Denmark:
Denmark always seems to be a step ahead of everyone else in terms of economic, social and environmental policies. Denmark is, in fact, a Greenpeace darling. More than 12,000 people in Denmark are employed in the wind power industry alone, and Danes hope to have 40 per cent of their power provided by the wind by 2030, which will cut greenhouse emissions by 50 per cent. Denmark was also ahead of almost everyone else with social welfare, education, healthcare, and women's rights. So the Danes live a comfortable life, and Denmark is a very pleasant country to visit, populated by friendly, well-off, well-educated and content people.
Copenhagen is a fantastic city to explore; the train station alone is one of the most interesting places in Europe. You can sit for hours watching the vast variety of intriguing people who pass by. There's a pedestrian mall through the centre of Copenhagen, and in the summer it's full of street performers and musicians. The 18th century architecture rivals that of more popular cities such as Amsterdam and Paris. Copenhagen is an excellent place for tall people to shop for clothes that fit. And the restaurants serve really delicious food.
The only problem with Denmark is that it's expensive! It's another case of you get what you pay for. If you go to Denmark, expect prices to be double what they are in countries such as Canada, England and the U.S. Denmark is half as crowded as England in terms of population density, and it's a great bicycling holiday destination. Being mostly surrounded by sea, it's also a good place to breathe in fresh sea air and eat seafood.
On July 2, 2000, a new bridgel/tunnel opened between Copenhagen and Malmo, Sweden. This eliminated the need to take a ferry over to Sweden, and reduced the travel time to 20 minutes.
This page last updated July 2, 2000.