Last Week in Denmark

Cheaper Coffee, Safer Vaccines, Fishy Politics in Denmark: LWID S4E4

• Season 4 • Episode 4

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Taxes, Science, and Mysterious Eels. Denmark’s 2026 Finance Law brings tax cuts on chocolate, coffee, and books—changes that spark both cheers and debate. Hosts Katie and Fionn, both internationals living in Denmark, also dive into a landmark study of over one million children confirming no link between vaccines and conditions like autism or allergies, a vital pushback against global misinformation. And for a lighter touch: Denmark’s national fish vote, the quirky protest pig, and a farewell to Red Allan, the beloved station cat. 

(00:01) This week's topics 

(01:33) Chocolate and coffee tax cuts in Denmark

(11:02) New Danish vaccine study

(21:03) National Fish Vote in Denmark

See the National Fish Voting options mentioned in this episode: https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/politik/kritik-af-ministers-fiske-afstemning-danmarkshistoriens-stoerste-greenwashing

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Fionn

Hello, and welcome to the Last Week in Denmark podcast. This is episode four of season four. If you're new here, this is how it works. Each week, two of our hosts talk about, well, what happened last week in Denmark. We go through Danish news, stories and developments, and particularly we keep an eye on how they impact internationals living here. Internationals just like us. So if you're an international living in Denmark, maybe you're somebody thinking about moving here, or you're just someone looking to stay informed, then welcome home. This is absolutely where you belong, and we are so glad that you're here. My name is Fionn O'Toole, and joining me this week is Katie Burns. And this week we're going to be exploring what the finance law for 2026 will bring us, how a scientific study here in Denmark is helping shape global debates around vaccines, and maybe a bit of a grab bag on some of the quirkier sides of Danish life. Now, before we get going, we'd love to ask you one thing. If the conversation this week resonates with you, please screenshot this episode and share it on social media. We're here to help internationals just like you stay in Denmark feeling informed and feeling connected. So thanks for helping us reach more people just like you. Hi, Katie. How are you doing?

Katie

Yeah, and it's great to see you. I'm so excited to be back.

Fionn

Likewise. Right. It's, I mean, we're a few episodes into season four, but this is our first time recording in a couple of months, so it feels really good to be back.

Katie

Yeah, it's definitely going to be the best episode so far, obviously, because it's us, 

Fionn

Naturally 

Katie

No offense, Kalpita.

Fionn

Well, we have a few different things that we're going to be talking about today, and they range from very exciting things like a finance bill, which is, I've learned, different technically, to the budget, two different breeds of animals, a vote on Denmark's national fish. So let's get into it and maybe let's dive in with what, on paper might sound a little bit more dry, and that is the 2026 Finance Law, but I think probably actually has some of the more exciting things for people in daily life and maybe the things that will affect us the most. And one of the headlines that I think if you've been maybe talking about the news around the office this week or just keeping an ear out, is hearing about, well, maybe tax being removed on things like coffee and chocolate.

Katie

Yeah.

Fionn

And, yeah, I mean, initial reaction sounds pretty positive, right?

Katie

Yep. Especially the chocolate bars. That's a long time coming. Uh, anytime I go home, I get a load of kinder chocolate because it's just so much cheaper in Ireland than here. Or like, I never, I love Maltesers, but I just don't buy them here because they're too expensive. I can't reason with myself no matter how much I want them to pay that much for Maltesers. I hope this applies to Maltesers. I'll be very upset otherwise.

Fionn

Yeah, I know the feeling. When I'm back home, it's actually Cadbury's chocolate that I always crave. And even before living in Denmark, I lived in Switzerland, which is the land of chocolate. And I have to say, I got so sick of good chocolate. I just wanted, you know, the thing I'd eaten as a kid. So, yeah, I mean, this, I think, as a headline, is very, very good news. And it's not only chocolate, it's also coffee, it's cocoa powder, it's liquorice, liquorice products, that's not something for me. I'm not a true Dane.

Katie

Yeah, me neither.

Fionn

Marzipan and nougat paste, all sorts of things like chewing gum, candied fruit jam, marmalade, Kate's biscuits. So it's really a lot. And I have to admit, I have more mixed feelings about all this than I thought I would, because the headline text on chocolate is gone should be one that makes my inner child jump around with glee. And maybe I'm just getting to be a boring, like, conservative old man, but I was kind of like, they want to spend 2.4 billion kroner in tax cuts on chocolate. Like, why not something healthy? And, I mean, I think there is a bit of legitimacy to that because, well, it actually took me a bit by surprise. I know Denmark has a big budget surplus, but I know from a lot of other countries, one of the ways they raise funds for public spending is by taxing sugar, nominally under, you know, health initiatives, and it is. And combating obesity and everything. But also it adds to the public coffers. So, yeah, I think this is maybe something that caught me a little bit off guard, that I had mixed feelings about. But then I was looking at some of the newspapers and they also kind of broke down, well, how much is this actually going to save us? And so, for example, you know, if you have a 200 gram bar of chocolate that costs 56 kroner today, you're gonna pay 49 kroner going forward for it, roughly. Right. And I think when you put it in those terms, it's, it's a little bit less exciting for me because I have no self-control. So I would have bought that chocolate at 56 kroner anyway. But maybe, maybe taken in the, the wider round. Yeah, it does add up to a lot of money.

Katie

Yeah, I suppose over the course of a year, if you're eating a lot of chocolate. But I had the same kind of reaction and again I was surprised because I was like, woo, cheaper stuff. But then when it was, I mean, it's also coffee, which is critically important for the economy to make sure everybody can continue to work. But in regards to, it felt not very Danish to be like, cool sweets are going to be cheaper now. And I think as well, we're talking about last week that, you know, Denmark has some of the highest prices in Europe for all your kind of basics. So I'm a bit like, why, why have you picked sweets and chocolate and not other things?

Fionn

I feel like to me that's maybe the heart of it. It kind of feels like a compromise that no one was particularly happy about. I mean, they say a good compromise is where no one is super happy. But you know, if you are maybe in, in government and you want to be shown to be helping, you know, cut prices for people because prices have jumped up so much. Well, it probably costs a lot to lower the price on vegetables or bread through tax cuts. Right. Because we probably buy a bit more of that than we do chocolate. 

Katie

Hopefully

Fionn

But you still want to put a headline out there. So I don't know, there is kind of a feeling of like this is a token giveaway almost. I won't be unhappy when the fredag slik bill comes down that little bit lower. But what I am more happy about are some of the other tax cuts. So, for example, they're talking about removing VAT on books.

Katie

Yes!

Fionn

Both physical and digital and as a huge nerd and dork who loves to read.

Katie

You don't say 

Fionn

I would say, a dork that loves to read. I know, I know, I am a dork who loves to read. But reading doesn't make you a dork, it makes you cool. But I think that's wonderful and I think more, more of that is brilliant. And of course there is more, you can say, funding or help, so to speak, that, for example, couples who are trying to have fertility treatment will be able to basically be entitled to more, more chances for that. So there does seem to be kind of a broader package going towards making life easier in many different ways for families, whether they're, I don't know, single couples, international, Danish, things that maybe help across the board. And I really respect that. We should say that this is a finance law, so these are proposals. It's not a finalized budget yet, but I can certainly live in hope of getting a bit cheaper books. 

Katie

Yes, I dream of it every day more. 

Fionn

It's the really things that matter. Right. So, yeah, I think this is probably a headline that a lot of people will be quite happy about. Generally, we don't hear tax cuts and go, oh, no. But yeah, maybe I'm just a bit scarred from the financial crisis in the noughties, but the fact that public spending is growing so much, largely with defense spending and everything there, and tax cuts to some degrees are coming in, I always get a little flutter about that. But these aren't quite the, the, the major tax cuts giveaways for, for everyone that we, we saw 20 years ago that led to some of the, some of the bigger crashes. 

Katie 

No, that was mental

Fionn

I don't, I think I'm just being my own little alarm of self to myself.

Katie

I think society did this to us. It's not our fault. Like, because I'm the same every time. It's um, it's saying that, you know, oh, we're going to spend this much, so this is how much it's going to cost. It's a bit of a... where is this money coming from? I know we have a surplus, but like, no, I think it's also that kind of idea of like, oh, we have a surplus, should we save it? Should we save the money for something else? And it's like, no, that's not really how it works. But like, again, kind of just being like, nervous about, well, what if everything breaks again? Then what are we gonna do? We need this money for that.

Fionn

Yeah. And I think that's, I think that's a fair enough feeling to have in, you know, the world we're in at the moment. Not to get too off topic, but also seeing headlines about, you know, the, the ocean currents being at risk of failing, which would devastate the climate and everything, make Denmark a much colder and probably even more dreary and windy place. I don't know how much tax cuts on, you know, on chocolate would have saved the day on that otherwise, but it's, it's not a rational feeling. But I completely get the snowball effect of should we pinch every penny too? Because, you know.

Katie

Yeah, I guess we can't buy a new ocean. So it doesn't, it doesn't really make sense. But yeah, maybe chocolate, like, taking the tax off chocolate is cheaper than, you know, making therapy cheaper. So they've gone down this route.

Fionn

That's, teah, that's a fair way to put it. I wonder actually, what the... if there's probably some genius economist who could tell me this, you know, the price of chocolate, how does that actually affect the number of people seeking therapy? Right. Because how much does that little, little treat, that little dopamine hit or endorphins or whatever it is, just help us keep, keep, keep the lid on it? I don't know, but yeah, um a smarter person than me would need to figure that out.

Katie

I, I don't know that I'd say someone figuring that out is smarter than you, but, yeah, anyway, go on.

Fionn

I'd say that. I'd say they would have to be smarter than me to figure it out. But would that be a good use of their time? Definitely not. But then speaking of good uses of time, we have a little shift in terms of talking about vaccines and a huge study in Denmark with over a million children that has been looking at basically the aluminium contained in childhood vaccines and connections between those and over 50 health conditions, which includes things like autism, asthma and allergies. And the good news is they found no connection between those.

Katie

Yes. I'm so glad this study exists now. It just feels.

Fionn

Yeah.

Katie

Will it make a difference to all the, the madness that usually in the wonderful U.S. i know there's a handful in every country, but it does seem like a really large concentration of anti-vaxxers over there. And it is like, it's nice to have something to lean back on and be like, nope, this is conclusively 100, absolutely not true. You are ridiculous. You are putting children in harm's way. Everyone's gonna die of smallpox because of you. So yeah, I think that having a study like, such, like a big study over such a long period of time to, to fully kind of say like, nope, there is no possible way that vaccinations are connected to any of these things. It can only do good in the world. I hope. I'm sure America will continue being its crazy self, but at the same time it is just like, just there's this genuine science proving you completely wrong. Please stop it.

Fionn

Well, I mean, you make a compelling point, but a man whose brain was eaten by worms is in charge in the, in the US, and he has very, very, very solid reasons to believe otherwise. Ignoring the science. Yeah, I mean, that is definitely something that the Statens Serum Institute, which conducted this study or helped conduct the study, they issued a press release, of course, talking about the, the study. And the word reassuring was also used by the first author of the study. But the department head of the Statens Serum Institute, Anders Hviid, basically came out and said like, well, we hope that this is relevant not only for Danes but for the United States, because there is so much information, misinformation, vaccine misinformation coming out from the United States at the moment that we hope this can well help vaccinate us against that. And I mean if people are paying attention at all to the US at the moment. I think over the last few months there has been a lot of worrying developments with Robert F. Kennedy, Trump's health secretary, I believe it is. Making some, I think back in June he fired, was it half of the, all the members of the vaccine committee. All the members, not even half the members. He was replacing them. So all the people that basically make recommendations to the Center for Disease Control, the CDC in the US and then over the last week or so, the director of the CDC, she basically refused to rubber stamp some very unscientific directives and refused to fire a lot of dedicated health experts. And she's basically been told by Trump, okay, you're fired. Which he can't necessarily do. So there's a bit of a battle kind of hanging on over there. And I believe she was even appointed by Kennedy. I may be getting that wrong just as a caveat. So this is even somebody who is maybe was initially seen by that camp as more vaccine skeptical. I don't want to like that's my, my take on it or more open to these kind of ideas or policies, who is already taking a stand. And yet they're all just good to get rid of her, get rid of her. So I hope likewise this has a more balancing effect on the rest of the world, maybe with this research. But yeah.

Fionn

Did you know that the Last Week in Denmark newsletter is available in eight languages? Hey there, this is Fionm from the Last Week in Denmark podcast. And every week you guys are tuning in to hear me and my fellow cohosts talk about the top news of the week in English. But let's be real, we're all internationals. So not only are you speaking English every day, you're probably also speaking a bit of Danish, but you've probably also got your own native language as well, like the multilingual master you are. So why not treat yourself to the luxury of being able to read Danish news each week in your own native language. So head on over to lastweekdk.substack.com that's lastweekdk.substack.com and sign up for our newsletter, delivered to you every single Sunday.

Katie

It's a wonder. Like, I do. I do understand. Say, for example, when it came to Covid, you know, there were people who were skeptical. Like, this is. I was kind of looking into where did this surge of people being anti-vaxxers come from? Because it, it's, it feels so stupid. And it's also like, you know, some people can't get vaccinated, so you might just wind up killing people with autoimmune diseases. But then it's also like, we've been taking these vaccines for hundreds of years, and like, okay, sometimes there are, like, negative side effects, but, like, quite rarely. And then it's also just like, it's such a privilege to have access to these vaccines. So many people in the world have no access, and they just fall, like, they just die because of things that we know can be prevented. So then for, like, these people to be like, yeah, we're not gonna do that. No, that sounds like a bad idea. And it is like, with Covid, I'm like, okay, it came out very quickly. Did we know what any of the side effects were? All that kind of stuff. I personally had no hesitation whatsoever. I wanted to leave the country, but at the same time, I understood why some people were skeptical of it. But with these other, like, when it comes to measles, bumps, smallpox, anything like that, like, this destroyed entire, like, communities of, like, indigenous people and like, whole towns. Like, I was in Vancouver recently, and there was an island where if you got smallpox, they sent everyone there. And then if you came back, you had to then drive other people with smallpox to the island because you were now immune to smallpox. So it's like this. This is like devastated cities across the world.

Fionn

Yeah.

Katie

And, and they're just like, nah, don't want that. What?

Fionn

I mean, this is. It's always something that strikes me when people talk about, you know, modern medicine and we've forgotten so many things from what is now termed alternative medicine. And I actually agree with that statement. I think, you know, humanity existed for a long time before we had penicillin and vaccines and we had ways of treating things. And absolutely some of those things, and particularly some non-Western things, were abandoned or thrown away often, you know, through the lens of colonialism, just saying, well, like, these are the natives.

Fionn

They don't know what they're doing. And probably they had a far better idea of how to exist in that. I say, probably they absolutely had a far better idea on how to exist in that climate and that environment than, you know, people coming in as colonizers. But we can't deny that modern medicine has saved millions of lives. Right. The fact that if I get a scratch, I don't have to worry about an infection that might kill me from, you know. 

Katie

Yeah, that is nice. 

And reading old history or reading books and it's like, yeah, this general was off leading the army, but then he, you know, stepped on a sharp stone and the infection in his foot killed him in weeks. And that was the end of this conquest. It's like, wow, you know, these things had much bigger impacts and something very small could easily kill people before, and it doesn't now. Even something like Dioralyte, which I think may be actually an Irish invention, but it has many different names around the world. And it's essentially water that is packed full of nutrients and electrolytes. And in countries where we have it, diarrhea doesn't kill people. And in countries where that's not the case and, you know, access to clean water is not guaranteed, diarrhea will absolutely kill people. And, you know, that's also an awful imbalance in the world. But there, yeah, there just seems to be such a step back in so many ways.

Katie

Yeah, like, too many to count. It's just like. There's just a step back in common sense.

Fionn

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, even seeing pictures from, you know, the, around 1918, when the Spanish flu was out, everybody's wearing a mask, the police are arresting people for not wearing masks. And there was also maybe more of a spirit of like, we do this collectively to stop this awful disease. And of course, you know, when a pandemic or something like that happens, it's understandable that people's lives get completely thrown up in the air. Especially people maybe who worked in more kind of, you could say, like frontline. So your hairdresser, people working in a shop, people working with, within medicine. Right. Where you're actually dealing with people all the time face to face. And that can be really scary when suddenly you don't know if your business is still going to exist. And I think that's something that's been shown, that conspiracy theories and everything and, you know, vaccine denial and everything that that kind of leads to. That thrives when people feel like they don't have control because suddenly they can say, well, actually, everybody's out of control. But I know this secret and that gives me a sense of control again, which I think is both very sad in a way, but also entirely human, you know, yeah, but I hope research like this and also, you know, with such a huge study as, as you said, will actually help give that people a sense of, you know, this is something I can hold on to in, you know, pushing people towards vaccines and proper health initiatives rather than conspiracy theories.

Katie

Yes, well, sometimes I do wonder with conspiracy theories. Like maybe I'll just go all in and be like the moon is talking to me. It doesn't like vaccines. See how people react to that. I'll be president.

Fionn

That is the problem because I think some of them are that, that they're quite interesting. Right to, to go down the rabbit holes. But when it becomes. Yeah, too, too life-consuming, that's, that's the problem. 

Katie

Yeah.

Fionn

Well, speaking of life-consuming conspiracy theories. Not really. But speaking of things to go down a rabbit hole on, there is going to be a vote on Denmark's national fish.

Katie

A critical vote.

Fionn

And I know you have very strong feelings about watching Denmark's national fish.

Katie

I have very strong feelings. They've picked a load of very boring fish here. So I, I will list the options. I know you know my preference. So you can pick between the eel, 

Fionn 

I know your preference

Katie

The herring, the cod, mackerel, sea trout or place. All very unexciting. I don't want it to be herring. It'll only encourage their pickled herring eating in this country. The eel is so mysterious and interesting and like I am thinking of the eels from The Little Mermaid which I know are not real but in my mind that's who I'm voting for.

Fionn

I, yeah, I also, I mean when I look at it, I have to look at it through the lens of both fish. I have to look at it through the lens of fish I eat. And also, you know, looking at DR's coverage on this, they do have a great graphic where all of the fish are dressed differently. And I have to say, I mean herring, they have some very cool sunglasses. So that is making me lean towards them. If I think about, you know, fish as I eat them, I also come, you know, we both come from Ireland eating mackerel for example. It's different, you fry it up and it can be quite tasty. But I have experienced the Danish makrel i tomat where you, I don't know, smash it with a hammer, throw it in some tomato sauce and then can it and leave it for several years, it's truly, truly pungent. Whereas the Rødspætte or plaice, I think as it would be in English, that's what most of my fiskefilet are made of. And I'm a big fiskefilet fan. But I am also with you ultimately on the eel.

Katie

Thank you, I appreciate it.

Fionn

You know, it has that air of mystery. No one knows how eels have sex. I just think that is, that little, you know, always leave them wanting more, that Denmark's national fish should have as a contender. I do think cod, you know, cod's been through a lot with the collapsing cod numbers and hopefully that has gotten a little bit better as cod alternatives have become more available in the supermarket. But yeah, I don't, I don't think it can be mackerel or herring. Sea trout is just, it's the everyman. I mean, why would you vote for them?

Katie

It doesn't feel important enough, to be a national fish.

Fionn

No

Katie

And I'd also be like, there's, there's more fun facts about eels. I can't think of any right now other than the one you've just shared where we don't know how they have sex. But they, I just feel like if you're going to pick something to represent your country, you want to have a load of fun facts about it. So kind of weird looking, like, is it a fish, is it a snake? But it's in water. That's really what you want to be representing you. I think from a fish perspective.

Fionn

I think Denmark needs to get a little bit more weird with it. And the eel would fill that. I mean, the Danish national bird is the mute swan. I'm not quite sure what the Danish national animal is, but there's some really wacky ones out there. Scotland, for example. Their national animal is the unicorn. Wales is the dragon. I think this is the energy that Denmark needs to be bringing and it's a bit more grounded. Eels are real, but they have cousins like the electric eel, so there's a lot of fun in there. And yeah, that's why I will be campaigning heavily for every waking moment of the day for, for the eels to win. And this campaign has been launched by the Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries. It's also attracted a lot of criticism, being called the biggest greenwashing experiment in Danish history because pretty much all of these fish are at great risk of increased nitrogen in the waters, which is coming from agriculture, typically agricultural runoff. But yeah, I mean, that aside, I do think the eel is just such a compelling contender that I can ignore the greenwashing and just go, go all in.

Katie

If we go conspiracy theory. Oh, sorry, go on, tell them how to vote. That's important too. But if we want to go down the conspiracy theory route, I'm kind of like, okay, but if all of these fish are struggling with population numbers and is it just that they can't make a decision which one they want to save? And then we're going to pick an eel. I don't know if you can eat an eel. Can you eat an eel? Surely, you can eat an eel.

Fionn

Oh, you can eel. It's, it's delicious.

Katie

Okay, then we continue

Fionn

It's also critically endangered, I'm afraid.

Katie

You shouldn't eat it.

Fionn

Yeah, well, you can vote on, for the one fish you want to save, apparently on nationalfisk.dk so nationalfish.dk in English, but the link is in Danish, which also feels like a very Danish website name to me. No, no faff about it.

Katie

No creativity. Just national fish. Yeah, that's what it says.

Fionn

And these are not the only animals that are in focus at the moment. There is a push to bring back, you could say a lot of old Danish agricultural breeds, specifically some rare cows. And I don't know if you. What's your opinion on rare cows versus common cows? I mean, how into this are you?

Katie

I am so interested. I want to know every kind of cow. And again, I love a fun fact and I also really enjoy a fun animal fact. And then like, I guess I didn't think too much about cows. There's so many at home just like, ah, yeah, they're cows. But one of the traditional breeds is a red dairy cow. And I'm like, is that the inspiration for the laughing cow cheese where the cow laughs? Can these red dairy cows laugh?

Fionn

I mean, I do think that's French but, you know, maybe, maybe it's an import. I mean the Danes called the Great Dane the Grand Danois. So there's clearly some cultural osmosis there. So I think this is a very good question. I've also always wondered if pink lemonade comes from pink lemons. So very similar thing. And we also have the Danish korthorn which has only 180 living cows left. So I think the reasoning behind this and the kind of push you could say to have more of these back is both, you know, more land is being transitioned in its use from agriculture to, to be more wild to promote biodiversity. And of course you can still have some grazing animals in that because that's also part of nature. So yeah, looking at that from, from that point of view, it would give more sense to have these kind of old breeds that are there. But I think there's also something you know, about cultural identity and yeah, cultural pride you could say in like, yeah, treasuring the, these classic things that you have. And this actually just really reminded me of one of the weirdest facts I learned. 

Katie

Oh, my God. I'm so ready. So, ready for a fact. Go on.

Fionn

Yeah. I mean, Denmark loves pigs, right? And the, the pork and bacon industry, but have you ever heard of the Danish protest pig?

Katie

I have not heard of the Danish protest pig, and I need you to tell me everything about it right now.

Fionn

Yeah, so this is something that I remember looking at the, [robably just the Denmark page in Wikipedia and one of the kind of, you know, links in the related articles down below was Danish protest pig. And I just thought, what is this? Officially, it's called the Husum Red pied pig in English at least. And it comes from. And I know you're an expert in, you know, Danish military history, so apologies if I have to... but for The Listener, in 1864, there was what was called the Second Schleswig War. And Prussia, as it was then, declared victory over Danish lands and took quite a large chunk of Denmark, which didn't reunite with Denmark until after the First World War, I believe, with the plebiscites. And it was forbidden in those lands, for example, to display the Danish flag. So if you are a proud, strong Danish farmer, what do you want to do? Do you want to, you know, blow up railways? Do you want to snipe from the bushes? No, you breed a pig that looks like the Danish flag.

Katie

Oh, my God.

Fionn

And they did so with what I would say, limited success, of course. The Danish flag, we all know it has the Nordic cross on it, so they weren't able to breed the horizontal stripe in the pig, but they were able to breed a kind of pinkish red pig that has a kind of almost vertical white stripe going through it. 

Katie

How did they think that? 

Fionn

I know, right? It feels almost more complicated and more of an investment than, you know, actively becoming a resistance fighter. But it was celebrated as kind of a way of, yeah, hiding or showing covertly your Danish identity. And it was actually recognized as a breed only in the 1950s, but it was thought extinct after about 1968 until the 80s, where pigs corresponding with the description were seen again in Berlin. And I'm not even going to try and pronounce the, what I believe is that, like, international committee on this Danish red pig was formed that year, and there is a breeding society still in Schleswig-Holstein for the Danish protest pig.

Katie

Oh, my God.

Fionn

So I think, as well as the, you know, Danish shorthorn cow and the, there's the red dairy cow, we need to bring the protest pig back every, every household should have one. It'd be far more fun, right, than I, you know, flying up the flag pole on somebody's birthday if you just left the pig out to run absolutely wild.

Katie

I'd say more sustainable as well. Like, how much paper and plastic are we using for, you know, the tiny flag toothpicks and the flags that you throw around on birthdays. You can just break out the pig for a birthday and be like, that's kind of a Danish flag.

Fionn

Yeah. And, you know, the rest of the year they can be your own little food waste disposal unit. You know, we're coming up with strong sustainability ideas while the government is just greenwashing. Greenwashing fish.

Katie

Yeah. Giving us chocolate to keep us quiet even though we're brilliant.

Fionn

Keep your chocolate. We want protest pigs. Now, the last animal that I want to raise today is a little bit more on a sad note, and that is.

Katie

Hear the heavy emotion in your voice. Are you okay?

Fionn

Recognize the death. Oh, no, I'm not. We're recognizing the death of a legend, and that is Røde Allan, Red Alan in English, who was a cat that lived at Nyborg station, Nyborg train station for many, many years and was unfortunately found dead on Thursday afternoon in a suspected car hit and run. This cat lived in the train station. It had its own owner and its own home, but apparently just chose to hang out at the train station for many years. Nyborg, I have family on Fyn, so that was often where if my kids were going down to their grandparents for the weekend, we would meet and hand over and then I would have to wait for a train back to Copenhagen. So Red Alan brought me many years of joy lazing about on the, his, like I say, he. And he was called Red Alan, actually a female cat. So her throne that was basically erected, she had like a stool and pillows and everything. She even once became an ambassador for Fyn bus. Having got on a bus and been found many, many kilometers away on Eastern Fyn and was apparently actually called, she left according to, to her owner, Martin Stenmann. So, yeah, I think we just need to pay an official tribute to Røde Alan and long may her memory continue.

Katie

I love this story so much for so many reasons. I love how invested everyone was in this cat and I, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a criminal investigation into her death to find out who's responsible.

Fionn

I think there should be. I think there should be. You know, forget spending 2.4 billion on tax cuts for chocolate. That's the money we need to be spending to find whoever hit Red Alan with their car. But I think on that weirdly morbid note, that's probably where we're going to wrap up for today. Just to really give you a strange feeling for your commute or wherever you're listening to this from. But I'd just like to say huge thank you to you, Katie, for talking with me today. Huge thank you to our editors and producers, and of course, to our listeners as well.

Katie

Yeah, thanks, Fionn. It's great to see you again. Looking forward to doing more episodes.

Fionn

You, too. Absolutely. Have a wonderful rest of your week. And until next time.

Katie

Yeah, you too. Bye.

Fionn

Bye.

Kalpita

Hey, this is Kalpita and Golda, cohosts of the Last Week in Denmark podcast. Did you know Last Week in Denmark offers sponsored content in the newsletter? Our reporters are producing original articles and content tailored for internationals in Denmark. 

Golda

So if you have a business our readers should know about, let us write about it. Get in touch with us at reporter@lwid.dk. You can also reach out to us on LinkedIn and Instagram @lastweekendenmark.

People on this episode

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LWID

Host
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Fionn O'Toole

Guest
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Katie Burns

Guest