Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
According to the 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index released by Transparency Interna-
tional (
www.transparency.org
)
, Denmark and New Zealand are the least corrupt countries
in the world.
HYGGE
Befriend a Dane or two and chances are you'll be invited to partake in a little hygge. Usu-
ally it translates as 'cosy', which goes a long way to explain the not uncommon scenario
of even the gruffest, toughest of Danish men inviting his buddies over for beers and cosi-
ness. In reality, hygge(pronounced hoo-guh) means much more than that. Indeed, there
really is no equivalent in English. Hyggerefers to a sense of friendly, warm companionship
of a kind fostered when Danes gather together in groups of two or more, although you can
actually hyggeyourself if there is no one else around. The participants don't even have to
be friends (indeed, you might only have just met), but if the conversation flows - avoiding
potentially divisive topics like politics and the best way to pickle a herring - the bonhomie
blossoms and toasts are raised before an open fire (or, at the very least, some candles),
you are probably coming close. Many cafes, bars and restaurants do their utmost to
foster a hyggeligatmosphere, with open fires, tealights lit no matter what time of day or
year and, of course, a nonstop supply of alcohol. Interestingly, the word's origin is not
Danish but Norwegian. Originally meaning something along the lines of 'well-being', it first
appeared in Danish writing around the end of the 18th century.
Seasonal Moods
A friendly shoulder to lean on can come in quite handy as autumn's leaves flutter to the
ground and another long, gloomy Danish winter looms. It's a feeling succinctly and wittily
captured in
Året har 16 måneder
(The Year Has 16 Months), a poem by the great living
Danish poet Henrik Nordbrandt: 'The year has 16 months: November, December, January,
February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, Novem-
ber, November, November'.
It's in November that Mother Nature usually unfurls her thick, winter fog over the coun-
try, extinguishing all hope of just one more mild autumnal day. As the celebrated writer
and television chef Adam Price puts it: 'It's in November, when the light leaves us, that the
