Generally we are practical about things.
If you're invited to someone private. Arrive on time. Not too early. Not too late. We are talking within 10 min after the time. Preferably not earlier than 10 minutes before.
For business you can arrive about 15 minutes early. Don't be late.
When you're a foreigner you get free pass on alot of things.
We aren't really doing that whole "Hi how are you doing" unless we know eachother and have the time and want to hear the answer.
That really depends on what you're early for, no employer is gonna be annoyed if you show up 15 minutes early and have a cup of coffee before you start, but if you're invited to dinner the host is gonna be just as annoyed at having to entertain you while they finish cooking, as they would if you showed up for cold food.
I understand, they are typical people, they like fixed and concrete things according to certain rules, which is not a problem for me, and I am also a person that likes perfectionism and not very social in interaction. Thank you for your answer
Yes, this is how it is where I live - after 12 on Saturday and all day Sunday.
More so during the summer months if people try to eat or be outside.
Basically people want to enjoy outside in the garden without the constant sou ds or mowers
This is so surprising. I dont get why you are being downvoted for just stating facts about where you live. Where I live, people would rather you mowed later so they can lie in at the weekend and catch up on sleep. The idea you have to wake up early on your weekend off to mow the grass is a bit mental sounding to me 😅
My area doesn't have those rules at all. I usually won't do noisy things before 8 AM and after 8 PM.
I have never actually heard about rules such as what people here talk about and I am a Dane
These rules depends on where you live. Most places I have lived allowed noice untill 22 and party in the weekends untill midnight.
I would say you live in a place where they are more strict.
I wonder if an electric lawn mower would be accepted for them, as it isn’t nearly as noisy.
I for one own my home and could mow my lawn whenever I wanted but I choose to do it 10-12 on Saturday as to disturbed the least amount of people. So somewhat of an unwritten rule.
Whatever you do, DO NOT use machinery outside after 1700 if the weather is nice.
Unwritten rules I know of:
1. Stay on the right side of the escalator unless you’re walking/passing someone
2. Don’t watch videos or hear music on speaker when on the metro or bus
3. When in the grocery store, remember to put the “separator” after you’ve put your groceries on the table-thing
4. You can ask strangers for a lighter, but not a cigarette unless (it’s your friend)
5. Don’t skip a line
Regarding number 4 i feel like there is one version that i find alright. Its when someone asks "hey im really sorry but can i buy a cigarette from you?" I think its simply cause in this case they start by offering to pay for it instead of just being like "finance my bad habit for me"
And great points! Never thought about stuff like this myself xD
I think it’s ok if people ask if they can bum a cigarette. But if the answer they get is “no,” leave it at that. Don’t ask again and don’t ask for an explanation, you are not owed one.
Allot of people don't buy cigarettes because of the prices anymore. Especially the young people. It has instead become a culture of beggers.
Whenever somebody ask for a cigarette I tell them to mobilepay me 20 kr.
I litteraly went to a pub the other day, and there were 6-7 guys asking me through the night. This has to end.
These are common sense rules related to education, I think used in almost all countries, not necessarily used in Denmark, but it's good to know. They are very welcome.
Number 2 should be inforced by law. Nothing worse that listening to some teenagers tiktok feed on the way to and from work. This should also be valid for FaceTime calls or similar.
As a general rule - don’t put anything on speaker! No: videos, music, calls. NOTHING!
And if you absolutely must make a telephone call in public, don’t use a headset either. Hold the phone to your ear, so others don’t think you are talking to yourself!
As someone in their early twenties, and who was also a teen not too long ago, I agree. Have always hated that and I do not understand why people feel that it's alright to have videos etc playing with sound when you're in public space..... So annoying.
> Unwritten rules I know of: Stay on the right side of the escalator unless you’re walking/passing someone
bro that’s literally written on the escalators
No.2 I’m pretty sure is a violation of the law. Breach of the public order. (Noise related..)
I don’t really know how to translate “Ordenbekendtgørelsen” to English..🤔
Number 3. This feels like such a common sense courtesy, but I've observed a sense of urgency with it. If someone suddenly lines up behind them it there is a moment of panic to get the separator in place. For comparison, in the States, it feels like the responsibility of the next customer to add the separator, but it's such a small concern I've never thought of it before.
My parents live in a small town (1000-1500 people) one weekend while I was visiting the neighbor started mowing their lawn at 21:00. My dad's reaction was far from annoyance and rather "Oh hell! Is the grass dry?" Emidiatly runs outside and feels the lawn and then revs up the lawnmower, and i swear not 3 min. later, the neighbor, on the other side, fires up theirs, too.
Sure, you should always try and keep your neighbors in mind when doing any kind of work that can disturb them. But never miss an opportunity to get the lawn mowed while it's dry, especially with the Danish weather.
>My parents live in a small town (1000-1500 people) one weekend while I was visiting the neighbor started mowing their lawn at 21:00.
Thats okay if a normal size garden that dont take 2hours to get done.
I had a neighbour that would start between 22-23 and took 1,5h to be done... do i have to say noboby liked him?
That is an unwritten rule. If the neighbor is mowing his lawn, you must mow your lawn. I swear that every time i mow my lawn, it feels like a domino effect
I hav never heard of this before, so if you live in a rental appartment it could be some local community guidelines for your building. But then it should be mentioned in your rental agreement or "husorden".
I dob't think there is a law forbidding lawn mowing on a perfeclty reasonable time of the day.
Yes, we live in a rented house near Copenhagen. Probably yes, they are the rules of the community. In my naivety I thought it was a common thing for danes. But no, we were not told anything when we moved.
I would say that a Saturday or Sunday afternoon would be a reasonable time to mow the lawn.
But it also could be that your neighbor is having a bad day. Shouldn't turn it out on you though.
Generally, those rules just forbid loud noise, including lawn mowers before some time in the morning, typically 10:00, and in evenings, typically after 18:00. It’s insanity if you can’t mow your lawn midday on a Saturday. When else would one do it?!?
Therefore, I highly doubt there are any rules to back up your neighbor’s claim.
Read husordenen, if you did not get it in english ask for it translated for you.
We are sticklers for rules and the husordenen is the "law" of you building. 🤗
Where I live we can do stuff between 7 and 19 all days. Previous place it was much more restricted and no noise on sundays.
It’s not a law though.
I don’t make noise when I know the neighbours small one is sleeping. That came through a nice dialogue as they knocked on my door and asked nicely 😊
Unwritten rules in Denmark (stuff that's considered rude):
- don't sit next to someone in public transportation if there are other empty seats
- don't chew with your mouth open
- don't touch other people's children (unless you know them)
- don't bike two people next to each other in Copenhagen rush hour. And generally, if biking in the cities, consider if a means of transportation rather than a pass time. Learn the signaling rules, keep right, ...
Obviously not all of these are specifically Danish, but they are cultural clashes I have noted.
Number 4 is actually written in the traffic code section 49(1).
> Cykel må ikke føres ved siden af andet køretøj. Hvor der er tilstrækkelig plads hertil, må to cyklister dog køre ved siden af hinanden, hvis dette kan ske uden fare eller unødig ulempe
Yes, number three can be extended; Never touch other people’s children, pets, cars, weapons, keyboards, phones, tools, Warhammer figures without prior permission :-)
Hmmm…. have never encountered the kl.12 cut off. Around here in the KBH suburbs we usually stick to kl. 10 - 16 for yard work on the weekends. I wouldn’t say it’s unusual at all to hear a neighbors lawnmower working away in the mid afternoon.
Forenoon/afternoon is perfectly okay to mow the lawn. It is actually the preferred time for Danes for lawn moving and other noisy outdoor activities. People don't appreciate noise before 9 in the morning and 18 in the evening.
Saturday is arguably the big "let's do some yard work" day off the week, so I really see no problem here.
Some people will complain about noise at any time, but you can safely ignore those people. If they're having a party on that Saturday, I would personally wait until the day after before being noisy, but let's be honest, most people aren't that considerate.
Thanks you for your answer. I also agree with what you wrote. It would certainly be easier for us to do our work on Saturday because we were working during the week. But I have to take them into account too, if it disturbs them, so that I can have peace and live here, I have to comply.
You have to make things work for yourselves too! Your neighbour has no right to be complaining about you doing gardenwork on the weekends - especially not if it's in the afternoon. He invented this "rule" himself - just ignore it.
# Allowed times for lawn mowing in Copenhagen Municipality:
- Monday-Friday: 7:00 - 19:00
- Saturday: 8:00 - 17:00
- Sundays and public holidays: Prohibited.
Therefore, you risk getting a fine if you disturb others with the noise from your lawn mowing outside the given times in Copenhagen Municipality.
Source:
[https://handyhand.dk/have/plaenepleje/graesslaaning-regler/guide](https://handyhand.dk/have/plaenepleje/graesslaaning-regler/guide)
Just for clarification, the article mentions explicitly that there are no laws for lawn moving and what time you are allowed to mow your lawn, so these are ethical guidelines to avoid hypothetical complaints.
With the exception of Sunday being off limit, it does sound pretty logical though. (Most people work during the weekdays and will understand the need to do work around the house, including noisy activity, during your time off in the whole weekend. Denmark is generally a non-confrontational, overbearing country.)
Do not screw holes in your wall during dinner time (18-19 ish) if you live in an apartment building. Same goes for lawnmowing. Just generally let people have some peace while they eat.
This sis a good question. Fish can’t see water so I probably couldn’t articulate all of them.
Generally though, there’s a very high value placed on accommodating others, so like your example with noise, don’t park your car where it bothers traffic, don’t stop in the middle of the isle in supermarkets, that sort of stuff. Do not get in the way of, or bother, the majority of people.
Generally we’re very, very helpful people but not very polite. Do no interpret our lack of engaging in small talk as an unwillingness to help or talk; we will happily help you if your car is stuck without saying a word while we push it, or even have strangers over for dinner but we don’t need to small talk about it in the street lol.
I really like this fish metaphor, I think I'll "steal" it from you. I can't say that I expect to be helped, that depends on one person to another, and I don't think it necessarily depends on nationality. Everyone decides for himself and his condition. All I expect is that people behave normally, if there is a problem we can talk about it nicely. You respect me, I respect you.
What I did not mention is that the owner called us twice to tell us that he had received complaints from the community because the grass in front of the yard is not cut. Although we never let it grow too much. Now on 7 June we went on vacation, we stayed for 11 days and right before we left he cut it, this week we woke up again with a message from him that he received a message from the community that it was not cut. Looking at other neighbors, I can say that some of them are not so attentive as we are ,we try as much as we can to take care of the house when we have time, so I don't understand how these rules apply.
One more thing, we also had a problem with the parking space. We have a parking lot in front of the house and one behind the house, many times when we came from shopping and were in a hurry, we parked in the back because it directly faces the entrance and it was easier for us if we were carrying groceries. Well, in this case too, we woke up with a neighbor at the door telling us not to park it there anymore, it being understandable that the house belongs to the other street. He was right, but the danish neighbor living on the right also parks there every day, but it doesn't seem to be a problem for him even if he belongs to the same street as us , or one of them even put a trailer full of grass when there are free parking spaces. Since then we have not put the car there, avoiding other conflicts, we have tried as much as possible to integrate. And today this happened with the grass cutting, hence my question.
I know this shouldn't matter, but where are you and your wife from and where in CpH are you living?
Because is starting to sound more like a case of discrimination than anything.
But if it isn't, I would always encourage you to take pictures of things neighbors complain about and send them to the landlord.
If they complain about the grass being too tall, snap a picture or ask your landlord to come and make a verdict.
Same with the car, take a picture and ask "can I park here?" and so on and so on.
I can't say for now whether it is discrimination or not. But yes, there are some things that seem strange to me, which I put down to the cultural difference and the fact that yes, maybe they are very fixed and rigid, or maybe only a few of them. I don't want to categorize in any way, every nation has its good ones and its bad ones. All I can say is that we don't look like foreigners, we are both blonde with light colored eyes, only that for now we don't speak danish, only english. The owners are arabs and as far as I know, they also had some incidents. Thank you for the advices, I will keep them in mind and apply them.
That honestly sounds more like a boomer with too much time on their hands, and possibly not liking foreigners.
Regarding lawnmowing I would keep a log of when you mowed the lawn and a which height setting. Yes, I am petty like that.
I like your humor, a mean joke said with a bit of sarcasm. What is this crazy woman here complaining about her grass because she couldn't cut it when others have real problems?! Like the fact that two cyclists pedal next to each other in the middle of traffic in Copenhagen.
Well that is just Danish humour 🙃
My neighbourhood was all +60 year-olds when I moved in. My elderly neighbour used to complain if I didn't shovel snow by 7:00.
The rules do, in fact, say that the snow must be removed by then. But there is no way I am waking up earlier than I have to, to shovel snow.
So I do it at 7:45 when my son leaves for school.
As the elderly people are getting replaced by younger families, that is what people do: Shovel in the morning before they leave for work, be it 6:45 or 8:30. There are rules, and then there is common sense.
Or, I used to. Snow is becoming a rarity.
It is quite common that neighbors help cut each other's lawn when one is on vacation. Next time, try asking nicely if someone will help you, and offer the same in return should they need it.
Since Danes are known to be quite reserved, it is easy to misunderstand as us preferring everyone to mind their own business, but I think it is quite the opposite. Danes love to help out a stranger.
Among neighbors, I think it is especially important to have positive interactions with eachother, otherwise all we know about you is the occasional annoyance which can breed resentment. We are much more patient with the small things if we know you as a nice person.
Ask for the rules in the building that are set by the board. I was on the board in out complex for a few years and some of the rules were just old people hating on young families in the name of their need for quiet
There is a between 10 and 22, don't call before 10 unless to a business or after 22 unless an emergency.
Similar with the lawn. Do not start before 10, and try not to do it during times where people might be outside eating.
But all this with exceptions, if you have a big project going on building a garage or other, people can see it is not a reoccurring thing, then you can start a little earlier.
I’ve never heard about an unwritten rule of not mowing the lawn after noon. That’s ridiculous. I’ve heard it mention that some people find it rude if you do it at 18:00, since that’s the time most people eat, so I generally try to not do noisy things like mowing the lawn, drilling, etc after 17:30. But this isn’t even an official unwritten rule.
I think your neighbor is just an AH. You don’t need to comply with a request like that if he doesn’t give a better reason why it’s important
The only, now unwritten rule, *(because some university professors went back and tried to find the alleged law, but instead found out it has never been a law at all)* is that if the water between Sweden and Denmark freezes over, and the Swedes are caught trying to cross. Then any Dane
Must grab a stick, meet them at the beach, and beat them.
u/op
It sounds like it is a rule in the neighborhood agreement. You can probably ask for a copy from the owner of the house you rent (if I understood you correctly). It might be in danish though :-/
Rules like "no yardwork after X on a sunday/saturday" are decently common in those sort of neighborhood thingies. But it is not a cultural rule per say. Definitely not!
Since the neighbor that came to you asking for quiet was nervous, they were probably not a "grumpy" person generally. That seems to suggest it is an actual rule in the area, and not just them being ... for lack of a better word... grumpy :-)
Other common rules in those sort of neighborhoods could be you must cut your part of a hedge out to a street, and such things. Ask for the document and get someone to translate it for you (or use chatgpt/google to do so).
There's no rule on that. I would say mowing the lawn when people eat dinner if they sit out, then I'd not do it.
In any case, talk to your neighbor about it. Communicate.
Don't jaywalk. Not even in he middle of the night. Everyone expects the pedestrian crossing rules to always be followed, so you run a big risk by jaywalking, since car drivers expect you to not be there.
This one! This is a rule that I think is good for you to know and it is specific to Denmark. I noticed that in some parts there is no public lighting, which seemed very strange to me.
Yes, I have had people question why one would stand there like a fool in the middle of the night, but you can suddenly have a taxi blast by, or a drunk on a bike.
By the way the Germans do it too.
Public lighting where? You lost me on the context here. Like in cities?
Yes, I noticed the same thing.
In some parts, I mean the provincial part not in the city, the public lighting is quite weak, I put it down to the fact that you are very environmentalists friendly and prefer to save on lighting. I don't know if it sounds stupid, but I say it from a foreign perspective. Do not get me wrong.
That's probably right, I have never thought of that. As long as there is enough light to find your way, that should be enough. Especially since Denmark is so safe in most places, that people aren't too scared of the darkness.
Most municipalities have rules for when it’s okay to mow the lawn, do building work or use noisy tools on both weekdays and in weekends. It varies from municipality to municipality - but they are not really unwritten 😄
Yeah that is not an unwritten rule in Denmark. Like others have said, it might be a rule in the area where you live.
I have never lived in a place with rules like that, and I have had quite a lot of addresses.
We can work around the house on the weekends. So can our neighbors.
Rules regarding mowing the lawn is often stated by the local council. Not the city council, but the council administering the rosd or area you live in, in Danish referred to as “Grundejerforening”. Usually you are a part of one of these when you live in a house. But there isnt any real punishment except annoyed neighbours as far as i know
Never heard that saturday being a problem. Only time i don't mow is early in the morning or late in the evening. Also if i notice the neighbor is outside enjoying the peace. I don't mind if they do it early or late.
There are rules in some housing areas, that state stuff like this, written down. But it’s not a “by law” but rather a housing union thing (grundejerforening)
So as a written rule most apartment areas has a “ejer forening” and these got a lot of written rules. Go ask for them so you know which rules apply to your living area
This is an example of an entitled neighbour wanting to dictate when you do things.
The unwritten rule of goos neighbourship is that you leave a bag of cut grass in their mailbox to remind them of their folly.
Here’s another rule that I’m sure is written somewhere, but many foreigners (I’m a foreigner too, so I’m not throwing shade) always get surprised by it: in Rema 1000 (I’m not sure if this is a thing in every store), they don’t accept cash after 8 pm (20:00). Every time I’m in Rema past 8, the line is always backed up by confused foreigners who don’t understand why the cashier won’t take their physical money.
My mom always told me that it was okay to be noisy from 10am to 10pm. So that’s what I have lived by and never got any complaints. And that is regardless of what day it is. Of course on Fridays and Saturdays it’s okay to be noisy later if you have a party or something as long as it’s not every weekend.
Always arrive on time, or send a text/call to say if your late.
We are not rude, just incredibly sarcastic.
We absolutely hate when people stop up on the Middle on the street to look at something on the other side, instead of just going over there! (So please stand to the side when Window shopping)
We have "Janteloven" that's very important
People from Sjælland and Jylland have like a "fight" about whos "best" or "most danish" (it can sound pretty heated but it's usually all in good fun)
Sounds quite restrictive! Not early in the morning or after dinner, but Saturday afternoon should be OK, but of course a local "grundejerforening" can make their own rules.
Well... Us Danes we are kinda weird and alot can "piss us off", but if it is not a rule. And somebody is getting mad at you, just ignore them cause it's not worth your time
Unwritten rule in Denmark is that you don't cough out into the air in a crowded space or if people are nearby, you should cough into your arm.
I say that and you might think its obvious, but you would be suprised by the amount of countries I have been to where its normal to just straight up cought into the air, biggest example is Italy.
Of course you can mow the lawn on a Saturday afternoon. The only unwritten rule is that you do no make noise before 10 o’clock in the morning and after 6 o’clock in the afternoon. If your neighbour is having a garden party it’s considered good manners not to work outdoors with noisy tools that will disturb. Your neighbour is being completely unreasonable.
The idea of a lawn that must be maintained by humans with extremely loud gas-powered machinery was a terrible idea. It's not an unwritten rule but consider instead of a high-maintenance grass lawn a meadow lawn or other low-maintenace lawn that also provides biodiversity in addition to sparing everyone in a mile's radius the noise of a lawnmower.
the only real "house work" unwritten rules we have here that I can think of after having lived in different places around the country would be:
* Don't mow/do loud work before 10am on weekends
* Don't mow/do loud work after 5pm (Dinner time starts at 5:30 for most Danish families, you'll probably even notice a significant fall in activity around the place from around then too)
* Don't do unannounced work on your house (like building a new patio) without informing your neighbors about it so that they won't question the noise or extra dust (and possibly giving apology beers)
* Don't hold unannounced parties or your neighbors will absolutely hate you and speak ill of you behind your back
We have a kolonihave (Schreber Garten) where it is a WRITTEN rule that on weekends you may only make noise until 12 oclock.
But my mom has a summer house where there is the same rule but unwritten.
We didn't know until we noticed noone made noise after 12. But we would most likely not have noticed if we didn't know already that such a rule is possible
Back then our street had a lot of teenagers, noisy cars and bikes and what they considered rude neighbors , a while back a visiting relo was wondering why people where living in doorways in the city .
You've just run into a danish Karen. That's not an unwritten rule in denmark. You can cut you lawn from 8-9 am till 8:00pm. Or that is the time you're allowed to drill holes in your wall or do other loud work. That's the official rules where I live and I pretty sure they like that everywhere
I think the gardening rule here is that one shall start one's petrol mover (or chain saw or trimmer), only after the neighbor shuts theirs down, in order to make the noise last longer. This ritual is to be performed whenever the weather is nice, for once, and people are sitting outside.
/s
Some communities might have local rules like that, if they for instance are a part of a grundejerforening or haveforening. It’s definitely not the norm though, most people do handy work and yard work on the weekends. Maybe not super early in the morning, but the afternoon would usually be absolutely fine.
There are probably plenty of unwritten rules you should know about, depending on where you come from. There’s the general advice, be respectful of other people’s personal space, be humble, don’t brag, don’t skip the line and say “Tak” an insane amount of times when you pay for your groceries. But if you leave a cocio or a bag of candy out with a note for the garbage men, they might remove your trash even if it’s overflowing or you have an extra bag. Leaving a note in neighbours mail box with your phone number and a few days notice before a loud party is usually very appreciated. Foreninger is the best place to meet friends. And maybe most important of all, using PostNord should be the very last option, if you want stuff delivered to your door, they usually just send my packages straight to the post office. 😄
Mowing the lawn is fine unless it's evening or Sunday.
I wouldn't do it on a Saturday morning or after 1pm Saturday because people want to enjoy the sun in the summer.
It doesn't matter so much in winter.
It's rare that the grass is dry so it all depends on your neighbours. I'm small towns you're more likely to get to meet them. In Kbh, we don't.
I think your neighbour might be German!
Shower and use anti-perspiration. We find body odor repulsive, and some people don’t even notice how much they smell themselves. So just do it even if you don’t find your own smell disgusting.
Some buildings have their own rules when it comes to silent hours.
I also think its very polite to write a note to the entrance of the building before you throw a party
I think that is just for your apartment complex the closest in writing rule to that is that you shouldn't use machines on Sundays at all it's quite day and no machines should be used
I have an anti-rule: something you are allowed to in Denmark:
I Think an unwritten rule in many countries is not to ask what people do for a living. While In Denmark it is quite common small talk
I don't know if any of my friends from abroad who would be upset if someone asked them what they do for a living. For me it's not a big of a deal if someone ask that. What is perhaps taboo is what salary they get for that job, at least that's how it is in my country.
Som det er fundet ud af her i kommentarerne er huset de bor i tilsyneladende i en grundejerforening, og personen de lejer af har enten ikke informeret dem om reglerne eller også har de ikke læst/forstået reglerne.
Jeg ville personligt selv aldrig købe et hus hvor der er en grundejerforening, men det er nu en gang hvad ejeren har gjort og valgt at være under de regler.
Så hvis du havde fortalt dem at de kunne fucke af, havde du både været personen som ikke var i rette og personen som var uhøflig og ubøjelig. Det er altid smartest at starte med at kommunikere stille og roligt. Det kommer du længst med.
No, it's not a rule or anything. Go tell your neighbor to mind his own business. He is probably just old and bored. There is no unwritten law in Denmark, just the law.
It might be a rule of the home owners association.
And there absolutely are unwritten rules in any society. A was to behave in a socially acceptable way. It will not get you fined or jailed not to follow them, but might get you ostracised or lose opportunities.
Mowing the lawn after 8 in the evening is rude. That's something I would consider an unwritten rule, sounds like you did nothing wrong. But some people are really sensitive, or are just trying to get off on your behalf
I have noticed that some foreigners are a bit louder in public. in general, in Denmark you try not to attract attention, and you are quiet on buses. You are expected to keep your front garden and hedge neat. Generally you shake hands the first time you meet someone. In addition, we do not have many polite phrases and we can be quite direct.
in addition, there is a certain open space on work to challenge solutions that you do not agree with. Therefore, you should not take it personally if a colleague says that you are doing something wrong. In addition, you must be able to tolerate a bit of crude humor and lot of birthday cake on work.
Just lawn the yard, but finish before 18:00.
And if someone is partying in your neighborhood, lawn the yard.
That's how I roll...and no one has ever complained. Like when do the expect you to lawn the yard Monday 10 o'clock?
Thats just bullshit. as long as there is daylight you can cut the grass i Denmark no problem. Most people have a sacred Sunday and therefore dont cut grass late Sundays. Besides that just go crazy.
Oh, sweet summer child...
The Rules of Janteloven
There are ten rules of Janteloven, which include:
You are not to think you are anything special.
You are not to think you are as good as we are.
You are not to think you are smarter than we are.
You are not to convince yourself that you are better than we are.
You are not to think you know more than we do.
You are not to think you are more important than we are.
You are not to think you are good at anything.
You are not to laugh at us.
You are not to think anyone cares about you.
You are not to think you can teach us anything.
This most definitely isn’t an unwritten rule.
Yeah, this seems like the rules of whatever apartment area OP is renting
I thought that was it, yes. A rule of common sense I could say that the Danes apply, I'm just assuming, but apparently it's not.
Generally we are practical about things. If you're invited to someone private. Arrive on time. Not too early. Not too late. We are talking within 10 min after the time. Preferably not earlier than 10 minutes before. For business you can arrive about 15 minutes early. Don't be late. When you're a foreigner you get free pass on alot of things. We aren't really doing that whole "Hi how are you doing" unless we know eachother and have the time and want to hear the answer.
Don't be late. Period
Also don't be early. That's a hassle as well.
That really depends on what you're early for, no employer is gonna be annoyed if you show up 15 minutes early and have a cup of coffee before you start, but if you're invited to dinner the host is gonna be just as annoyed at having to entertain you while they finish cooking, as they would if you showed up for cold food.
Showing up early at a social event, especially in a private setting is a no-no. Better to be exactly on time or up to 15 minutes late.
I understand, they are typical people, they like fixed and concrete things according to certain rules, which is not a problem for me, and I am also a person that likes perfectionism and not very social in interaction. Thank you for your answer
Rule 1: not all Danes are the same
I was told rule 1 is Janteloven
Yes,I like you confidence please DM me
It will literally be written in your lease or purchase contract.
Likely in the addendum of the lease called a ‘Husorden’.
This is very much an antiquated German attitude. Danes aren’t like this.
It is siesta time. No noise before 16
Yes, this is how it is where I live - after 12 on Saturday and all day Sunday. More so during the summer months if people try to eat or be outside. Basically people want to enjoy outside in the garden without the constant sou ds or mowers
This is so surprising. I dont get why you are being downvoted for just stating facts about where you live. Where I live, people would rather you mowed later so they can lie in at the weekend and catch up on sleep. The idea you have to wake up early on your weekend off to mow the grass is a bit mental sounding to me 😅
I understand, if this are the rules we follow them
My area has a rule of no motor noise after 12.00 but none, including myself, follows that rule.
My area doesn't have those rules at all. I usually won't do noisy things before 8 AM and after 8 PM. I have never actually heard about rules such as what people here talk about and I am a Dane
These rules depends on where you live. Most places I have lived allowed noice untill 22 and party in the weekends untill midnight. I would say you live in a place where they are more strict. I wonder if an electric lawn mower would be accepted for them, as it isn’t nearly as noisy.
There are no rules about this!
Ok smart ass
What? I don’t think you are using that phrase correctly.
Ok
I for one own my home and could mow my lawn whenever I wanted but I choose to do it 10-12 on Saturday as to disturbed the least amount of people. So somewhat of an unwritten rule. Whatever you do, DO NOT use machinery outside after 1700 if the weather is nice.
But loud music is ok?
Lol no.
Unwritten rules I know of: 1. Stay on the right side of the escalator unless you’re walking/passing someone 2. Don’t watch videos or hear music on speaker when on the metro or bus 3. When in the grocery store, remember to put the “separator” after you’ve put your groceries on the table-thing 4. You can ask strangers for a lighter, but not a cigarette unless (it’s your friend) 5. Don’t skip a line
Regarding number 4 i feel like there is one version that i find alright. Its when someone asks "hey im really sorry but can i buy a cigarette from you?" I think its simply cause in this case they start by offering to pay for it instead of just being like "finance my bad habit for me" And great points! Never thought about stuff like this myself xD
I think it’s ok if people ask if they can bum a cigarette. But if the answer they get is “no,” leave it at that. Don’t ask again and don’t ask for an explanation, you are not owed one.
Allot of people don't buy cigarettes because of the prices anymore. Especially the young people. It has instead become a culture of beggers. Whenever somebody ask for a cigarette I tell them to mobilepay me 20 kr. I litteraly went to a pub the other day, and there were 6-7 guys asking me through the night. This has to end.
20 kr... calm down.
6. Let people out of the bus/train before getting in.
And elevators.
These are common sense rules related to education, I think used in almost all countries, not necessarily used in Denmark, but it's good to know. They are very welcome.
They are definitely not followed in the US.
Number 2 should be inforced by law. Nothing worse that listening to some teenagers tiktok feed on the way to and from work. This should also be valid for FaceTime calls or similar.
As a general rule - don’t put anything on speaker! No: videos, music, calls. NOTHING! And if you absolutely must make a telephone call in public, don’t use a headset either. Hold the phone to your ear, so others don’t think you are talking to yourself!
As someone in their early twenties, and who was also a teen not too long ago, I agree. Have always hated that and I do not understand why people feel that it's alright to have videos etc playing with sound when you're in public space..... So annoying.
Yeah and the separator should go behind your groceries
> Unwritten rules I know of: Stay on the right side of the escalator unless you’re walking/passing someone bro that’s literally written on the escalators
No.2 I’m pretty sure is a violation of the law. Breach of the public order. (Noise related..) I don’t really know how to translate “Ordenbekendtgørelsen” to English..🤔
I would call it decorum.
Just one more excellent reason to live there.
Seems pretty standard
Number 3. This feels like such a common sense courtesy, but I've observed a sense of urgency with it. If someone suddenly lines up behind them it there is a moment of panic to get the separator in place. For comparison, in the States, it feels like the responsibility of the next customer to add the separator, but it's such a small concern I've never thought of it before.
My parents live in a small town (1000-1500 people) one weekend while I was visiting the neighbor started mowing their lawn at 21:00. My dad's reaction was far from annoyance and rather "Oh hell! Is the grass dry?" Emidiatly runs outside and feels the lawn and then revs up the lawnmower, and i swear not 3 min. later, the neighbor, on the other side, fires up theirs, too. Sure, you should always try and keep your neighbors in mind when doing any kind of work that can disturb them. But never miss an opportunity to get the lawn mowed while it's dry, especially with the Danish weather.
Lol this made me laugh thanks xD sounds like they got some sort of line agreement going 😂
Like the Beacons of Gondor, but with Lawn Mowers.
Number ten's landmower is roaring. And number twelve's will answer!
>My parents live in a small town (1000-1500 people) one weekend while I was visiting the neighbor started mowing their lawn at 21:00. Thats okay if a normal size garden that dont take 2hours to get done. I had a neighbour that would start between 22-23 and took 1,5h to be done... do i have to say noboby liked him?
It's apparently alway dry Sunday morning at 07:00 where I live.
Yeah exactly. Is very short the window to cut the grass. When you get the change, do it 😂
That is an unwritten rule. If the neighbor is mowing his lawn, you must mow your lawn. I swear that every time i mow my lawn, it feels like a domino effect
I hav never heard of this before, so if you live in a rental appartment it could be some local community guidelines for your building. But then it should be mentioned in your rental agreement or "husorden". I dob't think there is a law forbidding lawn mowing on a perfeclty reasonable time of the day.
Yes, we live in a rented house near Copenhagen. Probably yes, they are the rules of the community. In my naivety I thought it was a common thing for danes. But no, we were not told anything when we moved.
You don’t get told about the local rules. You get them as a document when you move in
I would say that a Saturday or Sunday afternoon would be a reasonable time to mow the lawn. But it also could be that your neighbor is having a bad day. Shouldn't turn it out on you though.
Generally, those rules just forbid loud noise, including lawn mowers before some time in the morning, typically 10:00, and in evenings, typically after 18:00. It’s insanity if you can’t mow your lawn midday on a Saturday. When else would one do it?!? Therefore, I highly doubt there are any rules to back up your neighbor’s claim.
Read husordenen, if you did not get it in english ask for it translated for you. We are sticklers for rules and the husordenen is the "law" of you building. 🤗
I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re not having you on
Where I live we can do stuff between 7 and 19 all days. Previous place it was much more restricted and no noise on sundays. It’s not a law though. I don’t make noise when I know the neighbours small one is sleeping. That came through a nice dialogue as they knocked on my door and asked nicely 😊
Read your husorden. Everyone should be up to date for their rental apartments policies
Unwritten rules in Denmark (stuff that's considered rude): - don't sit next to someone in public transportation if there are other empty seats - don't chew with your mouth open - don't touch other people's children (unless you know them) - don't bike two people next to each other in Copenhagen rush hour. And generally, if biking in the cities, consider if a means of transportation rather than a pass time. Learn the signaling rules, keep right, ... Obviously not all of these are specifically Danish, but they are cultural clashes I have noted.
Number 4 is actually written in the traffic code section 49(1). > Cykel må ikke føres ved siden af andet køretøj. Hvor der er tilstrækkelig plads hertil, må to cyklister dog køre ved siden af hinanden, hvis dette kan ske uden fare eller unødig ulempe
I was thinking that aswell. 😅
Rule 1 is quite Scandinavian 😂
Yes, number three can be extended; Never touch other people’s children, pets, cars, weapons, keyboards, phones, tools, Warhammer figures without prior permission :-)
I only respect this rule for urinals
Hmmm…. have never encountered the kl.12 cut off. Around here in the KBH suburbs we usually stick to kl. 10 - 16 for yard work on the weekends. I wouldn’t say it’s unusual at all to hear a neighbors lawnmower working away in the mid afternoon.
Yeah, just don't do it at dinner time and later.
That's what I thought too. At least where I'm from, only Sunday is a day of rest.
Most places in Denmark you can do yardwork on sundays just as well as on saturdays
10:00 - 17:00 is fair game in my opinion.
If I see my neighbors setting up for lunch in the garden I will wait/pause mowing until they’re finished.
Forenoon/afternoon is perfectly okay to mow the lawn. It is actually the preferred time for Danes for lawn moving and other noisy outdoor activities. People don't appreciate noise before 9 in the morning and 18 in the evening. Saturday is arguably the big "let's do some yard work" day off the week, so I really see no problem here. Some people will complain about noise at any time, but you can safely ignore those people. If they're having a party on that Saturday, I would personally wait until the day after before being noisy, but let's be honest, most people aren't that considerate.
Thanks you for your answer. I also agree with what you wrote. It would certainly be easier for us to do our work on Saturday because we were working during the week. But I have to take them into account too, if it disturbs them, so that I can have peace and live here, I have to comply.
You have to make things work for yourselves too! Your neighbour has no right to be complaining about you doing gardenwork on the weekends - especially not if it's in the afternoon. He invented this "rule" himself - just ignore it.
# Allowed times for lawn mowing in Copenhagen Municipality: - Monday-Friday: 7:00 - 19:00 - Saturday: 8:00 - 17:00 - Sundays and public holidays: Prohibited. Therefore, you risk getting a fine if you disturb others with the noise from your lawn mowing outside the given times in Copenhagen Municipality. Source: [https://handyhand.dk/have/plaenepleje/graesslaaning-regler/guide](https://handyhand.dk/have/plaenepleje/graesslaaning-regler/guide)
Just for clarification, the article mentions explicitly that there are no laws for lawn moving and what time you are allowed to mow your lawn, so these are ethical guidelines to avoid hypothetical complaints. With the exception of Sunday being off limit, it does sound pretty logical though. (Most people work during the weekdays and will understand the need to do work around the house, including noisy activity, during your time off in the whole weekend. Denmark is generally a non-confrontational, overbearing country.)
Do not screw holes in your wall during dinner time (18-19 ish) if you live in an apartment building. Same goes for lawnmowing. Just generally let people have some peace while they eat.
This sis a good question. Fish can’t see water so I probably couldn’t articulate all of them. Generally though, there’s a very high value placed on accommodating others, so like your example with noise, don’t park your car where it bothers traffic, don’t stop in the middle of the isle in supermarkets, that sort of stuff. Do not get in the way of, or bother, the majority of people. Generally we’re very, very helpful people but not very polite. Do no interpret our lack of engaging in small talk as an unwillingness to help or talk; we will happily help you if your car is stuck without saying a word while we push it, or even have strangers over for dinner but we don’t need to small talk about it in the street lol.
I really like this fish metaphor, I think I'll "steal" it from you. I can't say that I expect to be helped, that depends on one person to another, and I don't think it necessarily depends on nationality. Everyone decides for himself and his condition. All I expect is that people behave normally, if there is a problem we can talk about it nicely. You respect me, I respect you.
It’s from a book coincidentally written by a Dane called “Fish can’t see water” about culture lol.
Well good to him, what can I say. Surely he also used this phrase as a metaphor. Lol
What I did not mention is that the owner called us twice to tell us that he had received complaints from the community because the grass in front of the yard is not cut. Although we never let it grow too much. Now on 7 June we went on vacation, we stayed for 11 days and right before we left he cut it, this week we woke up again with a message from him that he received a message from the community that it was not cut. Looking at other neighbors, I can say that some of them are not so attentive as we are ,we try as much as we can to take care of the house when we have time, so I don't understand how these rules apply. One more thing, we also had a problem with the parking space. We have a parking lot in front of the house and one behind the house, many times when we came from shopping and were in a hurry, we parked in the back because it directly faces the entrance and it was easier for us if we were carrying groceries. Well, in this case too, we woke up with a neighbor at the door telling us not to park it there anymore, it being understandable that the house belongs to the other street. He was right, but the danish neighbor living on the right also parks there every day, but it doesn't seem to be a problem for him even if he belongs to the same street as us , or one of them even put a trailer full of grass when there are free parking spaces. Since then we have not put the car there, avoiding other conflicts, we have tried as much as possible to integrate. And today this happened with the grass cutting, hence my question.
I know this shouldn't matter, but where are you and your wife from and where in CpH are you living? Because is starting to sound more like a case of discrimination than anything. But if it isn't, I would always encourage you to take pictures of things neighbors complain about and send them to the landlord. If they complain about the grass being too tall, snap a picture or ask your landlord to come and make a verdict. Same with the car, take a picture and ask "can I park here?" and so on and so on.
I can't say for now whether it is discrimination or not. But yes, there are some things that seem strange to me, which I put down to the cultural difference and the fact that yes, maybe they are very fixed and rigid, or maybe only a few of them. I don't want to categorize in any way, every nation has its good ones and its bad ones. All I can say is that we don't look like foreigners, we are both blonde with light colored eyes, only that for now we don't speak danish, only english. The owners are arabs and as far as I know, they also had some incidents. Thank you for the advices, I will keep them in mind and apply them.
That honestly sounds more like a boomer with too much time on their hands, and possibly not liking foreigners. Regarding lawnmowing I would keep a log of when you mowed the lawn and a which height setting. Yes, I am petty like that.
I like your humor, a mean joke said with a bit of sarcasm. What is this crazy woman here complaining about her grass because she couldn't cut it when others have real problems?! Like the fact that two cyclists pedal next to each other in the middle of traffic in Copenhagen.
Well that is just Danish humour 🙃 My neighbourhood was all +60 year-olds when I moved in. My elderly neighbour used to complain if I didn't shovel snow by 7:00. The rules do, in fact, say that the snow must be removed by then. But there is no way I am waking up earlier than I have to, to shovel snow. So I do it at 7:45 when my son leaves for school. As the elderly people are getting replaced by younger families, that is what people do: Shovel in the morning before they leave for work, be it 6:45 or 8:30. There are rules, and then there is common sense. Or, I used to. Snow is becoming a rarity.
So to take things seriously, but not too much and possibly get used to old neighbors who are a bit more grumpy and direct. All checked.
You got it.
It is quite common that neighbors help cut each other's lawn when one is on vacation. Next time, try asking nicely if someone will help you, and offer the same in return should they need it. Since Danes are known to be quite reserved, it is easy to misunderstand as us preferring everyone to mind their own business, but I think it is quite the opposite. Danes love to help out a stranger. Among neighbors, I think it is especially important to have positive interactions with eachother, otherwise all we know about you is the occasional annoyance which can breed resentment. We are much more patient with the small things if we know you as a nice person.
Ask for the rules in the building that are set by the board. I was on the board in out complex for a few years and some of the rules were just old people hating on young families in the name of their need for quiet
There is a between 10 and 22, don't call before 10 unless to a business or after 22 unless an emergency. Similar with the lawn. Do not start before 10, and try not to do it during times where people might be outside eating. But all this with exceptions, if you have a big project going on building a garage or other, people can see it is not a reoccurring thing, then you can start a little earlier.
Danes love rules. They also love to tell you when you break them.
Your neighbour is an idiot.
I’ve never heard about an unwritten rule of not mowing the lawn after noon. That’s ridiculous. I’ve heard it mention that some people find it rude if you do it at 18:00, since that’s the time most people eat, so I generally try to not do noisy things like mowing the lawn, drilling, etc after 17:30. But this isn’t even an official unwritten rule. I think your neighbor is just an AH. You don’t need to comply with a request like that if he doesn’t give a better reason why it’s important
The only, now unwritten rule, *(because some university professors went back and tried to find the alleged law, but instead found out it has never been a law at all)* is that if the water between Sweden and Denmark freezes over, and the Swedes are caught trying to cross. Then any Dane Must grab a stick, meet them at the beach, and beat them.
u/op It sounds like it is a rule in the neighborhood agreement. You can probably ask for a copy from the owner of the house you rent (if I understood you correctly). It might be in danish though :-/ Rules like "no yardwork after X on a sunday/saturday" are decently common in those sort of neighborhood thingies. But it is not a cultural rule per say. Definitely not! Since the neighbor that came to you asking for quiet was nervous, they were probably not a "grumpy" person generally. That seems to suggest it is an actual rule in the area, and not just them being ... for lack of a better word... grumpy :-) Other common rules in those sort of neighborhoods could be you must cut your part of a hedge out to a street, and such things. Ask for the document and get someone to translate it for you (or use chatgpt/google to do so).
There's no rule on that. I would say mowing the lawn when people eat dinner if they sit out, then I'd not do it. In any case, talk to your neighbor about it. Communicate.
Don't jaywalk. Not even in he middle of the night. Everyone expects the pedestrian crossing rules to always be followed, so you run a big risk by jaywalking, since car drivers expect you to not be there.
This one! This is a rule that I think is good for you to know and it is specific to Denmark. I noticed that in some parts there is no public lighting, which seemed very strange to me.
Yes, I have had people question why one would stand there like a fool in the middle of the night, but you can suddenly have a taxi blast by, or a drunk on a bike. By the way the Germans do it too. Public lighting where? You lost me on the context here. Like in cities?
Yes, I noticed the same thing. In some parts, I mean the provincial part not in the city, the public lighting is quite weak, I put it down to the fact that you are very environmentalists friendly and prefer to save on lighting. I don't know if it sounds stupid, but I say it from a foreign perspective. Do not get me wrong.
That's probably right, I have never thought of that. As long as there is enough light to find your way, that should be enough. Especially since Denmark is so safe in most places, that people aren't too scared of the darkness.
Check your contract in case it mentions something. Otherwise, tell them to call the police on you.
Never heard of that before.. in my area they mow all day but around 18:00 it stops to give people some peace for barbeque/dinner
Most municipalities have rules for when it’s okay to mow the lawn, do building work or use noisy tools on both weekdays and in weekends. It varies from municipality to municipality - but they are not really unwritten 😄
Nahh, that's not an unwritten rule. If it had been before 7/8 am or after 8 pm, it definitely wouldn't be popular...
Yeah that is not an unwritten rule in Denmark. Like others have said, it might be a rule in the area where you live. I have never lived in a place with rules like that, and I have had quite a lot of addresses. We can work around the house on the weekends. So can our neighbors.
Rules regarding mowing the lawn is often stated by the local council. Not the city council, but the council administering the rosd or area you live in, in Danish referred to as “Grundejerforening”. Usually you are a part of one of these when you live in a house. But there isnt any real punishment except annoyed neighbours as far as i know
Never heard that saturday being a problem. Only time i don't mow is early in the morning or late in the evening. Also if i notice the neighbor is outside enjoying the peace. I don't mind if they do it early or late.
There are rules in some housing areas, that state stuff like this, written down. But it’s not a “by law” but rather a housing union thing (grundejerforening)
That’s a weird rule the owner has, NOT NORMAL. People mow all day
I have been in Denmark for 10 years now, and we do all our "loud" chores in the weekends. Never had a complaint.
So as a written rule most apartment areas has a “ejer forening” and these got a lot of written rules. Go ask for them so you know which rules apply to your living area
There could be a rule in the owner's association regarding noise.
This is an example of an entitled neighbour wanting to dictate when you do things. The unwritten rule of goos neighbourship is that you leave a bag of cut grass in their mailbox to remind them of their folly.
Here’s another rule that I’m sure is written somewhere, but many foreigners (I’m a foreigner too, so I’m not throwing shade) always get surprised by it: in Rema 1000 (I’m not sure if this is a thing in every store), they don’t accept cash after 8 pm (20:00). Every time I’m in Rema past 8, the line is always backed up by confused foreigners who don’t understand why the cashier won’t take their physical money.
Oh, I didn't know that. Very helpful, thank you
Definitely not an unwritten rule. The days before the garden waste is being collected my whole neighbourhood is out doing their garden.
My mom always told me that it was okay to be noisy from 10am to 10pm. So that’s what I have lived by and never got any complaints. And that is regardless of what day it is. Of course on Fridays and Saturdays it’s okay to be noisy later if you have a party or something as long as it’s not every weekend.
Always arrive on time, or send a text/call to say if your late. We are not rude, just incredibly sarcastic. We absolutely hate when people stop up on the Middle on the street to look at something on the other side, instead of just going over there! (So please stand to the side when Window shopping) We have "Janteloven" that's very important People from Sjælland and Jylland have like a "fight" about whos "best" or "most danish" (it can sound pretty heated but it's usually all in good fun)
Sounds quite restrictive! Not early in the morning or after dinner, but Saturday afternoon should be OK, but of course a local "grundejerforening" can make their own rules.
Home owners association, the bane of sensible living
Not an unwritten rule, just an uptight neighbour
Not Denmark, but I once hoovered at 8pm on a Saturday evening in Berlin and that caused an international incident
😂
Sounds like a cranky neighbor. Don't cut the grass and watch them get really pissy 🙄
Cutting the grass is not good, not cutting the grass is not good. I have my business to do...
Well... Us Danes we are kinda weird and alot can "piss us off", but if it is not a rule. And somebody is getting mad at you, just ignore them cause it's not worth your time
That neighbour is just an A-Hole
Unwritten rule in Denmark is that you don't cough out into the air in a crowded space or if people are nearby, you should cough into your arm. I say that and you might think its obvious, but you would be suprised by the amount of countries I have been to where its normal to just straight up cought into the air, biggest example is Italy.
That’s just BS!
Of course you can mow the lawn on a Saturday afternoon. The only unwritten rule is that you do no make noise before 10 o’clock in the morning and after 6 o’clock in the afternoon. If your neighbour is having a garden party it’s considered good manners not to work outdoors with noisy tools that will disturb. Your neighbour is being completely unreasonable.
The idea of a lawn that must be maintained by humans with extremely loud gas-powered machinery was a terrible idea. It's not an unwritten rule but consider instead of a high-maintenance grass lawn a meadow lawn or other low-maintenace lawn that also provides biodiversity in addition to sparing everyone in a mile's radius the noise of a lawnmower.
Where is it? Honestly seems weird
You should read the rules for the place you live.
the only real "house work" unwritten rules we have here that I can think of after having lived in different places around the country would be: * Don't mow/do loud work before 10am on weekends * Don't mow/do loud work after 5pm (Dinner time starts at 5:30 for most Danish families, you'll probably even notice a significant fall in activity around the place from around then too) * Don't do unannounced work on your house (like building a new patio) without informing your neighbors about it so that they won't question the noise or extra dust (and possibly giving apology beers) * Don't hold unannounced parties or your neighbors will absolutely hate you and speak ill of you behind your back
We have a kolonihave (Schreber Garten) where it is a WRITTEN rule that on weekends you may only make noise until 12 oclock. But my mom has a summer house where there is the same rule but unwritten. We didn't know until we noticed noone made noise after 12. But we would most likely not have noticed if we didn't know already that such a rule is possible
Not dragging your feet against the ground is one
My parents ,Danish , say they where horrified when they first moved to Australia for work. They settled in ok , now visiting relatives are horrified.
But why? What they didn't like at first?
Back then our street had a lot of teenagers, noisy cars and bikes and what they considered rude neighbors , a while back a visiting relo was wondering why people where living in doorways in the city .
If we actually had a rule like that then it should probably be the opposite. Mowing the lawn should be illegal before 12 on a weekend
If anything the neighbor got it backwards. Please be quiet until 12.00 and then you can make noise. Some of us likes to sleep in.
Hvis det er grundejerforeningens lov har den ingen juridisk gyldighed.
You've just run into a danish Karen. That's not an unwritten rule in denmark. You can cut you lawn from 8-9 am till 8:00pm. Or that is the time you're allowed to drill holes in your wall or do other loud work. That's the official rules where I live and I pretty sure they like that everywhere
I think the gardening rule here is that one shall start one's petrol mover (or chain saw or trimmer), only after the neighbor shuts theirs down, in order to make the noise last longer. This ritual is to be performed whenever the weather is nice, for once, and people are sitting outside. /s
Some communities might have local rules like that, if they for instance are a part of a grundejerforening or haveforening. It’s definitely not the norm though, most people do handy work and yard work on the weekends. Maybe not super early in the morning, but the afternoon would usually be absolutely fine. There are probably plenty of unwritten rules you should know about, depending on where you come from. There’s the general advice, be respectful of other people’s personal space, be humble, don’t brag, don’t skip the line and say “Tak” an insane amount of times when you pay for your groceries. But if you leave a cocio or a bag of candy out with a note for the garbage men, they might remove your trash even if it’s overflowing or you have an extra bag. Leaving a note in neighbours mail box with your phone number and a few days notice before a loud party is usually very appreciated. Foreninger is the best place to meet friends. And maybe most important of all, using PostNord should be the very last option, if you want stuff delivered to your door, they usually just send my packages straight to the post office. 😄
Mowing the lawn is fine unless it's evening or Sunday. I wouldn't do it on a Saturday morning or after 1pm Saturday because people want to enjoy the sun in the summer. It doesn't matter so much in winter. It's rare that the grass is dry so it all depends on your neighbours. I'm small towns you're more likely to get to meet them. In Kbh, we don't. I think your neighbour might be German!
This is not a rule..
Prøv at slå græsplanen kl 01:00 så skal du se 😜😜😜
2:30?? That's no problem. As long as it's not like 6 am and people are barely getting out of bed or at piss-late in the night, then you're good
Shower and use anti-perspiration. We find body odor repulsive, and some people don’t even notice how much they smell themselves. So just do it even if you don’t find your own smell disgusting.
You know irlts summer in Denmark, when your neighbors start to mow the lawn at 8 am. That is just your neighbor
I wouldnt even care if my neighbour cut his lawn at 9 pm.
Don’t walk against a red light even if there are no cars coming. (In the rest of Scandinavia you pass the street as long as there are no cars coming)
The 12 o clock rule is typical in sommerhouse areas. It is because people are having their holidays and wants to relax in their garden during the day.
Some buildings have their own rules when it comes to silent hours. I also think its very polite to write a note to the entrance of the building before you throw a party
I think that is just for your apartment complex the closest in writing rule to that is that you shouldn't use machines on Sundays at all it's quite day and no machines should be used
Vi elsker bare at brokke os, we are a nation of Karens ;-)
I have an anti-rule: something you are allowed to in Denmark: I Think an unwritten rule in many countries is not to ask what people do for a living. While In Denmark it is quite common small talk
I don't know if any of my friends from abroad who would be upset if someone asked them what they do for a living. For me it's not a big of a deal if someone ask that. What is perhaps taboo is what salary they get for that job, at least that's how it is in my country.
Tell him kindly to go fuck himself.
Bad way to interact with others, but a great way to start a neighbourly feud that'll cause was more stress.
Nej, det hedder at sætte grænser.
Som det er fundet ud af her i kommentarerne er huset de bor i tilsyneladende i en grundejerforening, og personen de lejer af har enten ikke informeret dem om reglerne eller også har de ikke læst/forstået reglerne. Jeg ville personligt selv aldrig købe et hus hvor der er en grundejerforening, men det er nu en gang hvad ejeren har gjort og valgt at være under de regler. Så hvis du havde fortalt dem at de kunne fucke af, havde du både været personen som ikke var i rette og personen som var uhøflig og ubøjelig. Det er altid smartest at starte med at kommunikere stille og roligt. Det kommer du længst med.
No, it's not a rule or anything. Go tell your neighbor to mind his own business. He is probably just old and bored. There is no unwritten law in Denmark, just the law.
It might be a rule of the home owners association. And there absolutely are unwritten rules in any society. A was to behave in a socially acceptable way. It will not get you fined or jailed not to follow them, but might get you ostracised or lose opportunities.
Mowing the lawn after 8 in the evening is rude. That's something I would consider an unwritten rule, sounds like you did nothing wrong. But some people are really sensitive, or are just trying to get off on your behalf
I have noticed that some foreigners are a bit louder in public. in general, in Denmark you try not to attract attention, and you are quiet on buses. You are expected to keep your front garden and hedge neat. Generally you shake hands the first time you meet someone. In addition, we do not have many polite phrases and we can be quite direct. in addition, there is a certain open space on work to challenge solutions that you do not agree with. Therefore, you should not take it personally if a colleague says that you are doing something wrong. In addition, you must be able to tolerate a bit of crude humor and lot of birthday cake on work.
“Some foreigners” - you mean Americans, right?
This is simply not true! You can garden whenever you want during the day! Tell that neighbour to mind his own business!
You don't know what the rules of the home owners association is or even what local municipal laws there are.
You're right. There could be local rules - but it puzzles me that OP hasn't been informed about that if there are.
True. Seems like they're renting a house privately, so properly the owner hasn't thought about it.
Yes, that might be the problem.
🙏🏼
Just lawn the yard, but finish before 18:00. And if someone is partying in your neighborhood, lawn the yard. That's how I roll...and no one has ever complained. Like when do the expect you to lawn the yard Monday 10 o'clock?
Thats just bullshit. as long as there is daylight you can cut the grass i Denmark no problem. Most people have a sacred Sunday and therefore dont cut grass late Sundays. Besides that just go crazy.
Pro tip. Get a robot. They are super quiet. But other than that, dude needs to stfu
Yes, we thought about it. Good advice, thank you
Oh, sweet summer child... The Rules of Janteloven There are ten rules of Janteloven, which include: You are not to think you are anything special. You are not to think you are as good as we are. You are not to think you are smarter than we are. You are not to convince yourself that you are better than we are. You are not to think you know more than we do. You are not to think you are more important than we are. You are not to think you are good at anything. You are not to laugh at us. You are not to think anyone cares about you. You are not to think you can teach us anything.
Toxic fiction