Tattoo culture of Copenhagen

I came to Copenhagen with the idea in my head that I may want to get my next tattoo here. Because of the canals and history with sailors, tattoos have long been engrained in the Danish culture. You see them everywhere and on all sorts of people. They are also less hidden than in the US. Arm sleeves, for example, are very common. One of the doctors who lectured at my class had a sleeve, which is something I feel you are a lot less likely to see in the States.

After visiting the tattoo exhibit in the round tower, I decided that I definitely wanted to get one here. Being in a Scandinavian country, and inspired by one of my roommates who got something similar, I decided to get an inscription in Nordic runes.

I went to Enter the Dragon Tattoo, which is about 2 blocks from my apartment. I immediately noticed that the shop was cleaner than those typically found in the States, which is really nice. The artist made sure to open the sterile packages in front of me (very important) and covered the work surfaces in plastic wrap, which is something that many shops back at home don't do. All in all, I was very impressed with the cleanliness of the shop. I think Denmark may have more regulations by the government on that regard than the US.

The work portfolio of the artists was also very impressive. They did a lot of beautiful oriental work and had a lot of shading talent. To anyone interested in ever getting work done in Copenhagen, Enter the Dragon would definitely be a place to check out.

While I was getting the tattoo, I talked to the artist about the tattoo culture in Denmark. He said that easily seen tattoos are not a problem because tattooing isn't really a taboo in Denmark. For some professional situations, you may cover them up, but on a day-to-day basis no one thinks anything of someone having a large tattoo out in the open. It does not seem to come with the same judge of character that it's often associated with in the US.

He did mention something interesting. It is technically illegal for an artist to tattoo on the hands and above the shoulders. This is because, some 200 years ago, there was a king of Denmark who loved tattoos. The law was passed to prevent him from doing anything crazy. Now, it is an antiquated and pointless law but is still around.

Anyway, here is my tattoo. It's pretty minimalistic. The runes don't spell anything specifically, but individually they have meanings. The first is kenaz, which means intellect and the mind. The second is wunjo, which means joy. The third is perthro, which stands for the uncertainties of life and also means problem solving. Overall, I am very happy with how it came out and it will serve as a wonderful reminder of my adventures here in Copenhagen.