How to Live in Denmark

Just fifteen or twenty years ago, bakeries in Denmark seemed to be dying. They couldn't find staff. Nobody, it was said, wanted to get up in the middle of the night and make bread.
The few bakeries that were left tended to have dirty windows and sour service and offer stale, dusty pastries.
Most Danes made their breakfast bolle at home or got frozen buns from the supermarket or gas station. I remember a text about gas station buns at one of my early Danish language textbooks.
But the trend has turned, and bakers and bakeries are now some of the hottest businesses around. People will wait in line outside the Juno bakery in Copenhagen, or Bakeria in Helsingør.
These are destination bakeries.
 And this is not just a big city phenomenon. There are craft bakeries all over Denmark. This year's Best Bakery contest has 80 nominees from Aalborg to Rønde to Jyderup to Karrebæksminde. 
Perhaps it is a coincidence, but the trend turned when baking became a rather macho enterprise in Denmark. Claus Meyer was the pioneer, with his Meyers Bageri.
Baking became a way for Danish men, who are generally gentle fellows, to show their creativity and skill.
This is a culture that respects craft and handiwork, whether it is furniture making or beer brewing or silversmithing, or producing a beautiful bun.
An acquaintance of mine recently ran a baking course for teenagers, and all of the sign-ups were boys.
Many of these boys and men go on to create fancy craft bakeries, where a complex bun or piece of cake can cost an absurd amount.
These bakeries reflect the confidence and prosperity of Denmark at this time in history.
Thirty or forty years ago, this was not a country where people had a lot of disposable income. Now it is. 
 
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The How to Live in Denmark podcast is the longest-running English-language podcast in Denmark, and one of the leading English-language resources on Danish culture and everyday life.
The podcast host is Kay Xander Mellish, an American author, speaker, and cultural commentator who has lived in Copenhagen, Denmark, for more than 25 years.
Through her books, keynote speeches, workshops, and consulting, Kay helps international professionals, global companies, universities, and newcomers understand Danish culture, Danish working culture, cross-cultural communication, and the practical realities of living in Denmark. 
She has advised organizations across Europe and North America on working effectively with Danish colleagues and building successful international teams.
Kay is the author of several books including How to Live in Denmark, How to Work in Denmark, and The Danish Year. Her work combines firsthand experience, careful observation, and a dry sense of humor to explain not just what Danes do, but why they do it.
An international keynote speaker, Kay delivers presentations to audiences in Denmark, across Europe, and in the United States on Danish culture, Danish working culture, and cross-cultural communication. Kay's favorite U2 album is "Achtung Baby."
She lives in Copenhagen.

Just arrived in Copenhagen? Welcome to Denmark! Now here's what nobody tells you.
From getting an ugly bicycle and navigating the honor system on public transport to dating, drinking, saving money, seeing a Danish doctor, and even talking to a priest when you're feeling lonely, here are 13 quick tips to help you understand Copenhagen and settle into Danish life.
Some are practical. Some are surprising. And some could save you from making a very Danish mistake.
13 Quick Tips for Newcomers to Copenhagen — a lightning round from Kay Xander Mellish, host of the How to Live in Denmark podcast.
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The How to Live in Denmark podcast is the longest-running English-language podcast in Denmark, and one of the leading English-language resources on Danish culture and everyday life in Denmark now.
The podcast host is Kay Xander Mellish, an American author, speaker, and cultural commentator who has lived in Copenhagen, Denmark, for more than 25 years. 
Through her books, keynote speeches, workshops, and consulting, Kay helps international professionals, global companies, universities, and newcomers understand Danish culture, Danish working culture, cross-cultural communication, and the practical realities of living in Denmark. 
She has advised organizations across Europe and North America on working effectively with Danish colleagues and building successful international teams.
She is the author of several books including How to Live in Denmark, How to Work in Denmark, Working with Americans: Tips for Danes, Working with Danes: Tips for Americans and The Danish Year. Her work combines firsthand experience, careful observation, and a dry sense of humor to explain not just what Danes do, but why they do it.
As an international keynote speaker, Kay speaks to audiences in Denmark, across Europe, and in the United States on Danish culture, Danish working culture, and cross-cultural communication. Kay saw one of the music group Nirvana's last live performances. 
She lives in Copenhagen.

Copenhagen and Berlin are less than an hour apart by plane, but very different in spirit. Copenhagen is a mostly clean, mostly safe, mostly well-run, mostly get up early in the morning and get to work type of city. Berlin is fun, exciting, and a little bit chaotic. 
Long before I lived in Copenhagen, I lived in Berlin for a couple of years. Imagine my surprise when, on a return visit, I found myself staying next to a shop called "Hygge", filled with Danish pillows, candles, and wooden figurines. 
It was a Danish theme store, right in the middle of the German capital city, filled with items designed to create a cozy Copenhagen atmosphere in the raw rough streets of Berlin.
Of course, it's not uncommon for one city to have little tributes to a different city. After all, Copenhagen has a Berlin Bar, and a clothing store called New Yorker, and an Old Irish Pub.
But Berliners and Copenhagners have a special respect for each other. Berliners enjoy Copenhagen calm, while Copenhagners go to Berlin to get a taste of big-city life.
Hear more in this July 2026 podcast.
Read more at howtoliveindenmark.com, or book Kay Xander Mellish for an in-person or virtual presentation on Danish culture or living in Denmark at www.kxmgroup.dk.

Brok rhymes with clock, and it is a Danish word that describes the petty complaints that are common in one of the happiest countries in the world, and one of the richest.
It's complaining as a social activity, usually about things that are more irritating than dangerous.
I feel there's more Danish brok in the summer because people come into contact with each other, the joy of spring is gone, and the bugs are coming out, and it can be so hot.
But really brok can be a year-round occupation.
It's particularly common in the coffee room or lunchroom on job sites, where Danes complain about their working conditions, the Danish government, the Danish public health system, Danish public transport, in particular the national train service DSB or, the all-time favorite, the exasperating Danish weather.
Brok is a way of bonding – aren't we all irritated by the same thing? And a way of blowing off steam without ever confronting anyone directly, which is always a bit dangerous in Denmark, because the country is so small and you will run into the same people again and again.

These are the light times in Denmark. In May and June, it's light until 10 or 11 in the evening, and then the sun is back around 4am. It's a nice contrast to the dark times in winter, although all that light can make you feel a bit jittery and overstimulated. It's also one of the few times a year that the Danes close their curtains.
They do that so the first rays of sunshine won't wake them up at a painfully early hour.
At other times of the year, the curtains to homes and apartments are often wide open, and visitors to Denmark are sometimes surprised that they can see right into people's homes as they eat dinner or watch TV.
Keeping curtains open makes sense for the darker times of the Danish year when you're desperate for as much sunlight as possible. But it's also a sign of confidence in who you are and what you are presenting to the world, that you have nothing to hide. This is me. This is who I am.
Authenticity is a basic Danish value, just like trust and transparency and having a sense of humor about yourself.  Denmark is not a status culture, it's not a place where you fake it until you make it. It's a place where you're expected to present yourself warts and all.