Kay Xander Mellish 🇺🇸🇩🇰

US/DK citizen. Voice behind the "How to Live in Denmark" short-form podcast. Author "The Danish Year" and "How to Work in Denmark". Keynote speaker.

[Kay Xander Mellish 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kaydenmark]

@asymmetricinfo experience of internationals working in Denmark and Americans working in Denmark in particular, and also give keynote speeches on the topic of US-Danish business differences, so hit me up if I can assist. https://t.co/hZBx5AWknG

[Kay Xander Mellish 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kaydenmark]

@asymmetricinfo "We hired you to do a job, you're doing that job, we'll let you know if there are any problems. Otherwise, no news is good news."

If you're used to constant feedback and hype, and many Americans are, this can be discouraging.

Anyway, I've written several books on the

[Kay Xander Mellish 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kaydenmark]

Here's a direct link to the book. You can read it on any tablet or phone with the Amazon Kindle app. https://t.co/HrLJ5r0NzN

[Kay Xander Mellish 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kaydenmark]

Friday June 5 is 𝘎𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘨, or Constitution Day, the closest Denmark gets to a national day.

But there are none of the colorful parades, fireworks, or military fly-bys that characterize national days in some countries.

And unlike Swedes and Norwegians, Danes don't dress up in traditional folk costumes on their big day. In fact, I'd never seen one of these outfits until I came across photos from Solvang, California, where Danish heritage traditions are celebrated more visibly than they are in Denmark itself!

Most Danes will just enjoy the day off, and perhaps take a trip to their summer house, where they will raise a very large Danish flag.

If you'd like to do something special to mark the day, visit Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen and see the actual pen King Frederik VII used to sign Denmark's first democratic constitution on June 5, 1849.
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I write more about Constitution Day and many other Danish traditions in my new book, 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫: 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐬, 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐤𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐡𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐦𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐧𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤.

If you enjoy learning about Danish culture and customs, or if you like my free How to Live in Denmark podcast, I think you'll enjoy the book too. 📷

[How to Live in Denmark @How2LiveInDK]

OK, this is Danish transparency: The local cops announce exactly which streets will be the focus of traffic enforcement operations in the week ahead.

If you're dumb enough to *still* speed on those particular streets, you deserve to get caught.

[Marcus Mallomar Gaddafi Payne @MarcusDAurelius]

We call them "States."

[Kay Xander Mellish 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kaydenmark]

I often suggest https://t.co/DetRsbGGBk as a way to meet new people in Copenhagen, and I still use it myself, especially if I develop a new interest and want to find people who share it.

The good thing about Meetups is that the people you're thrown together with actively want to meet someone new. They're not just hanging around with the friends they've known forever. They're more open to a chat with a total stranger like me.

My most recent meetup was with a photo group lead by László Gattyán, a social media manager who does portraits as a hobby. He told us all to be at a certain spot near Nyhavn at 7pm, where he would take a few shots of each person at the "golden hour" with Nyhavn as a background.

We were a mixed group. We had a German 🇩🇪 engineer who wanted some good shots for his grandparents' annual Christmas calendar; we had a Moroccan 🇲🇦 med student on an exchange who wanted some scenic images to take home with him. Alone in Copenhagen except for his colleagues, he hadn't taken a single photo of himself with a local background.

We had an Indian 🇮🇳 fellow who made a hobby of visiting every café in Copenhagen, and showed us a long list of the best ones in the Notes app of his iPhone. There was also a young woman who said she hadn't updated her Facebook profile picture in 5 years and thought it was time to do so.

And there was me, a local speaker 🇩🇰🇺🇸 who constantly needs new photos to share with media and event organizers. They understandably don't want to use the same publicity photo that was used for last week's speaking event somewhere else.

Lazlo photographed us one-by-one with Nyhavn as a background, and as we waited the rest of us chatted. The German and I had a sharp exchange of words about whether @grok was reliable or not. The Indian fellow recommended more cafés. Someone played some music on a portable speaker.

It was a fun experience, and Lazlo's work was so good that I used some of the photos to revamp my website. Later, some of us took a walk together and ended up having a drink.

Bottom line: if you're new in Copenhagen or just looking to refresh your friend circle, https://t.co/DetRsbGGBk can be a good approach.

[How to Live in Denmark @How2LiveInDK]

Want to understand Danes? Watch what they watch. 🇩🇰📺

Danish film & TV reveals more about Danish culture than any guidebook — from classic noir to beloved comedies like The Olsen Gang and the landmark series Matador.

And a lot of it is FREE. 🧵

[Kay Xander Mellish 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kaydenmark]

Apparently DK35 is the magic number, at least for eBook downloads. Since 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 is selling well, I've dropped the prices on all my other Denmark eBook downloads to just DK35, exclusively on Amazon Kindle.

That's just $5, EUR 5, or GBP 4. 💰

That means you can download all these books for just Dk35 apiece:

📕 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐧𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤, 𝘈 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴
📙 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐧𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤, 𝘛𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘫𝘰𝘣, 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘣𝘰𝘴𝘴
📘 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬, 𝐓𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐬: 𝘈𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴-𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰-𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯
📕 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐬, 𝐓𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬: 𝘈𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴-𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰-𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯
📘 𝐓𝐨𝐩 35 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡, 𝘈 𝘍𝘶𝘯 𝘎𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘚𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘌𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘴

And, of course, my newest book

📙 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫: 𝘛𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘴, 𝘘𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘬𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘩𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘋𝘦𝘯𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬

All for less than the price of a flat white! ☕️

You can also read your eBook on any phone or tablet using the Amazon Kindle app.

[Kay Xander Mellish 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kaydenmark]

@berlingske Ja ja, selvfølgelig kommer den her fyr til at vinde i Texas. Flot artikel, Berlingske. https://t.co/xIcap1cT4t

[Democrats @TheDemocrats]

Fired up. Ready to go.

It’s time to take back Texas.

[Kay Xander Mellish 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kaydenmark]

@berlingske Does this guy look like he can take Texas? I don't think he could take Østerbro. https://t.co/xIcap1cT4t

[Democrats @TheDemocrats]

Fired up. Ready to go.

It’s time to take back Texas.

[Kay Xander Mellish 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kaydenmark]

@berlingske Berlingske er håbløst ude af trit med amerikansk politik, især politik i Texas. Der er meget lille chance for, at den spinkle og lidt fesne James Talarico kommer til at vinde i en stat, hvor Trump vandt med næsten 14 procentpoint i 2024.

[Kay Xander Mellish 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kaydenmark]

Do holidays like Grundlovsdag just seem to creep up on you? When I first moved to Denmark, I remember being constantly surprised by unexpected holidays and traditions, including some (like Blue Monday and the motorcycle procession opening Bakke each year) that aren’t on any calendar.

That’s why I wrote “The Danish Year: Twelve Months of Customs, Quirks, and Rhythms of Everyday Life in Denmark, only Dk 35 on Amazon Kindle. That’s less than the cost of a flat white! ☕️

You can read it on any smartphone or tablet with the Amazon Kindle app.

You’ll read about:

⛷️ January, and why ski holidays are a good indication of income inequality

😻February, and how the “cat in the barrel” shows the decline of traditional religious faith

💌March, and how the decline of “gækkebrev” is a loss for romance in Denmark

🪏 April, and why Danes care more about gardening than many foreigners

🕯️May, and what it means to put a candle in the window on May 4

⚔️ June, and the “defense day” military screening that is required for all Danish boys – and, as of 2026, of Danish girls as well

🌼July, and why “the Daisy Route” is a great way to discover parts of Denmark you ordinarily would not see

📚August, the first day of school, and why early education is an important part of making kids ‘Danish’

🤾‍♀️ September, the opening of handball season, and why elite sports are exempt from The Jante Law

🗳️October, often election season, and why you’ll often see Danish candidates putting up posters with their own face on them

☔️November rain, and why Denmark is tearing up its streets to prepare for the flooding caused by climate change

🧑🏼‍🎄December, and why Christmas nisser. are a clue to the way Denmark sees itself

Check it out, and if you like it, please leave a review on Amazon or on Goodreads! 😀

[Kay Xander Mellish 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kaydenmark]

Danish paintings selling for big money at auction. I've become a fan of Danish painters over the years, despite initially being skeptical. I particularly like C.W. Eckersberg, but Krøyer also has a lovely and consistent style based in the Skagen school.

https://t.co/aeEDyZWVCs

[Kay Xander Mellish 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kaydenmark]

Looks like a price of DK35 is the sweet 🍭 spot for eBook downloads - 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 is selling well - so I've dropped the prices on all my other eBook downloads to just DK35, exclusively on Amazon Kindle.

That's just $5, EUR 5, or GBP 4. 💰

That means you can download all these books for just Dk35 apiece:

📕 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐧𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤, 𝘈 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴
📙 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐧𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤, 𝘛𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘫𝘰𝘣, 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘣𝘰𝘴𝘴
📘 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬, 𝐓𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐬: 𝘈𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴-𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰-𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯
📕 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐬, 𝐓𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬: 𝘈𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴-𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰-𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯
📘 𝐓𝐨𝐩 35 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡, 𝘈 𝘍𝘶𝘯 𝘎𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘚𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘌𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘴

And, of course, my newest book

📙 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫: 𝘛𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘴, 𝘘𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘬𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘩𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦

All for less than the price of a flat white! ☕️

You can read your eBook on any phone or tablet using the Amazon Kindle app.

[Kay Xander Mellish 🇺🇸🇩🇰 @kaydenmark]

Vintage fashion shopping is very popular in Denmark, so popular that new commercial "vintage" boutiques (of varying quality) are popping up in major shopping areas.

Quite an alternative to the usual flea markets and Blue Cross/Red Cross second hand-boutiques.

But as a longtime vintage fashion fan, I've noticed quality has been declining as the popularity of vintage clothing increases. Frankly, many of the best pieces are already taken.

Some of them will cycle out again when their owners clean out their closets; others will be torn, stained, and thrown away.

Meanwhile, so much of the clothing from major brands today is made of cheap, plastic-like fabric. This is true for both fast fashion and higher-end brands who should know better.

A possible solution, at least in the short term? Making your own clothes, or having someone make them for you, with vintage fabrics.

You can still get luxurious wools and cottons from the 1980s or earlier at vintage fabric boutiques, such as Eleanora's Stofbutik in Copenhagen.

On a recent visit I had real déjà vu: I hadn't felt this kind of fabric quality in a very long time.

You'd think some designer or brand would see value in offering high-end clothes at a high-end price with this type of quality now.

Do you know of any who do?