Denmark

I hadn't thought much about Denmark in the past. In fact, I didn't even know where it was until a quick Google search saved my sorry butt (which told me that it is NOT a city, which is what I previously thought...yikes).

Anyway, Melanie over at you are my fave posted why she wants to live in Denmark. Apparently there was a sweet episode of Oprah that talked all about Denmark and how awesome it is. Here are some reasons:

1. 1/3 of the population mainly bikes for transportation
2. Women get six months to a year maternity leave
3. Homelessness, poverty, and unemployment are rare
4. They eat fresh food from the market daily
5. University is free
6. Marriage is focused on the relationship, not the big wedding
7. Everyone heads home around 3 or 4 in the afternoon (family is a focus)
8. Clean and simple homes (I would have a hard time with this one).

Okay, so it's socialist. Is socialism really so bad? (I had to do another Google search to find out.) And you know what, I kind of like some of the beliefs of it. Well, one in particular - "a society characterized by equal access to resources for all individuals". That's really the only part I like. I mean, maybe I like other things in it, too. But I got bored and stopped reading.

Anyways. Denmark sounds awesome. And you don't hear a lot about Denmark in the news, which is a good sign in my opinion. No one is doing anything horrible there, basically. Which sounds good to me.

I turned to the Lonely Planet (my most trusted travel resource) to get some more information about this country.

Um, HELLO?! Look at the first picture I saw:

Okay, so it's a lego-model. But it's BASED on some street in Copenhagen.

Second - I watched a short video that I can't embed - by Sally O'Brien, who wrote the guide to Copenhagen. She says, "Copenhagen is stylish, well-organized, frequently cloudy or rainy, full of good-looking people, and obsessed with their next meal." Um, awesome! She also says the best music to describe Copenhagen is jazz (drooling now).

The CIA Worldbook (used this every week in high school) says that 87% of the Denmark population lives in urban areas (sweet). 99% of the population is literate. This place is beginning to sound like home...Also, Vikings lived there originally. SOLD!

Check out the official country website (does America have one of those?) here. (Answer: no.)