Smitten in Copenhagen (writes)
They say the Danish are the happiest people in the world. It’s easy to see why, with a city like Copenhagen. A city filled great beer, great food, and great views on the water. Copenhagen is another city I never imagined visiting, much less spending a time for a Christmas holiday break, but that is exactly where I found myself closing out 2023, and quickly falling in love. Falling in love quickly…is nothing new for me. Most people need months, even years, to diligently consider all aspects of how their love is formed, but all I need is about 48 hours and some delusion to make new life altering decisions. From asking “can I live here” in every city I visit, to quickly moving out of the country, I’ve always been a fan of fast love. A week in Copenhagen was more than enough time for me to consider [yet again] packing up everything and deciding Copenhagen is where I want to be next.
Its Christmas morning upon my arrival in Denmark. My body has no idea what time it is, but my watch reads 9:30am. It’s cold, and the wind is so strong, it shook the plane, awakening me from my sleep before the plane landed. Greeted by a European winter, I’m quite grateful for the refreshing change compared to the thick December humidity of Singapore. In front of us is a fleet of electric VW and Mercedes taxis (Copenhagen looks to be the world’s first carbon neutral city by 2025), and the wintry temperature that pierces my nostrils, shaking off any jet-lag I may have had. As we depart, I quickly realize there is no one on the road, reminding me again, of the holiday upon our visit. Headed for our hotel, I find myself asking the “could I live here” question knowing nothing about the space. The question comes with ease, intoxicated with the aroma of a new holiday visit. Since leaving the States, I’m especially reminded of a privilege to even consider the art of escaping to another place more welcoming than the spaces you have come from previously. Another Christmas on the road, which, in theory, isn’t a different circumstance than my previous years, from San Diego, Los Angeles, and New York City. Between Singapore and California, I’ve done my best to dodge the idea of winter, but being kissed by the Scandinavian winter feels…oddly encapsulating. Inching closer to the city Copenhagen, the industrial architecture dances between descriptions of historically and futuristically European. I’m finding difficulty distinguishing between the condos and business buildings hidden together along the roadside. I start to see trains pass by, and boat homes on the water, and then I see graffiti decorated along train cars, and I find myself grateful to the artists camouflaged in this city.
It's a sunny day, and the shimmer of the sun highlights the commitment of groups of people running, even on this Christmas day, covered head to toe, arduously working to stay warm. The same wind they run against; blows a growing number of Danish flags I start to see as City Hall Square draw near. After checking in to the hotel, my wife and I look for adventure, while I look for the new subject(s) for my photography. Even hidden behind my camera, I’m noticing the people smile back, and although I don’t speak a word a Danish, the Danes are willing to engage in conversation. Capturing people riding bikes, I soon learn Copenhagen is a city with more bikes than people and FIVE TIMES more bikes than cars. It’s the end of the year, and between Christmas and New Year’s soon arrival, it’s easy to feel the Christmas spirit. Tourists and locals alike are on respective escapades through Tivoli Garden, screaming on the roller coasters, even in the biting cold. Hot chocolate and coffee stands provide handwarmers, and liquid warmth for the soul. Over the next week, even after the holidays pass, the Danes reveal a bit of themselves to me. I start to notice a slower pace of, just about everything. There are kids laughing more with their parents than I can remember, and more adults hugging and kissing in public than recent memory. It feels different, the space, the people. It would be easy to write it off as “season’s greetings”, but something feels a bit more noticeable.
Tivoli Gardens
The commercialization of Christmas is easy to acknowledge in the States, but this is not that. It’s not just the holiday spirit of vacation and welcoming tourists into your town. Even after the tourist flood dries out, into the New Year, the mood in the air feels especially noticeable. No one is quite in a hurry, to get anywhere, or rush out of anything. As I walk through the parks, I notice more and more the connection and physical touch of adult friends, happy to be in each other’s space and comfort. “Hygge…it’s hygge”, my wife says. Not quite sure of what she means, and much less prepared for our travels than her, I am not quite familiar with the Danes commitment to this word my wife has just told me. “Visit Denmark” lists “hygge” as “creating a warm atmosphere and enjoying the good things in life with good people” . The Danes commitment to this phenomenon is felt from walking through the market in Nyhavn to having a pint in Carlsberg. A commitment to creating a space of enjoyment with those who are with you, commitment to letting others feel a joy that seems rare in other spaces. The beer, the wine, the welcoming of visitors captured me during my time in the city.
Nyhavn, Copenhagen
I love Copenhagen. The charm of Tivoli Gardens won me over, and the food of Union Kitchen kept me full. It’s transit system reminds me just how much I don’t miss having a car, and the proximity of being able to grab a quick dinner in Sweden isn’t a bad perk either. No place is perfect, but my experience of traveling while Black in Denmark, was a pleasant one. With a healthcare and education provided by the government, and a city that is spoken highly of by expats, Denmark, is an attractive visit, and a beautiful idea of where I would love to live next. For a city that can experiences brutal winters, and a lack of sunlight that makes 2pm feel like 7, it’s quite shocking how happy Copenhagen was in December. I’ve lived in the North East United States, where it can be gray all day, and black at 5pm…and never felt happiness like Danes had in winter. But hey, if I had glögg and the Carlsberg factory to get me through the winter…I’d be just as happy too…probably.
Sources: National Geographic, Urban Sustainability Exchange, Visit Denmark, Carlsberg (Youtube)
