He was the smallest country in Northern Europe, and historically he was the center of activity for the Vikings, who fought their way to become the overlord of the North and Baltic Seas. The first thing that comes to mind when you think of him must be fairy tales and castles.
Yes, as you may have guessed, this country is Denmark, and what is the life of Danes like in such a fairytale country?Having lived in Denmark for two years, let me tell you about the real Denmark.
1.Denmark has a land area of only 43,094 square kilometers, the territory is made up of Jutland and the islands of the Danish archipelago, with 8,750 kilometers of tidal coastline and its only land boundary is only 68 meters long. Denmark's proximity to the sea and the shape of the peninsula means that no one in Denmark is more than 52 kilometers from the sea.
2.Despite being the smallest country in Northern Europe, Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, is the largest city in Northern Europe, and it is full of fairytale fun. In order to shorten the "sense of distance" between people, 19 out of every 20 people in Denmark join clubs funded by **. The club's themes are varied, from the "Bunny Jump" club, to the Winter Swimming Club, to the Handball Club. The Danes believe that loneliness makes people unhappy. In Denmark, children are therefore required to join clubs from a young age.
3.Danes enjoy benefits such as health care, education and pension from birth to death, and university students are exempt from tuition fees and receive a ** allowance. Parents of newborn babies can take one year of maternity leave with almost full pay on the condition of ** payment, and gay and lesbian parents are also included. Danes work hard, but work an average of less than 40 hours per week and have at least five weeks off a year.
4.It's not hard to see why Denmark has been ranked as one of the happiest countries in the world many times. Let's talk about the medical system, we have all heard of free medical care for all, but what is the concept of it? Denmark** has delivered a perfect answer, Denmark's universal free healthcare system, and no cost of medical treatment and hospitalization. There are all kinds of living facilities in the ward, and the patients are basically "living in the bag" when they are hospitalized, and even the meal expenses when they are hospitalized are borne by **. The most surprising thing is that the Danish welfare system is aimed at all people living on Danish territory, regardless of nationality. For example, international students enjoy the same benefits as Danes from the first day they come to Denmark. These benefits are based on a high tax system. However, more than 70% of Denmark's national tax revenue is spent on social welfare, education, health care, housing and the environment, and less than 30% is spent on other administrative expenses.
5.While living in Denmark, my youngest daughter attended kindergarten in Denmark for a while, and I was really shocked. The youngest daughter's class has 14 children and is looked after by 3 teachers. The children eat fruits, vegetables and grains grown in the ecological field, which are two to three times that of ordinary food. The teacher told me that there is a special expert in early childhood nutrition to match the diet, and the food that the children eat is the healthiest. After eating, the teacher and the children sang and danced together. There are various types of diapers in the baskets in the kindergarten, which are free of charge. There is a wash basin on the remote control lifting platform, as well as various disinfectants and hip creams, and the teacher changes them one by one, and the movements are very gentle.
6.Most companies in Denmark work 37 hours a week, but many companies only work 30 hours a week, with 4 days off and 3 days off, and 7-8 hours on weekdays. Some industries, such as bus drivers, Danish law stipulates that public transport drivers must take a 15-minute break for 45 minutes, and running 500 kilometers a day is considered good, and the salary is not lower than that of ordinary employees of the company. In Denmark, the idea of 996 is considered incredible.
7.Danes love coffee, and in their free time they like to grab newspapers and magazines, and they can sit in the café for a day, which offers a variety of snacks and is very enjoyable. This is because of the influence of geographical location, Denmark has a very short daylight time, it is bright at more than eight o'clock in the morning, and it is dark at more than four o'clock in the afternoon. Coffee shops on weekends must be booked in advance, otherwise there will be no places, and when the weather is nice, the shops will set up tables on the side of the road and put parasols on them. Therefore, on the streets of Denmark, it is common to see such a picture, the stroller is placed outside, the child is playing alone inside, and the parents are drinking coffee and chatting not far away.
8.In addition to coffee, Denmark is also a country with a rich beer culture, and the latitude is much higher than the regions suitable for growing wine grapes. As a result, beer has become an important alcoholic beverage here. For a long time, as in neighboring countries, beer served as "liquid bread" and as a substitute for unclean water as the main drink of the locals.
9.In Denmark, the preferred mode of travel is bicycles, and although it is a high-income country, it is difficult to imagine that Denmark does not have a high number of cars. On the one hand, because the car purchase tax is frighteningly high, buying an ordinary car, paying the purchase tax is even higher than the cost of buying a car. On the other hand, it still attaches great importance to environmental protection and advocates bicycle travel, which leads many residents to give up buying cars and travel by bicycle, without looking for parking spaces or refueling, saving money and worry. There are 12,000 kilometres of dedicated cycle lanes across Denmark that are closed to cars. Denmark has about 4.2 million bicycles, out of a population of just over 5 million.
10.Danes value breakfast and dinner because these two meals can be taken with the family. Danish food is dominated by fish, pork and potatoes, with the most characteristic being roast pork with crispy skin, smoked salmon, poached cod with mustard sauce and peppered potato beef stew. Fish plays an important role in the Danish diet, and in the past, boiled cod was a common Danish dish, and it was an authentic Danish dish with potatoes and butter and mustard. In addition to local food, Denmark has a variety of restaurants, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, to meet different tastes, but ** is not cheap, according to the customary to give waiters a 10% tip, but Danes have long been Xi, they will not be stingy in terms of eating.
11.When it comes to pork, our country is recognized as a big pig country in the world, but Denmark is indeed a pig powerhouse in the true sense of the word. Denmark is the world's third-largest pork exporter, exporting about 2 million tonnes of pork in 2021, accounting for a quarter of the world's pork volume. The point is that Denmark is the best country in the world to ban the use of antibiotic feed additives for animals, and most of the pig feed belongs to grains, and a small amount of oil, animal fat, bone meal, protein and other additives can be added, but hormones will never be used. According to reports, Danish Crown's pig feed is made from a mixture of wheat, barley and minerals, and has a sweet, soft taste that can even be eaten directly by humans.
12.The fruit stall owners on the streets of Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, often do not see the boss, and after the first time they buy fruit, they can't wait for the boss, and they complain that the boss is not dedicated to how they can do a good business, and they are ready to give up buying. It turned out that a young man and woman also came to buy fruit, and after picking it, they weighed it by themselves, and then calculated the amount according to the marked unit price, and put the money into a basket containing money in the stall. Only then did we realize that it was possible to do this way, and we were in awe of the trust given by the seller and the consciousness shown by the buyer. Denmark, including supermarkets and subways, is also paid by people consciously. Perhaps it is this trust and self-consciousness that makes Denmark one of the most incorruptible countries in the world.
13.The Danes are sincere in their hospitality, and if they invite people to dinner, the Danes will put valuable and delicious food on the side of the guests at the table. Before the banquet begins, the host will give the guest a bouquet of flowers or a few chocolates as a gesture of invitation. Every dish is served on the table, and it must be eaten by the guests before the host eats it. When drinking, the Danes don't pay much attention to clinking glasses, but they often raise their glasses. Sometimes, when the guests are not paying attention, the host will secretly pour some strong wine into the guests' cups to show the sincerity of the guests, just like the domestic "eat and drink well"!When the guests leave the table with a full meal and drink, the host will also give the guests some small gifts, and then watch the guests' cars slowly leave. It is by no means pressed by our ceremonial state!
14: In addition, I think the Danes are very safe, in Chinese terms, they are "chronic", they are not in a hurry, they are not impatient, they follow the rules. But in everything they do, the Danes have to plan it out in advance, including every detail. This kind of safe way of doing things always gives people a feeling of "being confident". In the eyes of the Danes, only those who act steadily can do things well and get things done.
15.Many cities in Denmark have a number of shared housing estates, each with more than 20 to 30 households, each with a small house like a Lego toy, but they share a large garden, laundry room, studio, storage area, parking facilities and restaurant, and they can choose to eat together. As long as each family cooks one or two meals per month for the residents of the entire community, the rest of the time meals are free.
16.Danes are equal to each other, and the garbage workers can be neighbors with *** and get along well. The Danes believe that the distance between the most powerful and the least powerful is so small that it is almost equivalent to the mathematical "" which is inconceivable in the eyes of the official standard.
17.One of Denmark's loudest slogans is that no one should be left unattended, in other words, the Danish philosophy is to ensure that every member of society is treated equally, enjoys the same political and economic rights, and enjoys the same social benefits. Most of the time, this slogan is specifically used to take care of the weak in the competition: the sick, the incapacitated, the poor, they will not be abandoned. Under the call of **, pension institutions are a place frequented by Danes, and it is a Xi for Danes to chat with the elderly and help them do something.
After really going there, I realized that Denmark is such a magical country, he was once famous for Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales, and today he is creating a real "fairy tale world" in his own way. The Danes have built an advanced green energy system, including renewable energy, water management, waste**, etc. In 2009, Copenhagen set a goal of becoming the world's first zero-carbon city by 2025. In Denmark, people can take a big breath of fresh air, gaze at the blue harbor, and all kinds of birds take the initiative to nest under the eaves, which is comfortable and peaceful.