Land of Beaches Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Aug 19, 2012
One of the really nice things about living in Denmark are the many strand/e (beaches). If you look at a map, you see that the country is more similar to Greece than you maybe thought: The only mainland is the slender Jylland (Jutland) peninsula, the rest of the country is a bunch of ø/er (island/s)…
Denmark at the 2012 Olympics Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Aug 14, 2012
A tiny nation obsessed with hygge (having a good time in cosy surroundings, like when you’re sharing a birthday lagkage, layered cake, with your family), Denmark is rarely associated with athleticism. Wrote poet Piet Hein in 1950: Den slankekur en dansker gerne tager / i håbet om at blive let og mager / er søndagsturen…
Danish Compounds Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Aug 2, 2012
Having taken a svømmetur (swim) at one of the lovely Danish beaches, you’ve just returned to your friends. A stupid cloud is drifting across the sun, and you’re drypvåd (soaking wet). You’re bound to reach out for your badehåndklæde (bath towel). The bold words above are all compounds – single words squeezed together to form new words. This…
Going on holiday Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jul 25, 2012
It’s ferie (holiday) time, and most Danes pakker kufferten (pack their trunk) and prepare themselves to escape to another place for a couple of weeks, be it Island (Iceland), Grækenland (Greece), Thailand, the local beach, a sommerhus (summer residence, cabin) in another part of the country, or your very own kolonihavehus. No matter where you…
Norway in our hearts Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jul 22, 2012
One year ago, den 22. juli 2011, Norwegian extremist Anders Behring Breivik murdered 77 people in cold blood, in Oslo and on the island of Utøya, both in Norway. News of the tragic event spread like wildfire here in Denmark. Previous atrocities of a comparable scale — the Oklahoma bombing in USA [oo-ehs-AH], mass killings…
Prejudices in Gellerup Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jul 17, 2012
This week I’ve got a guest blogger helping me. Say hello to Elsebeth! Working as a trainee at a local newspaper, she helped making a really interesting survey of the prejudices between the many ethnic groups that live in Gellerup, Århus… Here in Gellerupparken (The Gellerup Park) near Århus, where I live, there are more…
The World’s Biggest Party Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jul 12, 2012
72.000 people. About 100 bands. Thousands of telte (tents). A week of dancing, drinking, swimming, smoking, flirting, making love, and grooving to some of the hottest names on the international music scene. Last year I told you of Roskilde Festival, the largest music festival in Northern Europe. This year, I had the chance to go…