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Janet and I recently visited Denmark, and amazing and beautiful country with only 5 million people, less than the population of a large American city. It’s a bit of an anomaly that the Danish consider themselves to be very content, yet they have among the highest rates of suicide and alcoholism anywhere in Europe.

Most Americans don’t even know that Denmark is a country, except what we learn from Television. On South Park, Denmark is described as follows: “Denmark is the Canada of Europe. It’s very cold, we like hockey, and nobody pays much attention to us.”

The whole country of Denmark is only 5m people, less than NYC, but Maersk shipping revenue gives their currency a huge boost in the international fiscal market, creating a talent vacuum whereby remote American experts cost up to 4x less than their own experts!

But it's all relative.  The Danish minimum wage is $22 per hour, after factoring-in the exchange rate!

We are not alone here, Jim Goodnight beat us here. Other North Carolina companies are taking hold here in Denmark, and there is a huge SAS office right up the road from our hotel. 

Inside Copenhagen

The Danish Kroner is the world’s oldest currency in continuous use, and it’s one of the world’s strongest currencies, due in large part to their national wealth from shipping.  The mega-shipper Maersk is Danish, and their strong currency has made the Danish enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world.

Also see:

Inside the Copenhagen ice bar

Their strong currency combined with the weak dollar has made Denmark a great place for the American computer professional, and North Carolina’s SAS has a huge office in Copenhagen.  Our Scandinavian clients are thrilled to be able to get world-class experts for less than one-half the cost of local support.

However, Denmark is not a paradise.  They still have street bums and hoboes, and Denmark has one of the highest suicide rates in the world.  Our host explained that this was due, in some part, to the Danish hunger for wealth.  Many work multiple jobs and suffer from stress and loss of relationships.

Fake Indians invade Copenhagen!

Americans will find Denmark to be obscenely expensive.  A big Mac costs 52 Fr, over $10, placing Denmark as one of the most expensive places in the world to live. (See my notes on the Big Mac index).

Speaking of Michael Jackson, the Danish are very tolerant of sexual deviance, and advertisements for whores and homo hangouts are everywhere.

A Copenhagen advertisement for a sexual deviant bar

The Danish roll-up the sidewalks on Sunday’s, and that’s a great time to visit the Copenhagen Zoo, a wonderful place to spend a leisurely afternoon.  The zoo has charming and you can see that the animals are well cared for and happy.

• Copenhagen Zoo

• Architectural notes

The hotel D'Angleterre

Our hosts suggested that we stay at the D’Angleterre hotel in Copenhagen, a renowned luxury hotel favored spot for Presidents and celebrities.  The hotel staff is amazingly helpful, and upon check-in we were upgraded to a wonderful room overlooking the square.

The D'Angleterre dates from the 1760's a wonderful old hotel with a real art deco influence.  We got a spectacular view of Copenhagen from our room:

The D’Angleterre hotel oozes charm.  Build in the 1760’s, it has hosted Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, and just about every movie and rock star that you can name.  There was a plaque that said that Michael Jackson stayed here, but fear not, they assured us that the hotel was thoroughly cleansed of fagnasties.

It's a real feeling of history, wondering if you are sitting on the same crapper that might have been used by Winston Churchill.  The bathrooms are also quite fancy, and some even have those fancy french butt washers:

Danish toilets have a two-strength flusher!

For more, see my notes on European crappers.

Fancy dining at D'Angleterre can cost over $200 each	The pool at the D'Angleterre

Dining in Denmark

To Americans, food is very expensive in Denmark, and a big Mac will set you back ten bucks:



However, it’s their native fast food that is very intriguing.

	Lots' of fish eggs, herring and eel
A traditional Danish Menu

Danish Fast food!

Hot dogs and pizza are as American as apple pie, but the Danish have an interesting take on hot dogs. There have over six varieties, quite different from any NYC Sabretts:

On “ordinary hot dogs, they put mustard, ketchup (a criminal offense in many states), canned onion strings and these funky sweet pickle slices. It sounds gross, but it’s actually quite good:

However, we could not figure out their other hot dogs. We loved the “fransk Hot Dogs”, a fat wiener tucked into a crispy fresh-baked French roll, quite yummy:

Where it gets weird are their other hot dogs, essentially Coney Island footlongs served with a five-inch bun and pools of catsup and mustard served on wax paper:

Copenhagen Architectural notes

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