After that we went to Rundtuun, which is a giant round tower that overlooks the city. Then she took me to Nyhavn, which are those colorful buildings that Denmark is known for, and it's just as beautiful as the photos - literally, captivating. She showed me around the shopping area where I got postcards and a pin (I decided for every country I visit I'm going to get a pin to go along with it). Also, while driving to Denmark we saw a giant bridge that connects the two parts of Denmark together, and it was huge and also had giant Christmas trees on top of it - apparently this is the highest point in Denmark.įor my first full day in Denmark, I took the train (which seems way easier and more punctual than the Deutsche Bahn) to Copenhagen to meet up with my friend, Sidse, who I met three years ago when she was an exchange student at my school. Then they showed me the memes of Ohio being the worst and weirdest state, which I personally think is Arkansas, but let me know your thoughts. Then they made me watch 'Probleme gelöst' (problem solved) videos on TikTok, which was funny and all the TikToks were in German and I understand pretty much all of them. And my host siblings were just vibing with the song, it was a moment of shock for me. During the car trip, my host siblings introduced me to 'And We Danced.' by Macklemore, which is a song a lot of Germans love but it's banned in the U.S. We left around 13:00 and didn't get to the summer house until 22:00-23:00. Another thing to point out, the cake served on a Dane's birthday is not similar to an American cake, it's more like three layers of pancake-like dough with whipped cream in between each layer and fruits on top of it.įor Christmas break my host family and I traveled to Denmark, embarking on a ten hour car trip from Krefeld, NRW, to Hillerrød, Denmark. Something that I'm not sure is a Danish, German, or just my host family thing - it's that after the birthday person has woken up, they immediately unwrap their birthday presents, even before school. The birthday person has to stay in bed and wait until everyone in the house comes into their room to sing happy birthday together. On a birthday, Danes decorate the house with tons of Danish flags, and even put Danish flags on birthday cakes. The first Danish tradition I learned was in relation to celebrating birthdays. And one thing about Denmark, they're going to have a happy and amazing time (with tons of alcohol while they're at it - they drink more than Germans).īelow is how I celebrated Christmas in Denmark, as well as some Danish traditions I learned for New Years' Eve and birthdays. Throughout this year I've experienced some amazing traditions that come from Denmark (as well as Germany too), and I love participating and finding out new cultural differences from our celebrations. One interesting fact about my host family is that my host mom is Danish, so when I found out, I wondered if we would take part in different celebrations or traditions than Germany typically does, and I wondered how Danish and German cultures differed. But there are a lot more lyrics left.When I received my host family placement, I was excited to figure out everything about my host siblings, host parents, what city I would be in, etc. So if they are feeling edgy, or drunk, they might continue up to here. … på en skottkärra fram! (… pushed on a wheelbarrow).Ja, då ska du skjutas x3 □ (Yes, then you shall be shot/pushed).… uti hundrade år! (until you are 100 years old!).Och när du har levat x3 (And when you have lived).… uti hundrade år! (until you are 100 years old!).Javisst ska du leva! x3 (Of course you shall live!).Ja, må du leva uti hundrade år! (Yes, may you live until you are 100 years old).Ja, må du leva! x2 (Yes, may you live!).But we can take a deeper look into it just for fun. For the most part, everyone just sings the first, child friendly, part. □ But then changing it to something more innocent that sounds similar. The song is about hoping that someone lives to 100 years… and then suggesting different ways of violently killing them. You often replace the “ du” for “ han” (he), “ hon” (she), or “ hen” (gender neutral). The song is called “ Ja, må du leva” (yes, may you live). Link 1 link 2 link 3 link 4 link 5 archive Happy Birthday!