Danish Quotes

“... if you're not happy with who you're waking up with most mornings, make a change -- if you want something (or someone) else, go for it.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“In that memorable year, 1822: Oersted, a Danish physicist, held in his hands a piece of copper wire, joined by its extremities to the two poles of a Volta pile. On his table was a magnetized needle on its pivot, and he suddenly saw (by chance you will say, but chance only favours the mind which is prepared) the needle move and take up a position quite different from the one assigned to it by terrestrial magnetism. A wire carrying an electric current deviates a magnetized needle from its position. That, gentlemen, was the birth of the modern telegraph.”
― Louis Pasteur

“Remember: Danes are direct descendants of Vikings, so we enjoy watching things burn: bonfires, candles, villages. It's all good.”
― Meik Wiking, The Little Book of Lykke: The Danish Search for the World's Happiest People

“Det var det der holdt mig vågen om natten," sagde Walter. "Den her opsplitning af landet. For det er det samme problem overalt. Det er ligesådan med internettet eller kabel-tv - der er aldrig noget centrum, der er ingen fælles enighed, der er bare en billion forskellige distraherende støjkilder. Vi kan aldrig sætte os og føre en vedvarende samtale, det er bare billigt skrammel og en lorteudvikling, det hele. Alt det ægte, alt det autentiske, alt det ærlige dør ud. Intellektuelt og kulturelt bliver vi kastet omkring som tilfældige billiardkugler og reagerer på den seneste tilfældige stimulans.”
― Jonathan Franzen, Freedom

“Du skal bare huske at det ikke er en perfekt krig i en perfekt verden.”
― Jonathan Franzen, Freedom

“Jayden went for my fries, ignoring Anna’s narrowed gaze. “Thanks, babe.”
“You two know each other?” Jo gestured between Jayden and me with her fork.
Before I could nod, he dropped an arm over my shoulders. “She’s my bae.”
I grinned.
“Bae?” Keira sighed. “I hate that word. Do you know what it really means?”
“Poop,” I answered without thinking. “In Danish.”
My eyes widened. Holy crap. I’d spoken without hesitation at lunch! Holy crap! No one recognized my internal freak-out over it, but I couldn’t believe it. I sat there and spoke with no problem.
I needed to give myself a cookie.
Anna giggled. “Oh, man. I know. I know. Still think it’s a cute word.”
Across from her, Keira rolled her eyes. “It literally means shit.”
“Mallory is the shit, though.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, The Problem with Forever

“Why is English so widespread today, and not Danish?”
― Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

“There is not truly bad weather, just bad clothes.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“Min ene sko knirker af mangel på stjerneskud”
― Benny Andersen

“They died. Along with three other men who had joined our group. We were betrayed. The porter had told his girlfriend about the operation. They’d only just met each other. Jens shot her a week later.”

Johannes aka ‘BB’
The Informer”
― Steen Langstrup, The Informer

“The idea of a sandwich as a snack goes back to Roman times. Scandinavians perfected the technique with the Danish open-faced sandwich, or smorroebrod, consisting of thinly sliced, buttered bread and many delectable toppings.”
― DeeDee Stovel, Picnic: 125 Recipes with 29 Seasonal Menus

“When Ole Kirk Kristiansen established the company name LEGO in 1934, it was a fortunate play on words. The entrepreneur had been inspired by the Danish phrase "leg godt" - "play well." He took the beginning of each respective word and made what he considered to be a pleasant-sounding, imaginary word out of them. The company owner was unaware that as the first person present singular of the verb legere, "lego" is also the Latin word for "I assemble" - and therefore completely appropriate for the modularity of the company's later invention, the LEGO brick.”
― Christian Humberg, 50 Years of the Lego Brick

“With the heady scent of yeast in the air, it quickly becomes clear that Langer's hasn't changed at all. The black-and-white-checked linoleum floor, the tin ceiling, the heavy brass cash register, all still here. The curved-front glass cases with their wood counter, filled with the same offerings: the butter cookies of various shapes and toppings, four kinds of rugelach, mandel bread, black-and-white cookies, and brilliant-yellow smiley face cookies. Cupcakes, chocolate or vanilla, with either chocolate or vanilla frosting piled on thick. Brownies, with or without nuts. Cheesecake squares. Coconut macaroons. Four kinds of Danish. The foil loaf pans of the bread pudding made from the day-old challahs. And on the glass shelves behind the counter, the breads. Challahs, round with raisins and braided either plain or with sesame. Rye, with and without caraway seeds. Onion kuchen, sort of strange almost-pizza-like bread that my dad loves, and the smaller, puffier onion rolls that I prefer. Cloverleaf rolls. Babkas. The wood-topped cafe tables with their white chairs, still filled with the little gossipy ladies from the neighborhood, who come in for their mandel bread and rugelach, for their Friday challah and Sunday babka, and take a moment to share a Danish or apple dumpling and brag about grandchildren.”
― Stacey Ballis, Wedding Girl

“Vikings, it seems, make their own way.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“Being too thin isn't particularly desirable here. Women eat.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“Hygge has been called everything from “the art of creating intimacy,” “coziness of the soul,” and “the absence of annoyance,” to “taking pleasure from the presence of soothing things,” “cozy togetherness,” and my personal favorite, “cocoa by candlelight”
― Meik Wiking

“Men jeg drister mig, uden Vanitet, at sige, at vore Nordiske Tilskuere, helst af Middelstand, ere langt beqvem-mere Dommere herudi, end de Parisiske: Thi hvis de første ikke have saa fiin Smag som de sidste, saa have de den dog ikke saa selsom og fordærved.”
― Ludvig Holberg, Epistler

“Og hvis han hamrede bogen ned i bordet, ville alle i rummet glo, og de ville ikke se andet end hans hudfarve og hans vrede, og så ville de tro, de vidste noget om ham, og det ville være det samme noget, som havde legitimeret at smide hans oldefar H i fængsel, men det ville også være anderledes, mindre åbenlyst, end det engang var.”
― Yaa Gyasi, Homegoing

“I am touched by your kindness and loving comments on how the messages from the Danish way of Parenting - which comes from my heart - have changed your and your children's lives. Each and every one I keep in my personal treasure chest. Your support means everything.”
― Iben Dissing Sandahl, The Danish Way of Parenting: What the Happiest People in the World Know About Raising Confident, Capable Kids

“Meningen med livet er livet.”
― Kenneth Bøgh Andersen, Den faldne engel

“Danes are blunt and direct and trusting and secure”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“Frihed består ikke i en konstant kredsen om sig selv og sine indre lyster og ønsker, men i en besindelse på det, man er en del af og kommer fra.”
― Svend Brinkmann, Ståsteder

“Man kan måle sit værd på sin loyalitet over for sine valg, ikke på sine succeser eller fiaskoer.”
― Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

“Hvad enten du mener, at du er genial, eller du tror, du er håbløs, så skab det, du har brug for at skabe, og send det ud i verden.”
― Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

“Man skal først prøve at løse ethvert problem ved hjælp af kunsten og derefter alle mulige andre måder. Kunst er den bedste læge. Din personlige læge og samfundets læge.”
― Nadja Tolokonnikova, Sådan starter man en revolution

“Der er noget galt med mig. Enten elsker jeg mit fædreland, eller også har jeg flyskræk.”
― Nadja Tolokonnikova, Sådan starter man en revolution

“Det er, som det er, og det bliver, som det bliver.”
― Jonas Jonasson, The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared

“Bonnie did a nice job with the danish topping this morning: thinly sliced peaches are fanned like angels' wings atop the dollop of cream cheese frosting.”
― Jennifer Gold, The Ingredients of Us

“Verden er din scene.”
― Ella Andrup, Tæppefald

“Hvis du ønsker at forstå dig selv bedre, er det ikke nok at kende til din personlighed, dine træk eller dit indre selv. Du må også forstå det liv, du lever og har levet. Herunder begribe de kræfter, der har formet dette liv.”
― Svend Brinkmann, Tænk: Til forsvar for et tankefuldt liv