People who move to Denmark often complain that Danes are not spontaneous. Trying to strike up a conversation with someone in the street or in public transport is usually a non-starter. Even when you know people, getting together has to be planned well in advance. Calendars fill up quickly.
There’s an old joke that if two Italians meet in the street, having not seen each other in a long time, they’ll go get a spur-of-the-moment cup of coffee and catch up.
Two Danes run into each other – they’ll both reach for their calendars and figure out when, in the near future, they might have time to catch up.
What about next Thursday afternoon after work and before dinner? No? How about the following Wednesday?
Spur of the moment beer by the water
The only exception is spring. This time of year, when the snow is gone and the buds finally start to come out on the trees, an unexpected afternoon of sunshine is a great excuse to toss aside all of your pre-existing plans and go have a beer by the water.
And there is almost always place to have a beer by the water, wherever you are in Denmark.