Denmark

Before I mention anything, this is a very short video clip about the geography of Denmark which I found very useful and informative when writing this post. Credit to the geography now channel!

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Denmark is the southern most nordic country. It effectively connects Scandinavia with mainland Europe. Denmark is made up of 1419 Island, 74 of which are inhabited. The largest is Sjælland. The capital city is Copenhagen(Køvenhavn).

Denmark is an extremely flat country with its highest point being a mere 170m above sea level. Only 13% of its land is forested and the rest being used for agriculture. The majority of the land is rolling hills, sandy beaches and small green island which people tend to go to for camping holidays. Unlike the rest of the nordic countries, it rarely snows in Denmark. It does get cold enough but it doesn't actually snow because of the pressure systems.

The population of Denmark is roughly 5.7 million people. It is one of the most highly taxed countries in the world and was also shown to be the 'happiest' country in the world several times in recent years.  This was however stolen by Norway this year. The background cultural context of Denmark, like many of the other Nordic countries is vikings.

In Denmark people speak Danish. Denmark is where all of the northern germanic and germanic languages are thought to have been born. Originally people would've spoken proto-germanic around 300BCE, then moving onto proto-norse and then eventually onto old norse, east and west norse and gutnish and then further splitting into all of the modern northern germanic languages (Danish,  Swedish, Norweigan, Gutnish(spoken on the island of Gotland to an extent), Faroese and Icelandic). All of these languages are relatively intelligible with each other depending on which dialects you encounter. There is an old saying that many Swedish and Norwegian people will hold close to their hearts, 'Swedish and Norwegian sound like fairies are speaking, but that danish sounds like someone speaking with a potato stuffed down their throats. I have no comment on this. It is also perhaps worth mentioning that LEGO and loudspeakers were invented in Denmark.

Denmark has been part of many interesting projects, such as 'Øresundsbron' the oresunds bridge connecting Sweden with Copenhagen. This has greatly boosted the local economies by greatly shortening the commute between Malmö(Sweden) and Copenhagen. Getting to Denmark is fairly simple, one can fly to Copenhagen or take a train from anywhere in Europe. The airport in Copenhagen has excellent transport links to Sweden, Copenhagen city centre(by metro, train, bus or taxi) as well as the rest of Denmark.

Denmark is a country which I have visited on many occasions and would highly recommend that you all travel there.
Thanks!

The almost perfect country: Sweden and its almost perfect capital

Sweden is a country which has come to be considered a 'utopia' by many people in other countries. People seem to think that the people are perfect, there's no problems in their society, they have a beautiful country and they speak a weird language.


Sweden is a country which I feel a very strong and deep connection to. My mother's side of the family is from there. I've decided to focus on one of the countries from which I originate.




Sweden is an extremely diverse country, from the relatively mild climate in the south in Skåne to the extreme land of the midnight sun and midday moon in Norrland.

This week I thought I'd begin with the capital city: Stockholm. Home of the monarch, one of the oldest cities in Europe being first settled after the ice age and becoming established in the eleventh century.

 

 



Taken by me of Sandhamn

.With a population of only 2,226,795 it's a relatively small city in comparison to some other major cities like London or Frankfurt.


Stockholm is built upon an enormous archipelago. An archipelago being a large group of islands. The main city centre is situated on fourteen main islands. There is also may smaller islands such as 'Sandhamn'(See picture taken by me to the right). The archipelago (as with many other archipelagos) is slightly different to the mainland of Sweden. There are many more deciduous trees as well as, a much more rocky landscape across its entirety. Many of the islands are places where, many Swedes have their holiday homes - Sommar Stuga. Each island is unique in its own right. Most of the islands have full facilities(running water, internet, phone signal and electricity) however some islands don't have any.


The Archipelago has been an inspiration to many writers for example: ABBA wrote many of their songs in a small cabin somewhere in the archipelago. During the summer the archipelago is bursting with life from tourists and Swedes who move there during the summer months. It is easy to get around as there is roads to many of the larger islands(Värmdö) and otherwise very good boat connections exist. However, during the winter ice limits the accessibility of some of the islands, there is fewer people and many business close when there is fewer people. This has caused problems for the permanent inhabitants of the island, and because of this there has been drives to encourage people to permanently relocate or retire to the islands, it is very doable to commute from many of the islands to the city centre, with 45minute ferry rides from many of the islands directly into the city.


Tourism, as I have made obvious is the main driving force of the archipelagos economy. Thanks to the 'Allemansrätt' one can hike around the islands without the worry of being arrested for trespassing. This has made them particularly popular for people seeking a retreat but at the same time, not being too far from civilisation.




In conclusion, the Stockholm Archipelago is an amazing geographical landscape which is well worth visiting. Stockholm Arlanda airport has connections to most major cities in Europe and the world.


Thanks, and feel free to leave a comment !