something was being done about it and it took a week to get there.
 

By the end of the next week dizziness slowly subsided, I got a nasal spray for my breathing problems and blood test showed that there was an infection going on but nothing else.
 

But I didn't write this because of my health issues but because of the treatment that I got from the medical personnel. Why was I being dismissed at the beginning? Why did it take them a week? Why was I asked to self-diagnose myself?
 

My boss was curious about my experience with the doctors and she shared a similar story. On multiple occasions when she needed proper medical help, the doctors were dismissive and they were not taking her seriously. I heard more of almost identical stories.
 

Why is it like that? It is a public health care system and the doctors did swore on the Hippocratic out that in one part says the following: "I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required..."
 

Until doctors remember this maybe all people who are sick should apologize to them for their condition and the inconvenience they are causing to them.
 

I think this type of attitude from the side of the doctors is at least unprofessional. People don't contact them because it is a fun activity but because something is going on and they need help. Croatian health care system has its own problems and it can take moths if you need some specialized medical check up like MRI but if you need help from your family doctor they will find time to help you. If something is seriously wrong suddenly and you need an ER, you will get an ER. I was never in my life treated with such an attitude from a medical professional and I don't think anyone should. What if there was something seriously wrong and not just some benign sinus infection?


P. S. I will appologize to all the doctors who are commited to their job and patient care.

The ocean

 I have never seen the ocean in my life. I have seen different seas but never the ocean. Back when I lived in Zagreb there was a plan for one summer cycling trip to cycle from Zagreb to the place near Bordeaux on the Atlantic coast but there was never enough time during the summer vacation since the trip was too long.  

But then, last year I finally managed to make that wish come true. While we were on a visit to Al'Shaddar's mom, we had a bit of extra time, so we went to the place called Hvide Sands that lies on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, or as Danes call it the Western sea. As we were getting closer you could see the power of the ocean on the environment that surrounds us. Vegetation was getting scarcer and scarcer and the wind was getting stronger and stronger. Finally! We parked the car behind some slopes. The ocean is on the other side! Just a short walk away. They looked almost barren. There was some vegetation but it was mostly grass and moss, no trees or bigger bushes. As we got out of the car it was immediately apparent why. Because of the wind. It was constantly blowing and blowing hard. And I guess it is like that thought most of the the year. Every step on our short walk to the coast was a struggle. We only had a bit of relief from the wind when we were close to the slope, otherwise it constantly felt like it wants to tear off the skin from our bones. No wonder the vegetation was scarce, life here is a constant struggle against the wind. The only ones that were having a blast were seagulls gliding effortlessly on the wind, everything else is just fighting not get ripped of the ground.
 

The trail was taking us in between the two slopes when it happened. The ocean opened up in front of us in all it's beauty and power. It was just like the movies, except for the wind that was constantly trying to knock us of our feet, but everything else; open sea as far as the eye can see fusing with the clouds on the horizon, spotless white sandy beach, waves breaking on the shore in powerful whooshes, so big that you could walk for at least ten meters closer to the water when the wave is receding. A unique experience indeed, testifying to the power of the nature. I felt so small and insignificant at the shores of the Atlantic ocean.
 

Our path was taking us right under one of the three windmills that were just chugging away at the coast. Allegedly, windmills can't be constructed close to the populated areas because of the noise but even when you are standing directly under one, where the blades look like they will split you in half, it doesn't sound too loud, the ever-present wind is still much louder.
 

I wanted to stay for a while, to soak up the experience but shortly after the magnificence of the ocean dials down, it is quickly becoming tiresome. Because the wind is relentless, it just constantly feels like it wants to blow you away from the beach.
 

There were a couple of logs lying on the beach, where we found a bit of shelter but even there the wind won't let you be in peace. After 15 minutes, we have given up and acknowledged our defeat to the wind and we started on our way back to the car.
 

The experience was breathtaking and inspiring and very, very windy. I am definitely glad that I did it but I wouldn't like to spend my holidays on the ocean. On the other hand, I heard that Skane is beautiful...

A walk through Danish past: Frilandsmuseet

Our summer holidays during the weekends continue. A month ago we went to Frilandsmuseet that is located at the outskirts of Copenhagen. 

Frilandsmuseet is all about Danish agricultural history and countryside life between 1650 and 1950. It is, what you call, an Open air museum. You are walking through open plains and small forest areas as you are moving from one exhibition to the other. Older buildings are located closer to the entrance and the further you go the closer you get to the modern age. We were lucky that the route we took at the end led us to the buildings from the 20th century, after the Second World War, so we indeed had the feeling of walking through time.

The buildings in Frilandsmuseet are from all over Denmark and that includes: Southern Sweden (it used to be Danish territory), Bornholm and Faeroe Islands. As you are walking around the exhibitions you can see next to the every building where was it located, in what time period and who used it and for what.

Most of the building where residential buildings, but one can also see various types of farm buildings, production buildings and one windmill. We even saw a set of a bit bigger stones assembled in a circle and they were used for the village council meetings.

As I had the opportunity to see something similar before in Croatia, a lot of exhibits didn't surprise me at first but when I gave it a second thought, they did. Even though there is 1700 km between Denmark and Croatia and living conditions differ, the solutions people reached are strikingly similar between the two cultures and that was a surprise in itself. 

As my archeology friend explained. Some inventions were so practical that after they appeared, they spread around like wildfire, stayed for a long time and they were not changing much. That is why you can see a lot of similar living solutions in cultures that are so far away from each other.

 

Closet beds

But there were a couple of things that I haven't seen in other places. First thing that stood out, and it was present in all the houses up until 19 century were beds.

Beds weren't placed in rooms that would then have the function as bedrooms but they were built into something we would call today, a built in closet.

So, we were walking through the house and watching different rooms and then suddenly on the wall you see a small closet doors and behind them wasn't a built in closet but a tiny bed. Tiny, for modern day humans but if we take into consideration how tall humans were couple of hundreds years ago, tiny beds were all they needed. Bed doors could be closed from the inside, so you could have closed yourself into the bed. At first I was surprised but as I started thinking about the living conditions in Denmark it started to make sense. 

Denmark is cold, even today. In the warmest part of the year you need to wear at least a thin shirt with sleeves. There is a couple of days a year that are warm enough so one could walk outside without clothes. And days in the summer are very long, with sunset coming as early as 4:30. With these two things combined, maybe they made closet beds in order to preserve the heat and darkness? Since I moved to Denmark, when the days become long, with the beginning of May, it takes me at least two weeks to stop waking up too early, with the sunset, so I can see the benefit of sleeping in the closet in Denmark, especially during the summer months.

 

Sea weed rooftops

Second unique thing that we saw in Frilandsmuseet were roofs made out of sea weed. Which also surprised me at first but after giving it a bit of thought, it didn't. If you walk around any Danish coast, you will see that a lot of beaches is covered with sea weed. It is just washed ashore smelling bad. With resources being scarce, back in the day and people having to go by with what little was available, sea weed roofs start to make sense. If there is a lot just lying there on the beach and it will keep the house dry, why not. But I recon it was a fire hazard at the same time.

 

 

 

 

Faereo Islands houses

As the whole buildings, I found the Faereo Island houses as unique. They were built on the slopes, half-way dug into the ground. When you would be walking around the house, you would see only one long wall with a grass rooftop, two shorter walls were visible only half way, the other half was just disappearing into the ground. If you would walk behind the house, you would be standing above it and in theory you could walk on the natural grass roof. Very special indeed and most likely an adaptation to the sloppy terrain of the Faeroe Islands (I have never been there, so it is possible that I am wrong).

 

 

Hay beehives

We also had an opportunity to see at least in part how people were making honey between 17th and 19 century. Next to one of the houses beehive was displayed. It was shaped as a cone, made out of wood and hay.

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

If you are interested in seeing and learning how people used to live in this part of the world in the past Frilandsmuseet is indeed a place to see and it will feel like a walk through the past. In addition you will get a healthy workout since the area is big and you will need to walk far. There is also an opportunity to ride in a real horse carriage if one fancies that.

The whole experience made me thinking how wasteful we have become, how far away we have moved from living in sync with the environment around us and how incompetent we have become for a life outside of the modern society.

I am not trying to romanticize now. I am fully aware that it was a harsh, short life with not much creature comfort. And I acknowledge that our quality of life today has radically improved in all aspects. With that being said it still used to be a life where people where living from what was around them and using it to the best of their abilities. People didn't have much and what little they had was valuable. Not like today, when things are so cheap that we change out our clothes, phones and cars like they are perishable goods and with that lifestyle causing the unprecedented trash pollution of the planet.

In the same time we live so far out of sync with nature and environment around us that most of us have become completely incompetent to live "off the land". Ask yourselves the following, if modern civilization collapsed for one reason or another, would you be capable to grow, hunt or pick your food? Would you be capable of preserving your food for the winter? Would you be capable of building and maintaining your house? Would you be capable of making your own clothes and shoes? I think that most of you, including me, would answer these questions with a no.

Well those people were capable of doing all these things and they were capable of withstanding much harsher living conditions, than we can even start imagine. Now ask yourself-  what does that tell about us?

Emotions

If it could be possible to make emotional expressions illegal Denmark would be the country to do it in. Personally I find it interesting because up until I moved to Denmark I was trying to act that way. To keep my emotions in check and not let them show but after I moved here I saw how unhealthy it can be. Denmark is especially good place to see it because it is the cultural default. When you see someone expressing emotions a bit more intensively in public, it is a foreigner. The levels to which Danes are capable of suppressing them is sometimes worrying but impressive at the same time.

In public spaces they just go about their business with serious looks on their faces. Only emotional expressions that you can see are gentle smiles on people when they are talking to someone on the phone or while looking at their phones.

My friend from the language school told me a story about her neighbor. One day she went out of her building and she met her Danish neighbor. She said hi, while he told her that he had lost his dog. While he said it, he had a stone face with no emotional expression it while uttering the sentence in a perfectly flat way, 0 emotions. She commented, but how can he do it that way, he must be dying inside? And he is, they all are but they are culturally drilled not to express them.

But, when we are talking about public spaces, I can understand that to a certain extent but I am completely perplexed with the fact that they carry that behavior patterns to their home and private lives.

On multiple occasions my girlfriend told me that one thing she loves about me is that she can have an emotional fit and that I will not take it against her. And that makes her everyday life much easier because she doesn't have to keep her emotions in until she boils over but she can slowly vent them out whenever. That way she can feel a lot more like herself at home.

I was confused by that and told her that I don't see how else should it work. It is our home after all and if she can't be herself at home, which includes venting emotions, where else could she do it? And that was me assuming too much. I assumed that at home nobody needs to keep their emotions in check including Danes. It is after all personal space, where all the masks and social roles are off and you can be yourself without any of that baggage. But, it seems I was wrong.

Even in Danish intimate relationships it is not ok to be overly emotional. For example, if your partner has an annoying habit that you really dislike and you tried to explain it a couple of times in a calm and composed maner to stop it, it is not considered as appropriate to tell him, in a harsh tone of voice and a bit louder: "You will fucking stop doing this or else!"

As I said, I was taken a back with that, so I asked what happens when it comes to the point that you want to bash his/her head into the wall (metaphorically of course). Allegedly at that point, you buy a nice bottle of wine and when your partner comes home you tell him in a steady and composed voice: "Honey, we need to talk," while deep down inside you want to kill him, because you are about to explode.

Then the discussion about relationship problems can start but the couple will still try to keep their emotions in check. But at least in this situation they may start flying a bit and people still can get angry.

I will admit my bias coming from a country where expression of the emotions isn't suppressed, on the contrary. When your partner notices that you are acting a bit strangely, you will get a question, is everything ok? In some cases it may lead to a discussion and emotions may fly high but things will be settled after.

I must say I am questioning how healthy it is to keep your emotions constantly suppressed. We are all humans and we all have them and it is not possible to deny them.

But then, Danes outsourced that part to the professionals. Going to psychologist and couples therapy is quite common in Denmark. But that is a topic for another post.

I will conclude this post on a personal note. When you take too temperamental Dane and a bit too cold Croatian you get a couple in which both sides are thriving because emotional expressions are welcome but they don't fly too high.

Tropical Rain-Forest on Danish Plains: Randers Regnskov

Even though I canceled both my vacations this year and decided to work through corona times and wait for some corona free era for traveling outside of Denmark, we decided that we would like to see places during weekends. So last Friday we went to see Randers Regnskov.

Randers Regnskov is a tropical zoo in the small city, Randers that lies in north east Jutland. My girlfriend really sold it to me: "It is amazing, you just must see it, they have created a rain-forest!"

I must say that I was skeptical. Rain-forest in Denmark? It sounds impossible... ok not impossible but it will obviously have to be in some type of the building and if it will have to be in some type of the building, just how large can it be? That was my thought process as we were driving there and to be honest, I was preparing myself to be disappointed... but then I was surprised!

Randers Regnskov is essentially a zoo. What makes it special is that it has 3 completely enclosed domes that were turned into 3 tropical habitats: South American rain-forest, African rain forest and Asian rain-forest. In addition to that Randers Regnskov has water flow that runs through all three domes and it forms artificial lakes, ponds, waterfalls, tiny rivers and big aquariums with animal life in all of them. All this adds to the unique experience of the place. To continue, like a classical zoo, Randers Regnskov also has outside animal habitats where you can see big cats and hyenas.

The domes

When you enter any one of the domes with tropical habitats, you are in for a surprise. Entry doors are a bit dislocated from the habitat, so you need to walk a bit after you enter before you see the animals. Hmm... see the animals is a bit unfair description because when you reach the real thing, it isn't just the animals it is everything. Every dome was designed as a wholesome habitat in which different animal species share the same space and can move around freely within the range of a dome. All of the animals that roam free are of course not dangerous to people, but allegedly, couple of years ago, one visitor got malaria during a visit to Randers Regnskov. Second surprising thing inside each dome is the micro-climate. So, they created tropical forests from Asia, Africa and South America and the micro-climate in each is fitting. It is hot and moist! Temperature in each of the domes is around 30 and moisture is at 100%. After roaming around the domes for two hours it gets a bit tough. I started looking forward to a rainy Danish summer day. The water bottle I had on me was completely wet on the outside after just 10 minutes of walking inside one of the domes. Also, when we were walking under some nets, we could feel on our skin how the water is dripping from above. A very curious experience, it felt like rain but it couldn't have been. All the domes are Cris-crossed with a stony path that are completely blended into the habitats and in the bushes, just couple of meters away, you can see the animals hiding and going about their business while not being too afraid of people. Parrots flying around and "bitching" out loud, bats were just hanging with apples sticking out of their snouts and monkey jumping freely between the trees. All of this is happening while you are walking under waterfalls and over the hanging bridges.

Aquariums

Aquariums were also stunning in their own way. The way they designed them makes you think. There were three types of aquariums there. Let's call them natural, destroyed and mixed. One aquarium had real live corals. Across that aquarium, there was an aquarium with dead corals and trash and the mixed ones were designed as the combination of the two above mentioned types. These corals stand as a stark reminder of the natural beauty as is untouched by humans and at the same time as a display of human destructiveness of natural habitats.

Cats

Big cats are kept outside in decently big habitats that are, just like the aquariums, decorated in a way that displays human destructive power. There are oil barrels spread around together with deforestation equipment. Unfortunately we didn't see the hyenas.

Conclusion

I went in Randers Regnskov ready to be unimpressed but went out stunned. Randers Regnskov is the minimum of what the zoo's should look like, especially habitats in the domes where animals can roam freely at least in the constraints of the domes. It is still a cage but it feels more natural and a bit bigger.

Randers Regnskov did an amazing job by motivating people to reflect on humanity and our influence on the nature especially with the aquariums and the cats habitats. One gets a great approximation of what the nature would look like if we just stayed away and at the same time how we influence it in reality. By either destroying natural habitats for our own needs or by just being careless with our trash and our CO2 emissions. If we continue to act the way we do, soon there will be no more natural habitats for the animals to live in but a lucky few will be able to live in places like Randers Regnskov. 

Cultural differences part I: time and cycling

After living in Denmark for a year and a half and experiencing a lot of the Danish culture it is time to make a brief summary of the biggest cultural differences between Danes and Croatians. What are the main points in which Danes and Croatians differ the most? There is a number differences, some small ones and some big ones but I will start by saying that it is clear, beyond any reasonable doubt that both groups have both good traits and traits that are lacking and most importantly they are both human beings with the same wants, needs, desires and human flaws. The difference that differentiates them most is how they have made their societies tick. Let's go through two moments that are standing out the most.

Take on time

Danes are all about punctuality when it comes to appointments of any sort. Danes are not late, for anything ever. There is no difference between going to work, doctor, cafe with a friend or a party. If they are invited, let's say at 5 o'clock in the afternoon, they will be there at 5 o'clock no questions asked and they will go out of their way to make it on time. If an appointment can't be reached in the agreed time it is a cause for a lot of stress and it is considered disrespectful to the host (in case it is a party or a dinner date).

Croatians have a bit more relaxed take on time in general, but they are also making a distinction between appointments that are considered serious and appointments where one can be a bit more relaxed. Work, doctors appointment and similar type of other appointments is taken seriously and one is never late for those but when Croatians are meeting friends or going out being up to 15 minutes late is acceptable. Thing that best explains Croatian take on time is actually on universities. Being late for a lecture for up to 15 minutes is acceptable in most cases and it is called an academic quarter. So, when you are meeting a Croatian and he is late, don't get angry, he is just invoking his right to an academic quarter

Cycling

This is one of the cultural moments where these two societies stand starkly apart. In Denmark cycling is a way of life, in Croatia it is hobby for enthusiasts. Being a passionate cyclist in Croatia is not easy, sometimes. Bike lanes are few and most often bad. Sometimes the only way to go is to break the law because it is impossible to follow it. Plus, Croatians have a lot of excuses why not to use a bike. Some of the reasons are: it is either too hot, too cold, it is raining, one doesn't want to be sweaty on work etc.

In Denmark, where weather is much worse, people are cycling all the time be it rain, snow, hot or cold. And almost everyone cycles, young and old, parents, politicians and businessmen. Every apartment building has bicycle parking space, bike lanes are everywhere and weather is always good enough for cycling. No weather is too bad for cycling, one can only be improperly dressed.

Hygge

Hygge, the famous Danish concept that has become so popular in the world. I have avoided to write about it because it is a very fuzzy concept and it is very difficult to define it precisely. I will approach it in a couple of ways. First I will give a definition of hygge after which I will show how is it most commonly understood or  after which I will give my take on it from the perspective of where does it come from or in contrast to what does it stand. In the end I will try and show how Danes use hygge in other contexts.

Definition and traditional understanding of hygge:

"Hygge is a quality of coziness that makes a person feel content and comfortable. It's also often used as an adjective meaning "cozy or comfortable.""

This is the most common definition of hygge and this one comes from Merriam-Webster online dictionary. But still, what does hygge refer to?

Imagine the cheesiest possible imagery; It is a snowy winter night and you are tucked in nicely with your partner in a luxury winter cottage. The fire is lit in the fireplace crackling away while you are preparing dinner with candle lights and a nice bottle of wine. There is gentle jazz music playing in the background, conversation is fun and engaging and you have no worries in the world.

This situation is a classical example how hygge should be understood. It is in general a bit fuzzy combination of a good company, good food and drinks and pleasant atmosphere in general.

As my boss once said, it is Danish coping mechanism against the winter depression. And I agree with him, I think that is indeed one cause for hygge. When 7 months long gray, dark and oppressing Danish winter comes, one finds little to none enjoyment in the outdoors, so pleasant atmosphere needs to be created indoors. And if you can make a pleasant atmosphere in your home, as I have given in the description above, it indeed makes life a bit easier during the winter and it does make the winter bit easier to endure.

I think there is one more source of hygge. It is Danish working ethics. When Danes work, they work hard. But when they are off, they are off. And that is where hygge comes in. It is after work relaxation technique. So I am of the opinion that hygge necessarily stands in the opposition to Danish working ethics. When Danes are not working, they are not working hard and that is channeled either into partying hard or into hygge. While partying and hygge may sound like light years away from each other, they actually are not. They are just two starkly different way of relaxing.

If it where only that easy, this entry would be over. The thing is that Danes use hygge for a wide variety of different situations other than the one I described earlier. That is hygge in the broader sense. This take on hygge was the one that was eluding me for a long time and that was the reason why I was reluctant to write about hygge. But I think that I have finally grasped it, so here we go.

Everything can be hygge

Danes are trigger happy with the word hygge and that was the thing that was putting me off track for a long time. Almost anything can be hygge. Conversation can be hygge, coffee, tea, a walk in the park, visit from a friend, playing a game (board game or a PC game), train ride, bike ride. You can have hygge alone, with your partner, with family, with friends and with complete strangers. Even work can be hygge, school can be hygge, shopping can be hygge. It seemed to me like there is no rule. It seemed like the hygge sticker can be slapped on anything and everything. But there is a pattern. In Danish culture any and all activities that are pleasant or cozy can be called hygge. In a sense Danish tendency to call hygge anything that is remotely pleasant is like a good twin brother to Croatian tendency to curse at anything or everything that is remotely unpleasant. It is basically the same pattern but diametrically opposed. Think about it this way;
- Danes: pleasant activity or event = That was hygge
- Croatian: unpleasant activity or event = Curse the shit out of it

That is the essence of hygge. I would describe it as a tendency in Danes to place an emphasis on activities and events that are pleasurable and going out of their way to make them. If you consider how long and oppressing danish winters are and how hard working people Danes are, taking pleasure up a notch makes cultural sense. But, in the end there is nothing magical or mystical about hygge as it was portrayed when it was exported out of the country. But that doesn't make it any less beautiful.

The long days

In the summer, Denmark heavily overcompensates for all the grayness, sunlessness and darkness that lasts between 6 and 7 months. Last year it started with September 1st. On that day the clouds came and they stayed all the way until March 15th. In that whole period, there was in total 4 weeks of sunny days but they were spread out far from each other.

But then the sun came and now the situation is completely different. Rainy days are few and spread out thin. Weather is beautiful but not too hot and the days are long. And when I say long, I mean loooooong. Today on 22nd June sunrise is in 4:28 and sunset is at 21:59. But in reality it means even more daylight, that I had the opportunity to experience firsthand. Last year I was volunteering on Roskilde Festival and one shift was a night shift, from 10 o'clock in the evening to 8 o'clock in the morning. It was completely dark from 11:30 until approximately 3:30. At 3:30 it slowly started getting brighter.

Some time ago I read a comment, from another foreigner who also lives in Denmark, where he said that Danes are taking their holidays in the wrong part of the year because in the summer, parks in Copenhagen are one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

The longer I live her, the more I see reason in his thinking. Denmark is indeed a beautiful place to be in the summer months. Days are long and sunny, temperatures are moderate, it rarely goes above 30 degrees and nature is beautiful in a gentle Danish way. It will not leave you breathless though, like some beautiful sceneries from the Alps, Greece or Norway might. In summer months Denmark is indeed a place to be. You don't need a break from Denmark in the summer, you need it in the winter. You need it when the clouds return and when you experience first hand why does the word 'sky' in Danish stand for a cloud. That's when Denmark gets hard to endure, that is a part of the reason behind the whole hygge 'concept'. It is basically danish coping mechanism against the heavy Danish fall/winter weather. That is the best time to go for a holiday to some southern European country or a north African country.

Even though I miss my family and I would rather go for a summer holiday vacation then not. But corona makes planning a bit tricky and there is a real risk that you could get stuck outside Denmark. It is just the fact of life and it is the same for everyone. Spending the summer in Denmark actually isn't that bad at all. This year hopefully I will have the opportunity to get a break from Denmark when it is really needed.

Bad teachers and language learning

Last year, in September, I started attending Danish lessons. The other day it occurred to me just how fast I have progressed. Last September Danish sounded like white noise to me. When people around me would be talking in Danish I wasn't getting anything. Today, 9 and a half months later I am ready to start reading books in Danish (real books, with the help of the dictionary of course), I can hear what Danes are saying and depending on the topic of conversation I can understand, from the general topic of the conversations to the details, but I still need to focus. If my mind is wandering I still get very little. But the point of this blog post isn't bragging.

When I was finishing elementary school and I needed to choose high school, one of the important criteria for me was the second language. I wanted to avoid German, I didn't feel like learning German and I was lucky. There was an option to sign up for the class where primary foreign language was English and secondary foreign language was Italian. I immediately jumped for the opportunity.

As it turned out, maybe I wasn't lucky at all, maybe it would have been better if I went for German, despite my reluctance. At least today I could say that I know two foreign languages and am currently working on the 3rd one.

I was motivated to learn Italian, not as I am today to learn Danish, but I was motivated. I was always a bit of a geek for learning and school and social and humanistic sciences always appealed to me. But today, the only thing I can say in Italian is "My name is Bruno." I don't even remember how to spell it though. And the lessons were equally intensive as I have them today in language school, two times per week.

The problem was that we had a horrible teacher. She neither could teach nor keep us in check. Every class was mayhem and it was like that for 4 years and we weren't happy with that either. There was a couple of students in my class who learned Italian in the elementary school. I remember one of them saying to me at the end of the fourth year that now he knows less Italian compared to when he finished elementary-school.

So after four years of learning Italian from a person who wasn't supposed to teach, I got nothing. After 6 and a half months (from September 1st to middle of March when school stopped because of corona) of learning danish, taught by good teachers, I got enough knowledge that by working at home I brought myself to the level where, with the help of the dictionary, I can read real books in danish and news. Tthere is still a lot to do for me. But compared to where I was at the beginning of September, today I am light years ahead.

The tragedy of Croatian educational system is that bad teachers that unfortunately work in schools, like my Italian teacher, are not uncommon. While I was working on university I was talking to my students about it often and there wasn't one student who didn't encounter at least one, sometimes more teachers who were like that. The problem is that, as I was joking around, when you get a permanent employment contract in Croatian schools, you can get fired only if you kill a student or arrive into the classroom naked. How it is in Denmark, I cannot say. My experiences for now were positive but very narrow in scope to make an assumption on a bigger scale.

High living standard

The reason why Danish living standard is so high because of their labor unions. When labor union movements started in Europe, they spread to Denmark as well but with two key differences. One was that they were super successful in organizing workers and the second one was that they decided not to take the path to communism. If we boil it down to the essentials these are the two key reasons for the high living standards in Denmark.

At it's high point, between 1973 and 1982 membership of all labor unions in the whole country was a bit over 2 million. That is, 2 million people in the whole country were members of some labor union. Just for the comparison, in 1980 Denmark had total population of 5.1 million people. I think that portrays the picture of just how strong the labor unions were.

To simplify it, that gave negotiating power to the unions. Their membership was high enough that they could mount a serious pressure on the employers. Because of that employers organized themselves in unions as well and the negotiations started. Through and because of this balance of power between union organizations and employer organizations virtually everything related to work, working conditions, maternity leave, vacations etc. at the start was exclusively negotiated between these two groups and politicians stayed away. And this is what the Danes proudly call "The Danish model". This model and its huge success from the end of the 19th century to mid 1980is brought the prosperity Denmark is enjoying today.

But Danish labor Unions didn't buy in on the labor union ideals all the way. They stopped short of communism. Which means that while they did ask for better working conditions and shorter hours they never questioned the employers right to delegate work tasks. So importance of the employers was acknowledged and respected.

But maybe Danish labor unions were too successful. From 2007 membership in the labor unions is in a steady decline. Could it be that young Danes forgot why do they live such good lives? Foreigners most likely don't since they weren't brought up in Denmark. But that is a story for another post. Important point to take from this one is that Denmark is a well off country because it adopted a model in which profits are more equally distributed. Where middle and lower middle class have high buying power and that is the thing that makes their economy run around. If it weren't for the labor unions and the collective mentality "we are all in this together" Denmark wouldn't be where it is today.

How to kill a Croatian

Croats are very proud people and they hold their nation and national accomplishments in a very high esteem. They will say, full of pride, that they chased away the Turks (Ottoman Empire), French (Napoleon), Germans (WW2) and successfully defended against the Serbian aggression in the last war even though Serbia had the full might of ex-Jugoslavian army in control. When you hear it this way, you would think that Croatians are sturdy folk and that you shouldn't mess around with them.

But, there is also the other side of the medal. Croatians are also very soft and tender souls who are prone to succumb to ailments to which the rest of the world is immune. Unlike the rest of the human kind, while a Croat thrives in trenches and being under siege and will withstand it no problem for the indefinite amount of time, draft, direct contact with wet or/and cold surface without protection and exposure of his wet hair to cold outside air may cause his untimely and unexpected demise.

In Croatian culture, since your earliest age there are three things that are an absolute no no. They are more important then the 10 commandments and don't forget that Croatia is mostly Catholic country with very strong religious feelings. The 3 absolutely forbidden activities are:

1. Thou shall not sit in a draft!
2. Thou shall not sit on a cold or wet surface without one layer of protection!
3. Thou shall not leave the apartment with wet hair!

As I said, failure to abide by these three commandments may result in an untimely death.

In Croatian culture children are told by their parents, grandparents and all other care takers that failure to follow these three rules will always result in sickness. Whenever someone gets sick the conversation goes in accordance with these lines:

Sick person: " I am not feeling well. I have a slight fever, headache and I can't get out of bed. I have no energy for anything."

Healthy person: "But what did you do? Why did you get sick?"

Sick person: "I don't know, I was taking all the precautions."

Healthy person: "But the other day, when we were at your place didn't you make a draft?"

Sick person: " I did but it was because we needed to get that awful smell out of the apartment."

Healthy person: "And then we came and you forgot to close the window and you were sitting in the draft for hours. There you go, that is why you got sick."

In essence, when someone goes ill in Croatia and the Croatian think tank tries to pinpoint the source of the disease, they will inevitably be led to either draft, exposure of wet hair to the outside air or sitting outside without a protective layer between the but and the sitting surface, depending on what did the sick person do in the last couple of days. Croatians do not get sick from viruses or bacteria they get sick from the draft.

There is one caveat though. Sitting outside in the cold in the cafe bar does not count. That can't cause any diseases. The biggest culprit for getting sick in that category is concrete. If you sit with your but on a concrete surface without additional layer of protection will get you sick.

When a Croatian finds himself in such a situation he must apply one layer of some material between his but and the concrete surface. And you would be surprised how easy it is to protect oneself. All you need to do is put one plastic bag or one side of newspapers between your but and concrete in order to be safe from all kinds of nasty diseases that type of activity can cause.

So, if you have a Croatian national in your surroundings, of whom you are not particularly fond, invite him to your home for a coup of coffee. Coffee is the perfect lure for Croatians, offer him a seat next to the window and open another window at the opposite side of your apartment and watch him disappear into nothingness.

Why should foreigners take labor unions more seriously

Labor unions are one of the key pillars of Danish society since the ending of the 19th century. Labor unions are one of the reasons why Denmark can be considered a rich country. The reasons why salaries in Denmark are so high is because on multiple occasions since the end of the 19th century organized workers stopped working and said: "We don't mind working but we are not doing it under unfair conditions. Work is the thing that puts bread on our table and it has to be profitable for us." That is the reason salaries in Denmark are high and that is the reason why Denmark is such a popular destination for migration.

Leaving your native country can always be tricky. You come to a completely foreign society that works in ways that are completely unfamiliar to you and that can be daunting. That also leaves immigrants prone to exploitation because there will always be employers out there that are willing to profit on that constellation of events. My friends that worked and traveled around the world said that their first employment experience was always like that. On their first job thy were always underpaid. After a while they would learn the ropes of the country they are living in and they would find something better.

One time my girlfriend asked me: "But why would foreigners agree to work under bad conditions and be under-payed?" The answer is simple. Because they don't know what does it mean to be under-payed in Denmark and because their living standard is dramatically improved by accepting even the underpaid job in Denmark.

Take my example. On my current job I am earning three times more compared to what I was earning by working on a University job in Croatia and my working conditions have never been better. Now imagine what will be the difference in the living standard for someone coming from Somalia, Syria or Afghanistan? By even taking the heavily underpaid job their living conditions improved a hundred fold not three times. That is why and that is why they are prone to exploitation and that is why labor unions are important.

By moving to Denmark and not being a citizen the best protection you can get is by being a member of a labour union. If you are an EU citizen, you can stay in Denmark as long as you want if you are working and paying taxes. Then you are set. By being a member of a labor union you can give yourself that one extra layer of protection for the most important thing that is enabling you to live in Denmark, work. Plus, labor unions will be able to help you out with your salary, to double-check that you are not being cheated, to help you out with working conditions, overtime work and protect you from being fired on a whim. If work is the key element that enables you to live in Denmark adding an extra element of protection to it, can't be a bad idea.

Also if you are debating with yourself should you or should you not be a member of the labor union, you need to understand that the reason why you have great salary, a lot of vacation, 37 hours working week and great working conditions is because through the 20th century labor unions fought for it and they won because all the workers knew that the only way to achieve this is by standing united. And because of that, workers from all the countries, join! You have nothing to lose except for poor working conditions!