If you follow me on social media, you may already know that my presence in Copenhagen, Denmark made a child cry – talk about melanin magic! That was not the only culture shock moment though during our visit. Copenhagen is the capital city of Denmark which is part of the Schengen Area in Europe. I spent two weeks in Copenhagen exploring the city. As with every trip abroad, I could not help noticing the differences in this city to my home, Johannesburg, South Africa. I noted them all down to share with you. Read on for the 8 culture shock moments that I had while in Copenhagen, Denmark.
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1. There were very few black people in Copenhagen
I hardly saw any black people. It’s a strange feeling especially coming from a country where 80% of the population is black. To ease the discomfort from the stares I got, I started playing a game called “stare back till they stop staring.”
The most shocking moment was when my mom and I were in an elevator and a mother entered with her young child. The child looked at us then started crying and holding on to his mother. Must be the melanin magic!
2. People travel by bicycle in Copenhagen
There are bicycle lanes everywhere and the cyclists follow the rules of the road too. People of all shapes, sizes and ages cycle. They are so skilled at cycling that they multi-task. I saw people doing everything possible while cycling: cycling and eating, cycling and talking on the phone, cycling and texting, cycling in heels, cycling in a suit etc.
I later learnt that cars are expensive and heavily taxed in Denmark and that Uber was shut down in Denmark in 2017 due to non-compliance with taxi laws. Cycling, walking and using public transport are efficient and safe ways of getting around in Denamrk.
3. People follow the rules of the road
People only cross the road at the zebra crossing. And at robots, people only cross when the robot signals green for pedestrians. There were no random people taking chances and running across the roads, between cars. Seeing such discipline was so strange to me and made me feel as if I was in a movie. What is also interesting is that I found myself doing the same since everyone else was.
4. Cellphone data is so cheap in Denmark
It costs the equivalent of R200 for 30GB of data in Denmark. I almost feinted when I heard this! It costs R150 for 1GB of data in South Africa. There must be something I don’t know about tech that explains why the difference is so big. We need answers. #Datacostsmustfall
5. Everything else is expensive
In a middle class restaurant, it costs 40kr (R80) for bottled water and 20kr (R40) for a glass of tap water with ice. That ice better have the answers to the high data price in South Africa! I learnt that the cost of living is high because tax rates are high but the citizens are happy to pay high taxes in exchange for high quality of life. Education is free in Denmark, including tertiary education. Health care and child care are also free. They say this is why Denmark is continuously voted the happiest country in the world.
6. They drive on the right side of the road
Vehicles drive on the right side of the road. I thought this wouldn’t affect us as we were not driving while there but this is actually quite confusing as a pedestrian. We found ourselves checking the wrong direction when crossing the road. Escalators are also in the opposite direction – confusing.
7. Trust is a thing
At the grocery store there is a self service option where you can scan your own groceries and pay without a teller. I stopped and stared when I saw this to make sure that what I was seeing was real.
8. It is safe to walk at night in Copenhagen
On one particular evening we had planned to have dinner at the mall near our hotel. Our concern was that we would have to walk back after sunset. So, we asked a lady at the front desk of the hotel if it is safe for us to walk back at night. She laughed and replied, “Of course! Denmark is one of the safest countries in the world!.”
One of the great things about traveling, is getting out of your comfort zone and experiencing different ways of life. From my visit in Copenhagen, I can conclude that it is an organized, modern and impressive city.
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Hi Gophari love this one!
Ivyn Sphe Sambo Youth | Politics | Leadership Activist | 0791174585 (@IvynSambo_)
Hi 😊 Great! Glad you enjoyed it
Fantastic review👋🏽👋🏽👋🏽
Thank you!
Mmmmh interesting we are also learning through u fr someone I’ve met a few months ago sure u have opened my eyes on the lot of things tx
I think the bicycle is a traditional way for travelling to work or school in the northern parts of Europe. Most likely in the Netherlands you will see even more bicycles 🙂 .
Copenhagen look so clean and well-arranged city. I like colorful buildings the most.
I still need to visit Netherlands 😊 Hopefully I will get a chance soon. I also like the colourful buildings of Copenhagen
Number 1 is so interesting Fari. I’ve been there a few times and never thought about race or even noticed (before I was woke-this probably made all the difference lol)… I also have family and friends there, so maybe I felt like there were more black people than there really are.
Love the review ☺️
I *LOVE* THIS POST!! I enjoyed reading what you noticed about Copenhagen and really appreciate your candidness (points 3 and 4 had me laugh out loud haha!)
Thank you!! Happy to have you laughing! Lol
This post was awesome. I live here in Berlin, Germany and I haven’t been to Copenhagen. It’s one of those cities in the North I want to visit. The staring, SMD! How bad was it? I thought that place had black people there? The staring might be a problem for me…I don’t play that mess. I tend to ask people if they want something or can I help you or are you lost, lol.
Coming from Africa, the ratio of black people to other races was a big adjustment for me. Coming from a country where I so easily blend in and then visiting Copenhagen really made me feel different. Lol perhaps I will try your method of dealing with it next time
Lol, you have to call them out on their shit. I love everybody but I won’t let white people make me uncomfortable. They don’t have that right to do so. Not with all that bad history and the racism that’s still going on towards blacks globally. But I will admit I have to behave sometimes or I will get in trouble, lol,
loved this article. i will be travelling to copenhagen in summers and really found this article to be very helpful. please let me know more if you can 🙂
Interesting post, I’ve never been to Denmark but a Danish person I met recently told me it’s very windy/breezy in Denmark, did you think so? 🔆
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