Dec 7th, 2008 at 1:48 am
Cophenhagen Airport
I’d really like to visit Copenhagen some day. For now, I’ll need to settle for Copenhagen Airport. Extremely elegant architecture and design here at the transfercenter as I’m waiting for my connecting flight to Helsinki to get a gate assignment. Also: A 7-11. Hadn’t realized there were 7-11s abroad.
71 Responses to “Cophenhagen Airport”
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December 7th, 2008 at 1:51 am
“Hadn’t realized there were 7-11s abroad.”
There are more 7-11s in Japan than there are in the United States.
December 7th, 2008 at 2:02 am
Apparently you have not been to Thailand!
December 7th, 2008 at 2:08 am
Taiwan has highest density of 7-11s in the world, with one outlet per 6,200 citizens.
December 7th, 2008 at 2:13 am
7-11 is the largest international chain in any market. It has more worldwide outlets than McDonalds.
December 7th, 2008 at 2:16 am
If you are American and you go to Japan you become hyper-aware of 7-11s – 7-11s have international ATMs and are far, far more common and easier to find than any other international ATMs.
December 7th, 2008 at 2:25 am
I’d dispute that claim about Taiwan, but only because I can’t properly imagine what a place with a higher density of 7-11s than Hong King must look like. Nearly any time I was standing outside of a 7-11 there I could glance in any direction and see another one a block away.
December 7th, 2008 at 3:18 am
“7-11 is the largest international chain in any market. It has more worldwide outlets than McDonalds.”
All true, but Subway has more outlets than McDonald’s. I’m not sure where KFC fits, but they seem to be everywhere. Thailand is the best for KFC, the chicken is really fresh. Probably killed in the alley that morning. But Nathan’s right, you can’t swing a cat without hitting a 7-11 in Thailand.
December 7th, 2008 at 3:23 am
It’s also the largest convenient store chain in South Korea. I believe 7-11 was purchased by a Japanese company, which is now called SEVEN&I Holdings.
December 7th, 2008 at 3:28 am
So I have a question. In Thailand, I’ve been to supermarkets named “Tops.” They have a logo very similar to that of Tops markets in upstate New York. Is that the same chain? And why would that be? They can’t make it to Pennsylvania, but have a presence in Thailand? What’s up with that?
December 7th, 2008 at 3:46 am
Okay, I just looked it up. The Tops in Thailand is the same chain, and it’s the largest in Thailand. Weird. And they do seem to have a few stores in Pennsylvania.
December 7th, 2008 at 3:58 am
Denmark is an eminently civilized place, although it does suffer from some of the same multiculturalist, politically correct insanity that is currently destroying Sweden and Norway–we shall see if Holger Danske and his compatriots can save their culture and society from those malevolent forces. Copenhagen, though the metropolis of Denmark, is by no means the only spot worth a visit in that great nation.
December 7th, 2008 at 4:30 am
7-11s in Taiwan are different beasts from those in America (and Canada!). I can get photocopies made, and I can pay bills, including credit card bills under a thousand dollars or so. Lots of internet commerce is done by shipping to the 7-11 nearest you. I can ship something myself, including frozen products (if for some reason I’m sending leftovers to family members?!). There’s junk food, but there are also salads and fruit bowls and sushi. Faxes, too, as well as driving license renewals. In the past couple of years they’ve all added espresso machines.
Oh, and I can get beer and wine and whiskey, which may not be a big deal for Americans, but for Canadians used to absurd liquor laws, is truly a great thing.
December 7th, 2008 at 4:36 am
I love when you go abroad. Like a trip down memory lane.
If you connect through it on the way back eat at one of the salmon and champagne bars they have – heavenly.
December 7th, 2008 at 4:58 am
Amusingly enough, 7-Eleven isn’t even an American company! Of course it was born there, but the Japanese daughter company was so successful that it created a new holding company called “Seven and I” and bought 7-Eleven America in 2005.
As to the discussion of who is the biggest, according to Wikipedia Subway still has about a thousand franchises fewer than McDonalds, though they’re the fastest growing chain. I’m not sure where KFC ranks, but it’s evidently not in the top three.
December 7th, 2008 at 5:01 am
lostinasia, thanks. I’ve been through Taipei at least twenty times, but I’ve never left the airport. I’ve only looked at Taiwan from the windows. You’ve convinced me to check it out.
December 7th, 2008 at 5:27 am
Plenty of 7-11 action out here in Singapore too.
December 7th, 2008 at 5:29 am
It appears Benjamin Sturmer is is right (sorry, I don’t know how to do umlauts). But I’m surprised about KFC. Laos and Bulgaria are the only countries I’ve never seen a KFC. And I didn’t see a McDonald’s either. Some people might be surprised that there’s a KFC in Saigon. But KFC actually had a larger presence during the Vietnam War.
December 7th, 2008 at 5:40 am
Yeah, Thailand has them every block.
*Every* block.
December 7th, 2008 at 7:25 am
They’re not common in Europe, though. I’m writing this from Austria, have visited the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain in the last year, and I don’t think I saw a single 7-11 the entire time, and my reaction would have been much as MY’s was. How many are there in Europe?
December 7th, 2008 at 7:35 am
According to Wikipedia, in Europe their reach is limited to Scandinavia. So it turns out they are a regional phenomenon in Europe. They’re very scarce South of Denmark.
December 7th, 2008 at 7:58 am
There are a lot of 7-11’s throughout copenhagen and they are quite popular. It is such a wonderful city!
December 7th, 2008 at 8:06 am
There’s at least one 7-11 in European Istanbul.
December 7th, 2008 at 8:14 am
Extremely elegant architecture and design
Danish Modern, no doubt . . .
December 7th, 2008 at 9:30 am
Hm. 7-Elevens, in Denmark as in the United States, are often run by immigrants. They’re open much longer than the typical operating hours for a small store or business. Copenhagen recently had a backlash against stores with extended hours, and against 7-Elevens in particular. In theory, it was an economic protest, but in practice, it was Sailer felch.
Anyway, the airport is not bad looking, but the last time I was there, the air conditioning was off (it was mid-summer) and the passport in my shirt pocket got warped from sweat, wrecking the internal magnetic strip. Though the airport staff was good about complimentary water.
December 7th, 2008 at 9:36 am
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December 7th, 2008 at 10:59 am
There are 7-11s in Stockholm on just about every other block.
December 7th, 2008 at 11:00 am
7-11s are pretty common in Denmark, especially downtown Copenhagen. Always a good place for beer on the walk between the Metro and the bar. Anyway, I’ve never seen one outside of Scandinavia in Europe either.
December 7th, 2008 at 11:23 am
At one point in Malaysia I managed to see three 7-11s at once.
Little known 7-11 factoid – they have a really extensive corporate art collection. Mostly modern art and a mix of paintings and sculpture.
December 7th, 2008 at 11:33 am
We live above a 7-11 here in Hong Kong. The street is just 100 metres long so for years we have just asked visitors to ‘look out for our entrance next to 7-11′.
This simple direction has now been rendered completely obselete by the opening of ANOTHER 7-11 in the same street!
December 7th, 2008 at 11:42 am
A much more international crowd here then I would have guessed, interesting to see how 7-11 and fast food restaurents truly are the glue that binds us all together.
I am in Spain (Madrid), have not seen any 7-11s but McDonalds, KFC, and Burger King are quite popular. While traveling through the Copenhagen airport a few months ago, I chilled out at what I suspect is the same 7-11 MY is referring to. Oh!, the small blogging world.
December 7th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Yeah, 7-Eleven is pretty common in Sweden, particularly Stockholm. Their coffee isn’t half bad, and the semlor are pretty amazing during Lent.
Also, if you’re in the Copenhagen airport again, make sure to push your luggage around in the convenient luggage carts on offer. So comfortable!
December 7th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Copenhagen is a great place to explore with a bike or motorcycle. The transition from the city to the ‘burbs is very strange and mysterious.
December 7th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
After this thread it’s amusing to point out that there are no 7-11s in Finland.
December 7th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Daisy Miller does foreign policy
December 7th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Too bad you’re just in the airport. Copenhagen is terrific this time of year. Tivoli must have the highest concentration of animatronic nissen in the world.
December 7th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Copenhagen airport is just lovely. I’ve never been beyond it into Denmark either, but the airport definitely made me want to go there some day.
December 7th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
I think the fact that 7-11s are so common in East Asia is due to the strength of the Japanese operation (which, as a couple of people have pointed out, is now the parent company). Also, Asians just love their convenience stores. It’s really gotten into the culture too–in Taiwan, “7-11″ is slang for a big nerd or boss’s pet: they work from 7 to 11.
December 7th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
There are lots of 7-11s in Australia, too. Not on every block, but they’re easy to find.
December 7th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
There are tons of KFCs in South Africa. Many more than McDonald’s.
December 7th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
but the Japanese daughter company was so successful that it created a new holding company called “Seven and I” and bought 7-Eleven America in 2005.
Ito Yokado (a Japanese department store chain) took controlling interest of the company in 1991.
December 8th, 2008 at 12:24 am
In the summer of 2007, I visited Tampere, Finland for a conference. Flew through Stockholm on the way there. Boring, lame architecture. But I only had a layover of 1.5 hours, so I just tranferred planes and kept going.
Flew back through Copenhagen. I had an 8-hour layover! So I left the airport, which is, in fact, just as elegant architecturally as Matt says, and went downtown.
Yes, Matt, it’s worth seeing. Tons and tons of bicycles. Bicycles everywhere. The only places I can think of that have more are Amsterdam (I’m told–haven’t been there) and major Chinese cities (ditto). They had the same six-story European apartment buildings you see in Paris, but instead they were all made of red brick, not the tan concrete or adobe (or whatever it is) the French have. Quite a big downtown. Didn’t have enough time to get to the suburbs. Didn’t even see the little mermaid.
Oh, and the Danes, at least in their capital, are almost as stylish as the French, but much less formal. Casual and stylish. I had a relaxed feeling when I was there.
December 8th, 2008 at 6:14 am
I’ll buy a beer or two if you ever come to Copenhagen.
Also if you want tips about which bars to hit, just ask.
/Limagolf
December 8th, 2008 at 6:14 am
Ill buy YOU a beer or two, obviously…
December 8th, 2008 at 11:52 am
but they don’t have slurpees, and have no idea what slurpees are. i wrote a letter to the head of 7-11 international.
December 8th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Denmark greatly benefits from multiculturalism, dude. Stockholm and Copenhagen are great places to experience Scandinavian as well as Middle Eastern culture. Best falafel I’ve ever had! Some people mind it, most people don’t, but I really have to wonder about people who think it will be the end of Denmark! But the airport really is beautiful and the train that takes you to central station is equally efficient and elegant.
December 8th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
@ fostert -
I believe Tops is owned by Ahold, a Dutch supermarket group. They also own a lot of other stores in the US (such as Stop & Shop, Giant, etc.) and in Europe. Not terribly surprised they also own stores in Thailand, though I am surprised that they use the Tops name.
December 8th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Bang on.
December 9th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
I was in Copenhagen only once, and I loved the airport. One of the things that made it so pleasant was the way they processed foreign visitors. They … didn’t.
After getting off the plane, you walked down a hallway that at one point divided – EU citizens to the left, others to the right. So you walk down an empty hallway for a little bit, and pretty soon it merged with the other half again! Five more minutes of walking, and you can walk out on the street!
My cousin and I were looking around, not wanting to get into trouble for not getting our passports stamped or anything, but no one was interested in us. So we walked out, and for the next two weeks had a fabulous time in Scandinavia.
Of course, this was in 1996. Security procedures have changed a little bit since then, I guess.
I don’t remember any 7-11’s, but the first thing we saw in Norway – the very first thing after getting off the train – was a Pizza Hut. **sigh**
(The reason I’m sure there weren’t any 7-11’s is that one of the things we tried to do in Copenhagen was find a some pastry. A Danish, in Denmark, get it? Uh, anyway, we couldn’t find single one for sale anywhere. A 7-11 probably would have carried some stale ones at least.)
December 11th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Best 7-11 moment: London, mid-90s. Drunk Irishman in the 7-11 looking for breath mints. He finds the orange, the green, and orange-and-green combination box of Tic Tacs. He points out the orange ones: “Protestants” and the green ones: “Catholics” and intones how sad they are that they are all alone. Then picks up the combo box and begins to sing and dance, shaking the box to his tune: “Happy little Catholics, and happy little Protestants, all living together in harmony! It IS possible! There is hope for the future!” etc. He was so drunk as to be genuinely pleased to find this box of Tic-Tacs. He bought a bunch of them and gave them to his friends.
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