(Some of the) Differences Between the U.S. and Denmark

Even though Denmark and the U.S. are similar in many ways, there are a lot of differences between the two. I know about some of them since I've been here several times, and I know about others since I read expatriate blogs voraciously before we made the jump, but others are still a surprise. I'll go over some of them here.

Power

Of course, the outlet plugs are different. The standard voltage in the U.S. is ~120V/60Hz, and here in Denmark, the standard is ~230V/50Hz. Even the outlets are happy here. :D

U.S. power outlet (left) and Danish power outlet (right)

The difference in voltage meant that we had to leave some of our electronic items behind when we moved. These were some devastating sacrifices - our record players, our Fellow electric kettle, my sewing machine, our amps. Some electronic devices are designed to accept both U.S. and EU voltages, so we can still use our computers, phones, Nintendo Switches, speakers, alarm clocks, hair trimmers, etc., as long as we have an adaptor for the outlet.

I had a couple of adaptors from previous travels, so we showed one to Mom before we left Post Falls. I snapped a picture as she examined it, and it was so perfect, I warned her it would show up in the blog at some point. (I love you, Mom!)

Mom scrutinizes a Danish outlet plug.

Rules of the Road

There are many little differences when it comes to driving. Danes still drive on the right side of the road and the driver is still situated on the left of the vehicle, so that's familiar, but Denmark (and basically the rest of the world) uses the metric system, so map directions and speed limits are given in kilometers.

Danish speed limit sign - 60 km/hour (~37 mph)

Due to the number of people who commute via bicycle here, there are also many dedicated, separated bike roads alongside the roads for cars.

Typical layout of a road in town with dedicated lanes for vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians.

The bike lanes have their own signals, so while the cars are turning right on a green arrow, the bike stoplight will be red for bikes going straight and green for those turning right as well. In a car, you cannot turn right on a red light like you can in the U.S. You might take out a cyclist or two!

Bike stoplight over the bike lane alongside the road.

There are also fewer places where you must come to a full stop in a car. If you see "shark teeth" on the ground, it means you just slow down and roll forward as you look around for oncoming traffic - you don't have to stop completely unless it's necessary.

"Shark teeth" indicating you just slow down but don't need to fully stop if it's clear.

Transportation

The public transportation system here is extremely efficient in contrast to the nearly nonexistent public transportation system in North Idaho (though larger cities in the U.S. do typically have a functional system). It's pretty complicated to learn how to buy the appropriate ticket, but once you figure it out (or have it explained several times), it's easier. There is a system of busses (both regional and more broad-service), trains, and (when you get into Copenhagen) the Metro. You can take your bike with you in special train cars, too.

Bus between Birkerød and Allerød

Bus stop in Birkerød.

The bus stops around town have digital displays on them with information about when the bus will arrive and which bus it is. There is also usually a shelter with a bench to shield you from the rain as you wait.

And it goes without saying (or has maybe just been said a lot already) that Danes bike everywhere. It's good for the body and good for the environment!

A common site around DK.

General Observations

There are some really positive differences Zac and I have both appreciated a lot:

- Billboards don't line the roads and highways here. It's just lush greenery (and maybe a cow or a sheep).

- There's virtually no litter anywhere. When you drive down the highway, there aren't bags of trash, couch cushions, McDonald's bags, Home Depot buckets, or any other items that have been chucked out of moving vehicles adorning the weeds alongside. It's very clean and pretty.

- Everyone drives similar-sized cars in a respectful manner. There are not huge diesel trucks "rolling coal" as they fly past you in your tiny car. No one weaves dangerously in and out of traffic. When cars pass each other and cut in here, it's more like a well-orchestrated dance. No one lays on their horn or flips people off, even when we make a driving mistake (and when I say "we," I mean "Zac" because I have yet to drive in this country).

The only pickup we've seen so far - and look how pretty it is along the highway!

- There are no aggressive flags or vinyl car decals! It's so chill here. This combined with the more respectful driving culture really keeps your blood pressure in check as you commute.

- The roads are very well-maintained. They match, they're smooth, and the lines are well-marked.

Cars

The cars you see are a mix of the makes we see in the U.S. and makes more commonly found in Europe, but even the familiar makes have models totally unfamiliar to me. For example, you'll still see Teslas, Nissans, Hyundais, Audis, Fords, and Toyotas, but instead of a Nissan Rogue or Altima, you'll see the Qashquai. Instead of the Kia Sportage, you'll see a Kia Picanto. Ford Mustang? Nah. Ford Aygo! Volkswagen Beetle? Not as common as the Up!, Touran, or Polo.

It's kind of fun to car-watch as we travel around.

A lot of cars here run on diesel, too. Many are hybrids or electric. There are electric charging ports kind of all over the place.

Food

Denmark has less processed food than the U.S. There are a lot of organic fruits and vegetables, dairy products that are delivered to the store within 24 hours of their packaging, etc. This does mean that you have to grocery shop more often (things spoil faster), but everything tastes great.

There are a few stores that sell semi-familiar things from the U.S. We got Doritos the other day, but they were Sour Cream rather than Cool Ranch and they taste less...fake? Anyway, they were good, but not addictive. I'm still not sure if I love that or dislike it. They've also started selling Prime in Denmark, so the kids get excited to see that. There are some familiar candy bars, sodas, and cereals, but again, they're all a little different here - the packaging, the portion sizes, the names, the taste.

Kellogg's Frosties, anyone?

Coffee is SO GOOD. I'm literally drinking store-brand instant coffee and it's absolutely delicious.

Store-brand (Rema 1000) organic instant coffee. Who would've thought this would be amazing?

We are trying different brands and narrowing down our "favorites." Kaden has tried a couple different chocolate milks, and while they're no Fairlife, he did settle on one he likes a lot. He spilled some, which brings me to another difference - I think groceries are a little more expensive here than in the U.S. (although I have been too tired to do any direct comparisons of common items at this point), so when he spills some chocolate milk, it's kind of devastating. I told him to suck it up off the counter. He pointed out that he got in trouble for doing that in the U.S. once. Haha!

Kaden's big glass of pre-bedtime chocolate milk. Which he spilled.

Beer

We had heard there weren't good craft brews in Denmark, but we've been buying single cans of all kinds of different beers and loving them. There are also way more non-alcoholic beer and wine options here, and so far, they are all good, too.

Delicious fruited sour (4.0% ABV, 5 IBU, tastes great) from Anarkist - we've been trying all of their brews!

Figuring out which beers are our favorite in Denmark is incredibly fun research. I see some tours in our future.

Everyday Items

In the U.S., we have just a ton of choices for things like soap, toilet paper, paper towels, dishwasher tabs, and other everyday items. In my experience, we are also very particular - our soap is always a certain brand or we have to get the "right" paper towels - and we tend to get these from specialty stores or at least big box places like Walmart or Target or Costco. I am noticing that is not the case here. People just buy the store brand of almost everything. Oh, and it doesn't suck.

Store-brand hand soap in the bathroom.

Store-brand dishwasher tabs.

Respect for Life

People don't care about living side-by-side with six- and eight-legged creatures in their homes here and they don't go out of their way to kill anything. The sheer number of spiders in this house was alarming at first, but after talking to a few people, homeowners don't try to kill any of them because none of them are dangerous to people or pets. There are no venomous spiders here. There are fuzzy moth larva just chilling between the window panes, there are robber flies living in the living room, and there are new zip lines of spider silk across the stairway every day. I'm getting used to it. [Edit: I just found out Zac killed my robber flies. He's still very American.]

One of our robber fly roommates. It's actually pretty cool-looking.

Plants also get a lot of respect here. They are everywhere, indoors and out. In fact, many parking lots aren't paved with asphalt devoid of plant life, they are made of bricks or cobblestones and plants grow up in between them. Plants serve as fences, privacy barriers, decoration, and sources of food. They are allowed to grow where they grow, they're maintained, and they make for a very peaceful, lush, verdant setting wherever you go.

Parking spaces full of plant life.

Driveway full of plant life!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

There's a lot of emphasis on reducing impact on the environment here, which I love. There's a huge second-hand market, there are spaces for leaving things you no longer want outside trash bins at apartment complexes so someone else can take them, they compost, they prefer to restore buildings rather than raze and rebuild them, and the recycling program is no joke. Case in point: our bins.

Our garbage and recycling bins for sorting.

There's an app called To Good To Go to reduce food waste, too. Grocery stores, bakeries, and restaurants can put together little packages of food that is approaching its expiration. In many places, this food would be discarded, but here, it gets posted to the app and people can claim it and go pick it up. I haven't mastered it yet, but I do have the app downloaded and have made a modest attempt at figuring it out.

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That's what I've got for now! I'm certain we'll have many more to discuss as time goes on.