At the end of March, I took a trip to the beautiful, quaint, cozy, lovely country of Denmark with my husband and our good friends the Larson family (Mama of the family, Hanne, is from Denmark, and these great friends decided they wanted to show us this special place and let us meet their family and be our tour guides).
I knew going into the trip that Denmark may just be my spirit country, focused on the important things in life: coffee breaks, good lighting, candles and blankets.
But I didn't know just how beautiful everything would be or how kindly everyone I met would treat me!
So where in Denmark did we go?
We flew into Copenhagen, drove up to the northern coast and spent a few days on the ocean in Dronningmølle, traveling to small towns each day, including one day in Sweden via ferry. We then spent the second half of the trip in Rødovre, just outside of Copenhagen, and spent the last night being fancy tourists right in downtown Copenhagen.
What stands out about most of our days is this: breakfast consisting of fresh bread with jam and cheese, pastries, yogurt with muesli, and coffee, all served on the most beautiful dinnerware. Shopping in many secondhand stores and home stores and flower shops also stands out. Additionally, our trip was marked by lunch outside, walking, castles, cobblestone roads, the Baltic Sea, hot dog stands next to wine stands, afternoon coffee breaks, dinner, pre-bedtime snacks, relaxing and having a hyggelig time with each other. Here's what that looked like:
Favorite parts of the trip
My favorite things about our trip to Denmark were the culture, the company, and the design:
The Culture
Friendly and understated are two words that come to mind when I think of Danish people. In addition to coziness being a way of life in Denmark, Danes are not loud or boisterous. They care that you feel welcomed and are quick to feed you and offer you coffee. For example, many stores we went in had a small coffee and pastry stand. Restaurants provided blankets, both inside and on patios that people filled in the 50 degree weather. There was an ever-flowing supply of desserts and candy everywhere.
The Design
Scandinavia is known for it's efficient and elegant design, but I didn't realize this would be everywhere. From furniture to town layouts, Denmark's design can mostly all be described as understated, beautifully simple and efficient, minimal light colors and clean lines. And lots of mint green.
The Company
Sometimes going on vacation with others can be a risk. You think you're great friends, but then after Day 8 together you are fully aware of each others' "quirks", like that preference you hate, or that button they push on you. This was not the case with the Larson family (or their Danish family). Our time together consisted of no shortage of deep conversations and laughter.
