In this solo episode of the How to Live in Denmark podcast, host Kay Xander Mellish uses a chance encounter with a Danish‑themed shop in Berlin as a springboard to compare the German capital with Denmark’s capital. She outlines how Berlin’s history as a demilitarized, post‑war, split city has produced a larger, louder, and more chaotic urban environment with a vibrant techno scene, multiple symphonies, opera houses, and zoos, but also more litter, rough sleepers, and a tolerance for low‑income lifestyles supported by artist grants. Copenhagen, by contrast, retains a medieval street plan, a fair‑ytale‑like “hygge” atmosphere, cleaner streets, stronger social safety nets, fewer cultural institutions, and stricter unemployment benefits. Mellish highlights how both cities influence each other culturally— Danes visit Berlin for nightlife, Berliners travel to Copenhagen for its charm and easier wedding paperwork— and notes the friendly balance that has emerged despite historic conflicts. The episode concludes with promotional mentions of the podcast’s Instagram reruns, transcript site, and Mellish’s new Kindle book, The Danish Year.
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Hello and welcome to the How to Live in Denmark podcast. I'm Kay Xander Mellish. When I checked into my hotel on a recent trip to Berlin, I was surprised to find a little shop next door called Hygge. It sold soft pillows, candles, Cute wooden figurines and other home items designed to create a cozy Copenhagen atmosphere in the raw, rough streets of Berlin. It was a Danish theme store right in the middle of the German capital city. Of course, it's not uncommon for one city to have tiny monuments to a different city. After all, Copenhagen has a Berlin bar and a clothing store called The New Yorker and an old Irish pub. But it inspired me to compare the 2 cities, Copenhagen and Berlin, 2 national capitals which are relatively close, less than an hour's flight, but very different in spirit. Those of you who have followed me for a while know that I used to live in Berlin, long before I lived in Copenhagen. This was when I was young and pretty, so quite some time ago. And at the time, Berlin was a demilitarized zone, which meant that military draft notices could not be sent there. That meant that a lot of young German men from around the country chose to live in Berlin as an alternative to joining the army. Which meant the male-to-female ratio at any party was very much in my favor. Berlin was fun and exciting then, and it's fun and exciting now. It has much more of a nightlife scene than Copenhagen, being one of the capitals of techno music, and more of a classical culture scene too. Berlin has 8 symphony orchestras and 3 opera companies. In part because in the days when the Wall was up and the city was split into West Berlin and East Berlin, there had to be an opera company on both sides, and symphony orchestras on both sides. Berlin also has 2 zoos, one in the West and one in the East. Copenhagen has one zoo and one opera company. Berlin is just a bigger city, roughly twice the population. And it's the capital of a bigger country— 84 million people in Germany versus 6 million people in Denmark. If you look at it that way, Copenhagen is culturally punching far above its weight. But living in the 2 cities is very different. Copenhagen is a mostly clean, mostly safe, mostly well-run, mostly get-up-in-the-morning-and-go-to-work type of city. There's not a lot of opportunity to opt out and be a poet or a punk, especially since reforms tightened the maximum term for unemployment payouts to 2 years instead of 4. Berlin, on the other hand, is more tolerant of long-term, low-income lifestyles. There are a lot more government grants for artists. Until recently, Berlin had a good deal of cheap housing available. That's changing now. Berlin is not always clean and not always well-run. It's a little scruffy. You'll see overflowing trash cans, furniture dumped on the sidewalk, parks that aren't very well tended. You'll see many more rough sleepers in Berlin— people sleeping in train stations or under railway arches. Or sometimes putting up a tent in a park. That's rare in Copenhagen. I was thinking about these contrasts as I waited in line at lunchtime at a trendy currywurst stand in Berlin. Both the Danes and the Germans still seem to enjoy their traditional foods, especially at lunchtime. And both Copenhagen and Berlin are modern cities strongly affected by their history. The center of Copenhagen still has its medieval street plan, even if most of the brightly colored buildings there are from the 1700s and 1800s. This helps give Copenhagen its fairytale feeling, its warmth, its hygge. Berlin is not hyggelig. Its medieval street plan is long gone. And of course, the city was devastated at the end of World War II. You can still find bullet holes from the Battle of Berlin in some buildings, like the old National Gallery in the center. Big parts of the city were flattened, and the buildings that replaced some of the destruction weren't very pretty. Parts of Berlin are actually ugly. As different as the 2 cities are, their residents are admirers of each other. Danes vacation in Berlin to get a taste of big-city nightlife. Berliners often come to Copenhagen to enjoy the charm of Tivoli Gardens and sometimes to get married. Copenhagen City Hall has beautiful wedding rooms, and there's much less paperwork than there is in Germany. Germans and Danes have been on the opposite sides of several wars, But their 2 capitals— one safe and clean and secure, one fun and a bit chaotic— now have a friendly balance. They even name shops after each other. And that's the How to Live in Denmark podcast for this week. This summer on Instagram, we are bringing back some of our classic episodes, like Do I really have to speak Danish to work in Denmark? Or, or who is Holger Danske? Check them out at How to Live in DK: The Two Is a Number. You can also get all of our podcast transcripts and the ability to listen to the podcasts right at howtoliveindenmark.com. And remember, we've got a new book out, The Danish Year, which is available exclusively on Amazon Kindle for only 35 Danish crowns, $5, or €5. See you next time.
