MY SUMMER: ESBEN BJERRE

Where to go?
We are heading to Bornholm, which in just two years has become a tradition. We are seriously considering buying a place there. Bornholm feels the same as Tisvilde, just without the nightclub vibe. The island has a peacefulness to it that’s hard to find in other holiday destinations. We are going for a birthday and then staying for a few more days.

Later we are off to Italy. I rented this enormous house almost two years back, and now the time has come. 10 of our friends are coming, and many of them have become parents since I rented it. It has been really nice to have something to look forward between all of us.

What to eat?
I love cheese and charcuterie, but my girlfriend hates cheese, so it’s not really on the agenda during the year. But this summer I plan on buying a huge parmesan and go nuts.

What to drink?
Wine. Lots of wine. And white wine only. I don’t drink a lot on a normal day, I think it’s more fitting during the holidays. My friends care a great deal about drinking the right wine, which is fine, but I don’t really have any preferences or care a great deal about the label.

What to read?
That’s my achilles heel. Reading goes hand in hand with being a great person, but I’m terrible at it. I’d rather listen to a podcast or go for a run. Books in my shelf are staring at me like fluorescent neon. I recently got ‘Hambros Allé 7-9-13’ by Lotte Kaa Andersen, and I promise I will begin to read it. Can’t promise I will finish it though.

What to wear?
I wear the exact same thing throughout the year. I don’t have an outfit to which I change during the summer. People don’t believe me when I say that I get up on Sundays and put on an ironed shirt, but I’m just not comfortable in loose fitting clothes. Having said that, I wear shorts. That’s my little rebellion against myself.

Where to swim?
I don’t swim. I just don’t like it. Even if the temperature reaches 27 degrees, there’s absolutely nothing that could draw me into the ocean. I’d rather sweat.

What to listen to?
I’m bad at silence. Bad at realtime sound. If I leave my apartment without my headphones, I go back to pick them up. I need the noise. I listen to lots of music. I’ve seen all of Father John Misty’s shows in Denmark and I am probably the closest to a groupie you can come.

What not to run out of?
White wine. If you run out of your own white wine you are forced to drink the only and probably most headache-evoking wine you can get your hands on in the local store, and no one deserves that in their holiday.

Phone on or off?
On. I try to have windows of time where it’s off, but it’s super difficult for me. In the last 10 years I’ve been checking news constantly, and it’s hard for me just to cut the connection. I envy those people who come back from their holiday and say that they didn’t read a single news story. As long as we are this new with technology, we have to remove it physically to succeed in being present. Or at least I do.

The most important difference between every day life and holiday?
In the every day life you have to get something out of the weekend. During the holiday, you don’t have to stress about doing this or that. That’s the feeling you want to pursue.

What’s waiting on the other side of the holiday?
I have been in Africa with DR3 and I have been doing a tv-program about how and why young people share nude images of each other. Both programs will be broadcast in the fall. And then of course lots of projects which I can’t tell about yet.