On Danish Nightlife

On Being Danish: A Numbered Set of Lessons Learned Through Nightlife

1. Denmark is not like the US. There should be no looks of surprise on ay of your faces when I tell you that Denmark is very different from the United States. The culture here is vastly different, and therefore so is the nightlife.
2. Danes can be very anti-social. Danish people are known for being reserved and laid-back. They enjoy spending time with their personal social circles, which can sometimes be difficult to penetrate. In public places, such as bars and clubs, they are likely to socialize among the group that they arrived in, and only with those people. This means slightly less creeping than in similar American locales, but when it does happen, is can be much creepier. However, it should be noted that on the whole, Danes are friendly when you do interact with them. They will be straight forward and tell you their intentions. It is actually quite refreshing, and the people that you do meet are usually interesting, to say the least.
3. The ideal way to enjoy a bar is at a table. With lots of candles. This returns to the Danish idea of hygge, of coziness. If you are sharing drinks with your closest friends, you want to be comfy. You want a table so everyone can talk and Skal and just have a good time. Candles add to the mood, and warm up the room to add to your comfort.
4. Popular taste in music is questionable. Every so often, you might be out and here a song that makes you wonder just who is playing DJ wherever you are. In Denmark, I seem to have this feeling all the time. While sitting in a bar called the Happy Pig, waiting for the live musician to start playing, my ears were graced with "Mamma Mia" by ABBA. As a huge ABBA fan, I was excited but puzzled to hear this. I went upstairs to the club housed in the same building, and the first song I heard was "MMMbop" by Hanson. A few songs later came a song by Aqua. And while I do have fond recollections of this music from my childhood, I was shocked to hear it, even in this "disco." Later in the evening I went to LA Bar, a local favorite of business students. It tends to be a bit fratty, with a large amount of guys crowding the room. As we got past the bouncer and coat check and finally entered, I was shocked to hear "Dancing Queen" by ABBA, and to see a ton of guys dancing. In America this would never happen, for many reasons. But in Denmark, anything goes.
5. Cities develop in the same way. Copenhagen has a Meatpacking District. It is making the transition towards nightlife hotspot, much like its New York counterpart, but it is still functioning. Even though the area smells like meat, I easily had one of my best nights here so far hopping from place to place.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. Rather, a glimpse at some of my evening activities with some weighing in on what Danish nightlife culture is really about.