The How to Live in Denmark podcast

Denmark’s longest running English language podcast

In less than 10 minutes per episode, the “How to Live in Denmark” podcast offers insights about living in Denmark from the viewpoint of an international. Full of gentle humor and affection for the Danish way of life, the podcast looks at basic topics such as making friends and learning Danish as well as more business-related topics like working in Denmark and understanding your Danish manager. Enjoy 150+ episodes dating back to 2013.

April, Gardening in Denmark, and what it means to be “Pear Danish”: The Danish Year Part 4

As the long Danish winter finally draws to an end, it’s time for Danes to start planting their gardens. The growing season in Denmark is short. If you miss…

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March, Gækkebreve, and the things lost in Digital Denmark: The Danish Year Part 3

In Denmark, traditional Gækkebreve arrive just before Easter, and they are always anonymous. Carefully cut from a single piece of paper, usually in an elaborate pattern…

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February, The Cat in the Barrel and the Absence of Faith: The Danish Year Part 2

Back in the day, “hitting the cat in the barrel” was the way that superstitious Danes tried to ward off evil. Now there’s candy in the barrel, not a cat…

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January, Skiing, and Income Inequality: The Danish Year Part 1

If you’re among the bottom 80% of Danish earners, January is about “hygge” at home – candles, sweaters, and hot tea. But if you’re in the top 80%, it’s time to go skiing.

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The Danish Empire - Without Greenland?

Denmark, as Danes like to tell you, is a little country. But it used to be a much bigger country, a bit of an empire.Norway was once part of Denmark. Iceland was once part of Denmark…

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Learn Danish through song lyrics

My tip for the best way to learn Danish: Learn it through song lyrics. Find a Danish-language singer or group you love, and listen to their lyrics again and again…

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Job switching in Denmark

Job switching in Denmark is common – Denmark has one of the highest job mobility rates in the OECD. If you don’t change jobs regularly, people might wonder why….

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The design quirks of Copenhagen

Among the design quirks of Copenhagen is the color “Copenhagen Green”, a green-black mix you will see on every bench in town plus many doors…

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Who is Holger Danske?

Who is Holger Danske? He is Denmark’s sleeping hero, a mythical figure based on a real person. The legend is that when Denmark is in trouble…

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The white magic of the Danish graduation hat

The white Danish graduation cap, with its colorful band and the name of the graduate in gold embroidery on the back, awakens a deep sentiment…

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Why Danes find compliments so awkward

A story I’ve heard over and over again when I talk to internationals working in Denmark is this: They thought they were going to get fired…

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Romance in Denmark

One thing I find interesting about the Danish language is the flexibility of the word kæreste, the Danish version of “boyfriend” or “girlfriend”…

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Finding light in the Danish winter darkness

The darkness that starts to fall in the early afternoon, which means that 5pm looks just like 8pm, which looks just like midnight, which looks just like 5am…

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Do you have to learn Danish to work in Denmark?

If you’re only in Denmark for a few months, it might not be worth the investment in time to learn much more than the basic pleasantries in Danish…

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Rich in Denmark

Denmark is a rich country, but does it have rich people? It does, but Denmark’s wealthy tend to keep a low profile, due to the informal Jante Law…

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Equality and the Electric Bike

When I first arrived in Denmark, you could shut down any dispute in Denmark by appealing to equality and the common good…

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How to handle a conflict in Denmark

Denmark is not a passionate culture. If you hear someone talking about their passion here, it’s almost always some sort of hobby…

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New Year's Eve traditions in Denmark

New Year’s Eve in Denmark is all about amateur fireworks. Cannonballs, Ding Dongs, Triple Extremes, these are the fireworks you can purchase…

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Drugs in Denmark

In Denmark, the approach to drugs is inconsistent. Getting illegal drugs doesn’t seem to be too difficult, but getting legal drugs from your doctor can be…

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What newcomers to Denmark ask me

When you’ve been an international in Denmark for a while, as I have, you sometimes forget what it was like to arrive here for the first time and know nothing…

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