I came to Copenhagen to explore a new city / country prior to going to Tomorrowland (click here for my tips on surviving Tomorrowland). As the first Nordic country I’ve ever been to, overall I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. Everything was simple, minimal, walkable / bikeable, clean, organized, and civilized.
I came here without any expectations except for the fact that food was supposed to be expensive in these Nordic places. But to my surprise, it wasn’t as bad as I’d imagined. Plus, I only knew about Noma, the holy grail of three star Michelin restaurants. But little did I know that there were a lot of fine dining restaurants and aspiring Michelin restaurants in this city. My friend even commented that a lot of the techniques used in Michelin restaurants around the world were first adopted here in Copenhagen. The reason for that was because of its relaxed culture, allowing chefs to take on risks and experiment; compared with many other places in the world, chefs would be scolded for making mistakes.
Adding on to that, from stories I hear from other people, Denmark does have a culture of leniency and relaxation and a stronger emphasis on work life balance. For example, if you’re in United States or Asia, you’re expected to go to school and go directly to university then start working. In Denmark, it’s expected of you to take a gap year before, during or after college so you can take time off and do what you want. I even had a friend’s family in law where one of their daughters in Denmark took a total of three gap years, so by the time she was in the workforce she was 25 years old or something like that. What I’m trying to say is that Denmark has a very relaxed culture, which encourages people to find what they like, discover about themselves, and allows them to experiment and take risks more. Continue reading Four Days Itinerary in Copenhagen, Denmark (Part One)