37694

My Copenhagen: “Life and free time are truly valued here”

Spanish-born Míriam Enguita is a contemporary dancer and student of humanities.

25 year old Míriam Enguita has been studying dance her whole life. She grew up in Spain, where she started out with hip-hop and urban dance, before training in ballet and moving to Copenhagen to pursue contemporary dance. Besides her dancing career, she is studying humanities at an online university.

I settled in Denmark because… I was looking for a dance school and I liked the one I found here in Copenhagen. I arrived three years ago – right after the first lockdown – to join a program at the Contemporary Dance School. I am about to finish my studies.

If you ask me if it was love at first sight, I would say… Yes, I loved it. It is a really safe place to live. Of course, when winter approached it was a bit tough, but the moment the good weather came back I started to enjoy it again.

My favourite thing about living in Copenhagen is… that everything is calmer. Your life and free time are truly valued here.

Here in Denmark, I never get used to… people leaving their babies outside all on their own. This is something I simply don’t understand.

READ ALSO: Surprisingly Denmark: It’s a matter of trust

Jeg kan tale… jeg kommer fra Spanien. It means I come from Spain. I took some classes but I have been so busy with everything going on in my life that I stopped after module 3. So, I can understand a lot but I can’t speak it.

On an integration scale of 1 to 10, I would say I’m a… 6. I think that if I spoke Danish, I would feel more integrated. I still feel quite well adapted to the country, however.

I have more international friends in my social circle because… there were almost only internationals at my school, and it was my main source of social interaction.

I think the best way of making Danish friends is… to be nice and honest. As long as you are nice to Danish people, they will be nice to you.

I recommend that visitors to Copenhagen avoid… Christiania. It might be an unpopular opinion but I personally don’t like it. And don’t just go to tourist places like Tivoli – there is much more to see.

Instead, I recommend going to… now that I live in Sydhavn, I have discovered plenty of great harbours there. I strongly recommend visiting them.

Three great places for food and drink are… street food markets such as Reffen and Broens Gadekøkken, near to the Opera House.

Then, if you like Moroccan food, the place where I work besides doing my dance projects is called South Harbour Café. I personally miss Moroccan food because my father is from there. For me, it tastes like home.

And finally, Folkehuset Absalon. It is a nice place because you can go for a party or a community dinner, but also for brunch and breakfast.

The best places to visit on a budget are… the parks. There are a lot of nice green places here.

The three words that I think best describe Copenhagen are… cosy, cute and contemporary.




  • Gangs of Copenhagen

    Gangs of Copenhagen

    While Copenhagen is rated one of the safest cities in the world year after year, it is no stranger to organized crime, which often springs from highly professional syndicates operating from the shadows of the capital. These are the most important criminal groups active in the city

  • “The Danish underworld is now more tied to Scandinavia”

    “The Danish underworld is now more tied to Scandinavia”

    Carsten Norton is the author of several books about crime and gangs in Denmark, a journalist, and a crime specialist for Danish media such as TV 2 and Ekstra Bladet.

  • Right wing parties want nuclear power in Denmark

    Right wing parties want nuclear power in Denmark

    For 40 years, there has been a ban on nuclear power in Denmark. This may change after all right-wing parties in the Danish Parliament have expressed a desire to remove the ban.

  • Tunø: An island running out of time

    Tunø: An island running out of time

    The island of Tunø harbors a community of 74 adults and one child. There are no cars and only one connection to the rest of the world. Now, climate change threatens it

  • Cross-border moves on the rise in the Øresund region

    Cross-border moves on the rise in the Øresund region

    The number of relocations across the Øresund Region is rising. As highlighted by 2023 numbers, Sweden benefits from a growing interest, especially among younger generations.

  • In conversation with Conrad Molden: The man behind the mic

    In conversation with Conrad Molden: The man behind the mic

    He’s tickled our funny bone with countless wisecracks and clever wordplay, and in the process, made Denmark feel a little more personable to many expats. An international import himself, funny man Conrad Molden has successfully carved out a niche for himself on the Danish stand-up scene, but it’s taken a solid 13 years, much trial and error, and heaps of Danglish

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.