[FREKI]

Originally Posted by Bokimon

A good thing I bookmark this thread for more juicy updates.
There needs to be some sort of list to show the pros and cons of Denmark life and laws. I'm sure the majority must be good enough to be considered adopting in other countries, mainly Canada and USA.

My biggest beef with living here is NIMBYism and our EU membership that is undermining our wage system and reducing our sovereignity..

Originally Posted by Bokimon

1 more week until I visit DK at last!!! I will be visiting Aalborg, that east coast area with that lighthouse buried in the sand, Frederikshavn/Skagen and then go to Sweden for a bit before looping back to Kobenhavn. Maybe a daytrip to Roskilde. I am going to be staying in Aalborg near the JFK square, and in CPH I am staying near the convention/Fields mall. Any thoughts to what I must not miss while at these places??

First of all I wish you are very good trip - and if you have any questions by all means ask!

If you have time and in Copenhagen I would recommend not just staying in the historic center, but perhaps try visiting some of the resiential districts such as Østerbro and Nørrebro..

When in Ålborg a visit to Jomfru Ane Gade is almost a must - it's the longest "party street" in the nation - bascially a street ful of bars and clubs..
Denmark doesn't really have the concept of last call, clubs and pubs typically stay open until the customer count is too low for it to make economical sense, so bring a watch, so you don't end up spending all night there

You speak of perhaps visiting Roskilde, if vikings have your interest they have a pretty good Viking museum there..
An alternative to Roskilde could be Helsingør - I personally like it's oldtown/city center more than Roskilde and you also get the Kronborg castle that is a quite large castle protecting the Øresund Straight ( where Shakespear set his Hamlet play )

Back to Copenhagen a walk along the "Søerne" ( Lakes ) can be a relaxing and perhaps interesting walk - the lakes used to be a part of the old defenses, but are today a recreational area.. in the early evening Dronning Louise's bridge is very popular with the young people to sit and chill and enjoy a cold beer or such..

You are already staying in Ørestaden - if you want to see other modern Danish architecture visiting Island's Brygge and Kalvebod Brygge is IMO very worth it ( and close to where you are staying ) - you really can't go wrong with walking the habour - alternatively you can take a habour cruise ( many company's offers tours - most depart from Nyhavn ) or alternatively take a trip in the habour-bus ( ferry ) that tours around the largest parts of the habour

Speaking of PT - all PT around the nation uses the same NFC card system called Rejsekortet - they are usually personal, but you can pick one up at machines at trainstation stations for tourists - alternatively they are various tourist options with free public transport for various number of days..

If using Regional or InterCity train booking a seat in advance is highly recommended!

Don't fear using buses - they are clean, equipped with monitors that shows next stop, route and zones and such, they have free wifi and cover virtually everywhere..
You just enter in the front, state the number of Zones you need a ticket for and pay with coins if you don't have other alternatives such as a tourist pass or Rejsekort ( they typically don't take notes ).
Downsides are that they can get quite packed doing rushhour..

Remember you can make unlimited transfers between all types of PT in the time period and zones the ticket covers.

As for safety Denmark is a very safe place - Danes get loud when drunk, but unprovoked violence is extremely rare - so time of day or location should not be an issue and certainly don't keep you from experiencing stuff you'd like to - plus this time of year the days are very long ( typically bright from 5 to 23 )
Most import tip I can give is to never jaywalk - neither cars nor bikes expect people jaywalking and they are very militant about their rights, so do obay traffic lights even if you aren't used to it ( it's btw a 1000 DKK fine to cross a red light on foot so.. ) - we have cases each year with tourists who get hurt ( or even killed )..
If you do find yourself driving here, remember bikes and pedestrians always have priority ( unless traffic lights says something different ) and bikes especially can come out of no where at high speed, so make sure to really check your mirrors when making turns!

Originally Posted by Bokimon

Other questions, are there any Korean's in Denmark? I would be interested in checking out some Korean eateries if any exists. DK seems homogeneous with mostly pure danes, the folks over there must be quite tall.

Danes are the second tallest people on Earth after the Dutch - on paper the average is 182 cm ( my height exactly ) but I usually feel short amongst young people.. though typically tall amongst the old

As for homogeneous Denmark is historically a melting pot of people..

Originally the Jutes, Anglo, Cimber, Geats and a few minor groups inhabitet the islands - then came the Danes from Sweden and since many people from Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Baltics, Russia, Sweden, Greenland and Norway have settled here..
In the 60 and 70s the need for workers became so high we once more opened up the borders and a lot of Turks and Pakistani moved here, we have also gotten a lot of other immigrants ( we where the most accepting nation when it came to asylum seekers for decades until Sweden ovetook us ) and today around 9% of the poplation are from Africa and Asia and it's rising rapidly with each year breaking the immigration record of the year before..
As a Copenhagen for example is ~25% immigrants ( something that really shows if you for example visit the ourter parts of Nørrebrod or the suburban districts of Ishøj or Albertslund )

So while the majority of people are etchnic Danes it's overall just a few % different than nations such as Sweden, France or the US..



As for Koreas a lot of Koreans were adopted after the Korean war - many also migrated here, so while other Asian styles dominate the restaurant market ( especially Middle Eastern, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese ) there are Korean restaurants around..

Many Chinese restaurants typically offer a mix of styles with Sushi, Mongolian BBQ, Veitnamese and Korean etc - though these types of restaurants are typically more adapted to local taste than authenticity..

This article ( that Google should be able to translate ) tries out some authentic Korean places in Copenhagen that might be worth trying: http://politiken.dk/mad/madnyt/ECE48...s-som-i-korea/

Originally Posted by Bokimon

Next one, drinking and affordability of booze, I noticed a 7-11 there, is that a common sight? How about the dollar stores if DK has any like Tiger or Euro store.

I know Kool Maudit have already asnwered, but yeah 7-11's are everywhere - they are overpriced compared to supermarket and independant Kiosks, but they are everywhere and open 24-7

The cheapest alcohol is found in supermarkets - there's a few 24-7 supermarkets in inner Copenhagen - the rest is typically open from 7-8 to 20-23

The Bilka hypermarket located in the Fields Mall in Ørestanden is a good place if looking for good alcohol deals while staying in Copenhagen - but you will find, beer, wine and most kinds of alcohol in all supermarkets no matter how small..

Originally Posted by Bokimon

Is it worth renting a bike at those stations or just buy daypasses for the metro.

Depends.. the city bike system in Copenhagen is very cheap and offers good electrical bikes with GPS/information screen - the downside is you need to register ( with the old system you just inserted a coin and were off ) and when biking you get to see more than from underground or a bus..
Most hotels will likely also offer bikes cheaply or free of charge..

On the other hand Copenhagen is very walkable and there is PT everywhere, so if you can get a good priced tourist PT pass then that might be enough..

Originally Posted by Bokimon

Is the little mermaid really worth seeing? I plan on doing a boat tour so maybe see it from the water..

The Little Mermaid is a crappy little boring statue!
No Dane understands what tourists sees in the thing - it's a tourist trap if ever I saw one!
The area it is located in ( Langelinie Habour ) is nice though, but forget about the statue itself.. ( the habour tour is a good choice and as long as you don't take the tour just for the statue )

Originally Posted by Bokimon

Best sights/cathedrals to get high observation view of the city for pano and skyline photos.

Vor Frelsers Kirke definetly - the spiral outer walkway on the tower is both fun and offers great views..

Alternatively "Rundetårn" ( the Round Tower ) in the old town..

Or Rådhustårnet ( City Hall tower ) two tours daily on weekdays at 11 and 14 and at 12 on saturdays

There's also the restaurant on top of Radisson Blu Royal Hotel and the Skybar at Radisson Blu Scandianvia

Originally Posted by Bokimon

What else, walk in dine at Noma..?? Probably impossible now.

Sorry, you need to make a resevation months in advance

There are other Michelin star restaurants where you might have better luck:

http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copen...ed-restaurants



Hmm what else.. well Danes very rarely use cash since we have the Dankort system ( a debit card system ) so unless your various cards have high fees don't worry too much about cash - you can use Visa cards everywhere - Mastercard most places and other types in supermarkets and such

Alternatively there are ATMs around a plenty - though make sure they are DKK as many banks now offer ATM's with Euro's for Danes about to travel ( you can btw pay with Euro's and Swedish Crowns in Supermarkets, fastfood restaurants and 7-11's in Copenhagen just don't expect the best exchange rate when doing so

Oh and never pay any beggers - first of all begging is illegal here since with our social system no one needs it ( seriously! ) second because it's mainly a Roma scam where Bulgarian and Romanian Roma are driven up here and they take turns prentending to be ill and in need of money ( look up "Gypsy mansions" if you want to see how organized the scam is ) so never pay anyone anything! ( and never be shy about informing the police at number 114 if they bug you even the slightest - the police are happy for information about the Roma scammers ) - if it's an emergency ( police, fire or ambulance ) the number is 112
For the same Roma reason look after belongings when in crowded areas - this may sound cruel and racist, but if they look Roma be extremely sceptical - especially as a tourist! ( I personally don't have any negative experiences, but it's common on the news that tourists have been tricked or scammed, so better safe than sorry )


Healthcare is only free for residents and citizens so make sure you have a good health insurance just in case - police and fire services are always free of charge to all..


As for prices, remember tax ( called "Moms here ) is included in the listing price and you will NEVER have to tip as wages here are good for all sectors! ( so don't feel bad about not tipping - the only cases some Danes tip is if paying with cash in a taxi or restaurant ( all taxis and resturants all take cards btw ) one typically rounds up nearest note - but one is by no means obligated!

Also remember that as a tourist you can get the sales tax refunded on purchases above 300 DKK in stores that offers it ( typically tourist stores ) read more here:

http://premiertaxfree.com/tax-free-worldwide
http://www.globalblue.com/destinatio...rk/copenhagen/