In this solo episode of the How to Live in Denmark podcast, host Kay Xander Mellish humorously explores what a Danish summer actually feels like. She describes the country’s wildly changeable weather—from freezing rain to scorching sun within an hour—and explains why residents must constantly carry layered clothing, especially families with children. Mellish then highlights two quintessential summer traditions: the media‑driven "summersild" phenomenon, where journalists photograph scantily‑clad women on beaches under the guise of news stories, and the brief, highly anticipated Danish strawberry season, noting its short two‑week window, price fluctuations, and tips for preserving berries. She adds colorful observations about typical summer pastimes such as driving convertible cars, grilling sausages, drinking Carlsberg, and visiting Tivoli. The episode concludes with sponsor information for KXM Group, music credit to George Glavis, and promotion of the How to Live in Denmark book and podcast subscription.
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Welcome to the How to Live in Denmark podcast, episode number 1. I'm Kay Xander Mellish. Today we're going to talk about summer in Denmark. There isn't one. Well, that's not true. Today is summer. The sun is shining and I can see a guy out the window wearing a t-shirt. Yesterday was not summer. It was cold and raining and I wore my winter pajamas. But last week it was summer for 3 days in a row. So you never know. The truth is, here in Denmark, the weather can go from rainy and freezing to sunny and too hot To rainy and freezing again, all within an hour. That's why when you go out in Denmark from May to September, you carry a large portion of your wardrobe with you. You always want a jacket or a sweater, and if you're wearing shorts, you probably want a pair of jeans just in case it gets windy, and maybe a scarf. Of course, if you're wearing jeans, you want to take along some shorts or a skirt so you don't get all sweaty if summer arrives. Say suddenly in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon. It can happen. So you're carrying quite a lot of clothing with you. If you have kids, as I do, you've got to carry the same package for each of them. It all adds up to a very big backpack. Even if it doesn't have a summer, Denmark has some wonderful summer traditions. One of them is called summersild, or summer herring. Now, there's a lunchtime casserole with the same name, but that's not what I'm talking about. No, this summer herring is a regular feature in the Danish media. It involves going out to a beach or a park on a sunny day and finding some attractive young women wearing no clothing or not very much clothing, and then coming up with a news story that provides an excuse to take pictures of them. I have seen summer herring asked about their opinion on global warming. Immigration, educational reform, which they express while wearing a bikini or not wearing a bikini. This year I saw Summer Herring testing out different types of ice cream, biting into long thin bars while the presumably male journalist asked questions and took pictures. Lots of pictures. Maybe I'm just bitter because I personally I'm no longer summer herring. I might have been summer herring at some point when Bill Clinton was president, but not anymore. Another great Danish summer tradition is strawberries, and this time I'm really talking about something to eat. The local strawberry season is about 2 weeks long, and it's so exciting when the first Danish strawberries arrive in June. They are a gorgeous, deep, ripe red, and they taste sweeter than any candy. The strawberry season rolls out slowly, and at first they're expensive, around 35 crowns a pint. And then as more come in from the fields, they get cheaper. 25 crowns. 15 crowns. If they get down to 10 crowns, you should buy a bunch and freeze them. You can make strawberry daiquiris in January. But for now, enjoy the summer, or what there is of it. Laugh at the people driving top-down cars they can only use for 2 weeks a year. Grill sausages outdoors and drink a nice cold Carlsberg beer. Hang out at Tivoli and hang from its golden tower. And don't forget to carry your wardrobe with you. The How to Live in Denmark podcast is sponsored by KXM Group, English communication in Copenhagen. If you have a Danish company doing business outside Denmark, we make you look good in English. Read more at kxmgroup.dk. The music for this podcast was arranged by George Glavis. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes. See you next time. Remember, the How to Live in Denmark book is available for download on amazon.com. You can read it on any phone or tablet. All you need is the Kindle app, and the Kindle app is free. The book's not free, but it's not very expensive either. If you read the book and enjoy it, please leave a review on your local version of amazon.com. It helps other people find the book and find the podcast.
