5 things I miss from Denmark (because it’s different here in France)

Well, as some of you might know, I wrote a series about things, that I miss while living in Denmark (Part 1 and Part 2). Now the tables have been turned and I am spending my summer in France, in Lyon to be specific, for an internship and I changed the Danish Hygge-Life for a few weeks of French lifestyle. Even though I am absolutely in love with Lyon and the weather and food is amazing here, I start to miss things that I took for granted in Copenhagen. That is why I take the chance to write this blog post today, about things I am missing while being away from Denmark 🙂

1. Paying cashless
There is often a “10 or 15 Euro minimum” when paying with credit card here, and sometimes the little shops (not big chain store like H&M or Sephora) or restaurants charge an amount for accepting credit cards as well. Another thing, there is no mobilepay or a similar option. I had to get used to carry cash with me all the time, everyday, everywhere.. and to be honest, I ran out of more than once so far because I am a horrible person in planning ahead 😀 I am just spoiled and so used to pay with my credit card or mobile phone, no matter how small the amount or where I buy it. It just became so normal while I was in Denmark. Even splitting up a bill is more complicated now, since I need to have the right amount in cash with me and I can’t just mobile pay my friend my part of the bill. Yes, I know this is an absolute first world problem, I admit it, but I still miss the comfortable way of wireless transferring money within a few seconds.

2. All night Metro line
Around midnight, the metro line and train stations close down here in Lyon and you either have to walk home or get an Uber or a Taxi. It is annoying, because who wants to go home at 12? And on the other hand, you can’t afford to pay a taxi several times a week to get home from a friend’s place or dinner, and you don’t really want to walk 5 km home in the middle of the night. Most of the time, there is no choice though. So actually, I would walk 5km home and I would walk 5km more, just to be that girl that walks a while to get home to her door 😉 😉
Seriously, I walked home through half Lyon (and played PokemonGo at the same time). I miss the Copenhagen Metro lines that drives all night and brings me home, or at least closer to it, so I don’t have to walk through the entire city at 4 am.

3. Shop opening times
A bit similar to the metro lines, I feel like the shops and supermarkets are closed too early. Additional to that, many places are not open on Mondays (since they were open on Saturday). Out of habit I forgot to go buy grocery before the weekend. Therefore, I had to live off kebabs last weekend, since everything was closed and I wasn’t used to a few things :
1. a lot of supermarkets being closed earlier on Saturday, 2. no supermarket is open on Sundays and 3. some shops and cafés are closed on Mondays as well! It feels like it’s closed half the week 😀
I miss the freedom, while living in inner Copenhagen, where I can run down to Føtex, Kiwi or Lidl at 9 pm and get some snacks. Netto even has shops, that are open 24 hours! And I could go shopping on a Sunday and I didn’t need to worry on Saturday about shops being closed the next days – because in Denmark, they are literally open all day, every week. Maybe that’s why Danes are the happiest people in the world, because the can go down and grab more food during a Netflix marathon in the middle of the night! 😀

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4. Traffic rules and driving
Okay, here is the thing: French people drive crazy fast and furious 😉 . Honestly, they are reckless, egoistic and pretty aggressive (at least that is my personal experience I made in Southern France, Paris and Lyon so far).  They also park as bad and careless as they drive.
And apparently the zebra crossing, or crosswalk, are optional here. Most cars will just drive and not stop, and you just have to walk over like a maniac, hoping that the cars will stop in time. Otherwise, if you stand at the side and wait for a car to slow down, you can set up a a chair and get tanned under the French sun because I swear, 90% of the cars won’t slow or stop for you (or anyone in that matter). The crosswalk are just some beautiful, parallel lines that French drivers overlook and ignore. It’s a bit like South-East Asia here, just with less noise, motorcycles and bikes.
On the other hand, not a single French pedestrians cares about red lights, they just walk and the cars have to either wait or well,… wait. I guess people in France are a bit more casual and easy-going when it comes to traffic rules because they don’t have to pay 750kr / 100 Euro fine when they get caught 😉

5. Water boiler
Last but not least, I miss having a water boiler. I don’t know why and for what reason, but many French households don’t have a water boiler. It’s pretty weird (at least for me, since I always had one), and I find it slightly annoying to cook my water in a little pot every time. According to some expats, French people just don’t need water boilers. To be honest, I couldn’t argue and have a proper reason, why having a water boiler is better than boiling the water with a small pot.. but for me, it just feels wrong 😀

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Nevertheless, I really enjoy being here, I am so in love with Lyon and I would like to come back for another summer, but of course, I am looking forward to return to Copenhagen in a few weeks and be able to leave the house without 2 kilos of coins and change, be able to satisfy my cravings for snacks after 8 pm (and all of Sunday) and I can’t wait to have an all night metro and bus line again because as much as I enjoy PokemonGo, it’s a bit annoying to walk home after a night out 😉

What do you miss when you are not in Denmark? Let me know in the comments or on Facebook 🙂 You can read about the beautiful city of Lyon in my last blog post here and I will publish a guide with my favourite spots soon 🙂 Vi ses, Tuni

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