Democraft

Tips and Tricks

Here are some of the tips and tricks to living in Denmark and thriving at SDU! We have come up with a few separate categories to help make life a student as smooth and stress-free as possible! These are just a few suggestions to get started in exploring and living the best life in Odense!

Life outside of studying!
  • Odense is home to so many museums and fun experiences to explore in your free time!
  • Some of our favorite museums are the H.C Andersen House (of course), Brandts, and Tid. (Make sure you check if they have any student discounts or special promotions!)
  • Another fun thing to do around the city center is follow the footsteps that lead around the city! Starting at H.C Andersen house, you can follow his footsteps around the city and see some really cool sites.
  • The Fairy Tale Garden is another spot that is beautiful year around (and is Democraft member Corinne’s favorite spot in the whole city)!
  • The Odense Havn (harbor) is another great place to visit! There are public saunas and a swimming pool that are both free to use and a great way to take advantage of what the city has to offer!
  • There are multiple different movie theaters in Odense that show movies both in Danish and English if you are looking for a relaxing evening with some movie popcorn and snacks!
  • If you’re into sports, Odense has plenty of different teams for you to get invested in! Odense Boldklub (OB) is the cities football team, Odense Bulldogs are the ice hockey team, Odense Håndbold for those interested in handball, and more!
  • A special tip for year around living in Denmark, get a good quality rain jacket! The weather here can tend to be very wet, so a rain jacket is a must!
Our go to cafés
  • There are so many cute and cozy cafés around Odense, you just have to know where to look!
  • Café Sølle, Café and Bar Unika, Analog Kaffebar, StudieStue, Nelle’s , the Folk, Laban Kaffebar, Den lille Smalle are just small selection of the numerous cafés around Odense
Getting around
  • Getting around Odense is super simple! The most popular and most effective way of getting around is by bike! If you have just moved to Odense and don’t have a bike, we recommend looking on Facebook Marketplace for a cheaper used bike, or go to one of the numerous bike shops around the city! If you want a more temporary option, Swapfiets is a great place to rent a bike on a monthly basis.
  • If you want to take the bus or the tram around Odense, you will need a ticket. The app “Rejsebillet” is a very simple app that allows you to buy tickets for all over Denmark. If you are under the age of 26, you can buy the “Young Odense” ticket for only DKK 10.00!
  • If you are taking the train around Denmark and want to buy the tickets on your phone, the DSB app is the way to go.
  • ** A warning for the fellow non-European students here in Denmark on a visa, the Youth Travel Card (Ungdomskort) is considered a violation of the student visa. This is different from the “Young Odense” ticket on the Rejsebillet app. The Ungdomskort is considered a public benefit and can hurt your visa status if you are a non-EU citizen.
How to survive the Danish winters
  • The Danish winter starts early and ends late so prepare yourself with some layering options to survive not only the winter but also the autumn and spring weather!
  • After long summer days full of light, the winter days seem way too short and dark… Fairy lights and candles are a preferred method to bring back some dopamine into your life.
  • Are you expecting the typical Scandinavian winter full of Snow and Northern lights? Sorry, but we have to disappoint you because snow is a really rare occasion. Northern lights on the other hand are still visible from time to time (if you do not want to risk missing them join one of the many Facebook groups about Northern lights in Denmark)
  • The best recommendation that we can offer to survive the Danish winter is to surround yourself with cozy vibes and friends! Loneliness is something that can hit very hard in the cold and dark, so make sure you prioritize your mental health and keep up with your fellow students and friends!
Advice for CVs & job interviews!
  • While writing a CV for a Danish company might not seem like it would be different from any other country, the members of Democraft had a bit of a culture shock in this regard!
  • We were surprised when we were told that we should add a picture, have more than one page and that the “Hobby” section is very important.
  • We also found out that Danes take the invitation for a coffee very seriously, which means when you get such an invitation, you know that you did something right!
Nightlife & Events!
  • One of the most notable things about Denmark is the Dane’s amazing ability to party and have a great time!
  • We love going out on the town and trying out new bars and pubs! The bars and pubs here in Odense are always full of life and often have special events and deals going on so there is never a shortage of things to do!
  • Some of our favorite bars are Papas Papbar (a board game café where you can play different games, with some free options available), No Stress Bar (the perfect place to try out some special cocktails), Old Irish (our favorite place to go for a fun pub quiz on Tuesday nights), Barkaden (another great bar with tasty cocktails and a wide variety of games from traditional arcade games to video games and more), and on Fridays of course SDU’s very own Friday Bar Nedenunder!
  • If you look around, there is a place for everyone around the city! There is always some fun event happening around the city in every season of the year.
  • There are a number of music festivals that happen in the summer (Tinderbox, Grøn Koncert, Generator Festival, etc), as well as the fun tradition of Midsummer where there will be a number of bonfires around the city to attend!
Cheap food & Student Discounts!
  • When you are at a restaurant or café always ask if they have a student discount, as many have but do not advertise them outright! But remember to bring your student card whenever you go out!!
  • Bones (a Danish restaurant chain that offers “American” food such as steaks, burgers and spareribs) has often special discounts for students, IKEA (which is three tram stops from the SDU Odense campus) often has a special lunch discount for students, Lageagenhuset (a Danish coffee and cake chain) has a set discount for students, Café Marcello’s (found in four different cities in Denmark) offers also a set student discount which you can find on their website!
  • Our personal favorite for a great deal is the ToGoodToGo bags, but you really have to be fast because the good ones are selling out quickly!

Website managed by Corinne Jones, don’t hesitate to reach out!