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LIVING IN DENMARK

KEY POINTS: What changes about life in Denmark in December 2021

Here's what changes in Denmark in December and how it could affect you.

Published: 29 November 2021 17:34 CET
Updated: 4 December 2021 10:45 CET
Brexit residency applications, travel restrictions and the return of face mask rules are among changes in Denmark in the lead up to Christmas.
Brexit residency applications, travel restrictions and the return of face mask rules are among changes in Denmark in the lead up to Christmas. File photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix

Face masks return to Denmark 

New Covid-19 rules on the use of face masks and the coronapas health pass took effect in Denmark on November 29th and will stay in effect until at least December 11th.

Face masks are now required on public transport, including taxis and ride sharing services. They will also have to be used in supermarkets and in other retail settings like shopping malls and stores.

Masks will also be required in health and social care settings such as hospitals, clinics and community care.

Rules relating to the coronapas Covid-19 health pass have also been broadened and the interval for which a negative Covid-19 test gives a valid pass reduced.

The rule changes are detailed in full in this article.

Deadline for post-Brexit permanent residency applications approaches

Applications for post-Brexit permanent residency with the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI) should be sent be the end of 2021.

In its information letter sent in December last year, SIRI asked British residents born before 1946 to submit their applications up to the end of November, allowing time to attend appointments to submit biometric data, which must be done in person.

Biometric information is submitted at one of Siri’s six offices, which are in Valby outside Copenhagen, Aarhus, Odense, Aabenraa, Aalborg, and Bornholm.

The overall deadline for applying for residency is December 31st 2021. An application is considered to have been fully submitted once you have both sent in the application form and submitted biometric data.

You apply for residency at the New in Denmark page. 

READ ALSO: Brexit: Danish minister urges Denmark-based Brits to apply for new residency status

UK tightens travel restrictions on arrivals from abroad

The UK announced on Saturday that PCR tests and self-isolation for UK arrivals would be reintroduced amid concerns of the new Omicron variant that was first identified in South Africa and has now been found in several people in mainland Europe and the UK.

The new requirements are set to come into force at 4am on Tuesday, November 30th, and are therefore likely to affect travel from Denmark throughout much of not all of December.This means that if you’re arriving in the UK after 4am on Tuesday, November 30th, you’ll need to book and take PCR tests instead of lateral flow tests, which will no longer be accepted.

You’ll need to take a PCR test by the end of the second day after arriving in the UK and self-isolate until you get a negative test result.

READ ALSO: What travellers from Europe need to know about new Covid entry rules in UK

Christmas holidays 

Schools will generally close their doors for the festive season on Friday, December 17th, and reopen on Monday, January 3rd. 

This is liable to change locally, however, because term times are set by municipalities. For example, children in Frederikshavn will have to wait until the 22nd to go on their Christmas holidays.

School term dates can be looked up on the website of your local municipality.

Deadline for Christmas deliveries

It’s the season for sending letters and parcels, and it you want to be sure your gifts and cards arrive on time, there are a few dates to keep in mind.

According to Danish postal service Postnord, normal letters should be sent by December 16th and parcels by December 21st if you want them to arrive at a Danish address in time for Christmas.

If you’re sending post abroad, the deadlines for both letters and parcels are December 13th (EU plus Norway); December 6th (rest of Europe); November 29th (rest of world).

It’s worth checking the exact time of day you need to drop off parcels at your local post desk or the time at which post boxes are emptied to ensure you are within the deadline.

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LIVING IN DENMARK

Six useful products I discovered in Denmark

Denmark is well known for its tradition for high quality design, but which products make a difference to everyday life?

Published: 22 March 2023 17:52 CET
Updated: 26 March 2023 09:04 CEST
Six useful products I discovered in Denmark

Inbuilt bike locks 

There’s no need to carry around a heavy and impractical chain to lock up your bicycle in Denmark, as these all come fitted (or you can cheaply add) an inbuilt lock on the frame of the bike.

The lock is the form of a circular bar which is released by a key and goes between the spokes of the back wheel, meaning it can’t be turned when the lock is in the fixed position.

This way, bikes can be locked while still standing freely – which is just as well, since there are not enough railings and bike stands in the country to accommodate the many, many bicycles.

Of course, a locked bike can, in theory, be picked up and carried away even if the wheel doesn’t turn and unfortunately, this does happen sometimes. But not enough to undermine the public trust in bicycle wheel locks.

Photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix

Rain trousers

Rain trousers/pants (regnbukser) can be bought on their own or with a matching jacket as part of a regnsæt (“rain set”).

These waterproof pants are a novelty to those of us who don’t come from bicycle cultures, but after your first rainy day cycling commute leaves you at the office with drenched trousers, you’ll understand the appeal.

They are designed to fit over your regular trousers and can be stretched over the top of your shoes and held underneath them with a piece of elastic attached to the bottom hem.

While primarily designed for cycling, they also come in handy for walking around during Denmark’s regular spells of cold, damp weather.

Photo: Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix

READ ALSO: Essential rain gear for a wet Danish winter (and spring, summer, autumn)

The flatbed toaster

There’s something indefinably satisfying about putting two slices of bread in a toaster and waiting for the ‘ping’ as they pop up, warm and ready for spreading.

However, there’s no getting around the fact that toasters are a bit impractical when it comes to thick slices and rolls.

Of course, you can also warm bread in the oven, but it’s more hassle and not for quite the same result.

Enter the flatbed toaster. This device is much more popular in Denmark than the pop-up version and enables easy, simultaneous warming of several slices of bread of various shapes and sizes – including of course, the national favourite, rye bread.

Pro tip: turn the dial less for toasting the second side of the bread, because the element will already be warm. This way you avoid burning the second side.

Photo: Liselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix

The cheese slicer

Cheese products popular in Denmark include havarti and the Cheasy range from dairy Arla.

These are both soft cheeses and should be cut with an ostehøvl (cheese slicer), a quintessential Danish kitchen utensil.

There are two types of ostehøvl: a wire-based type and a version that looks a bit like a trowel, with a raised edge and a gap in the middle for the sliced cheese to pass through.

Cutting Danish soft cheese with a knife will turn the block into a crumbling mess, so in this setting you can’t really avoid using the specialised slicers. And while their usefulness is diminished for something like cheddar, there are plenty of softer cheeses in other countries that would surely benefit from being set about with an ostehøvl.

One thing to be aware of: injudicious use of the slicer can cause a “ski slope” cheese block, creating uneven slices and leaving one side of the block thicker than the other. Slice evenly.

READ ALSO: Why does Denmark produce so much cheese?

Foam washing cloths for babies

If you’re a parent and have found yourself struggling with a pile of dirty wet wipes or cotton pads after changing your baby, you may have found yourself wondering if there’s another way.

In Denmark, there is: the engangsvaskeklude (disposable washing cloth) comes in tightly-stuffed packets of 50-100 small, square foam cloths, around 20 square centimetres in size.

The cloths are made from thin slices of polyether foam, a type often used in sofa cushions. Manufacturers say it is better for the environment than other types, and the advantage against wet wipes is they are perfume-free.

They just need to be made damp with a splash of lukewarm water, then you’re ready to wipe – they tend to have a good success rate for picking up baby poo.

A sticker saying ‘no thanks’ to junk mail

We’re talking about physical junk mail here, not the type that goes into your email spam box although if there was a sticker for this, I’d be at the front of the queue.

The reklamer, nej tak (“advertisements, no thank you”) sticker can be ordered from FK Distribution, the company which operates Denmark’s tilbudsaviser (“special offer newspaper”) deliveries. These result in piles of paper leaflets, detailing offers at supermarkets, being pushed through letter boxes every day.

These leaflets are useful for bargain hunters, but many people take them out of their overfilled letter box and dump them straight into recycling containers. If you have a nej tak sticker on your letter box, you won’t receive any of the brochures in the first place.

You can also choose a sticker which says “no thanks” to adverts but excludes the offer leaflets, so you can cut down on the junk mail while still keeping abreast of good deals.

Have I missed any good ones? Let me know.

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