5 Things you won't find in Denmark

There are somethings I can't help but notice that are missing from life here....

• Chocolate Chips

Those delicous melty morsels that every mother throws into thier kids' favorite cookie.  Alas, you won't find it here. There's plenty of marzipan though. 

• Gas-Guzzlers

The streets here are filled with bikes and pedestrians, and public transport is efficient and readily-available.
And if you do have a car, you're more likely to buzz around in a little pop can rather than fork out the money for something bigger [what some Americans might refer to as a "real car"].  But when cars cost about twice as much, and gas is the price of gold that bicycle starts looking really sexy.

• Ziplock Bags

This one just breaks my heart. I'm a bit of a kitchen efficiency effianato, and living without ziplocks in the kitchen is a bit like asking me to play the guitar without the use of my thumbs.

"Let's go to the 'Bucks!"

• Starbucks.

It's true... I live without Starbucks. I've seen one in the airport, but that's about 3 hours away from where I live. Gasp!  Actually I'm not much of a fan usually, but when you're aching for something familiar, the evils of corporate America is a lot less important than my hazelnut cappicino and old friends!

• Refried Beans.

Ay chiwawa! Yes, I have finally found pinto beans here and have mastered a home-made version, but you can forget about buying them anywhere.  And forget about finding a Taco Time, Muchas Gracias or any Mexican restaurants for that matter.  Danes are putting away a lot more roasted potatoes, pickled fish and remoulade than anything from south of the border (and so am I!).

My Neighborhood

I will never get over how quaint and lovely the Danish countryside is.  Here's a little tour - photos taken last summer.

Sheep!
Okay, I live in a teeeeny, tiny village.  The running joke is "look, there's a person!" because it's a rare treat to actually cross paths with someone around here.  But sheep?  We've got those ;)

One of the houses "in town".  They're so darling! It's not unusual for them to fly the Danish flag like this - it's more like a pennant really.

The local grocery store.

My host family's horses: Evento and Sandra.

It's funny that this is now "normal" to me... cool though, isn't it?

The local church (in the background) and the restaurant (foreground). 

10 Things I was not expecting to find in Europe...

    1.  Houses that look like something from a fairytale. 

Svendborg, Denmark

   2.  Night Ravens. 

Americans have "neighborhood watch" which is when people look out for each others' homes and let each other know if they see unwelcome people lurking in the neighborhood.  Danes have Night Ravens: parents who volunteer to be out on the town on weekends to keep an eye on drunk kids and make sure they're safe.  And to give out candy and condoms.  Yes, I said condoms.

   3.  Baby boozers.

She's almost 2 years old... awh, how sweet...

My host mother and the baby.

   4.  Rednecks. 

Granted, I live out in the country about an hour from anything I would call a "city".  The man I live with is a true redneck, complete with eccentric things to say about "those people", grease under his fingernails, duct tape at the ready and the slogan "a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do..."

   5.  European 20-somethings who know more American pop-culture than I do.

But considering the source, I guess that's not saying a lot... 

   6.  Stores that close at 3:30pm on Saturday

And by "stores" I mean the entire town... and they are closed all day on Sundays.

(I'm so spoiled.)

   7.  American music everywhere.

Bruce Springtein, and Taylor Swift on the radio.  Danes picking American music for Kareoke like Nirvana Shania Twain and Kings of Leon.


   8.  Food carts driving on the beach.

Fresh fish anyone?



Zanvoort Beach, The Netherlands



   9.  People who think it's normal to eat potatoes. 

And eat them everyday.  Boiled, roasted, mashed, baked.. you name it, they eat it.  And you can even buy canned potatoes at the grocery store!  

  10.  Wrangler Jeans.

Yee-Haw?

Shop window in Amsterdam. Wranglers: 69 Euros.

Let's hear it for Handball.

Handball? What's that then?

Well, it's kind of a cross between basketball and indoor football, and it looks a bit like the kind of game that would evolve over a lunch hour at school.




Handball first appeared at the Olympics in 1936, has roots that go back to ancient Greece and is played in 159 countries around the world.





Rather than fein further interest in the sport, I offer only a gracious nod, and credits:
Text & Images from BBC SPORT


Oh, and Denmark played very well this year: they made it to the championships on Tuesday, and the game went in to overtime.  France won.