I’ve just come back from Copenhagen this week and yes, Scandinavia was everything I dreamed it would be, the bikes, the expensive beer and the masses of contented blondes satisfied my stereotypes entirely. Although Denmark (and the bit of Sweden I saw) work in the way we dream Western Europe would, it’s really really bitterly cold and everything is so extortionately priced my eyes watered.
Got hygge?
So why are Danes the happiest people in the world? Their weather is almost exactly the same as in the UK, they pay massive taxes, and food and alcohol are more expensive than you can imagine. I had a feeling it took a little bit more than well-run public transport and lots of pretty town squares to make them happier than anyone else on the planet.
I could talk about their wonderful government with its first female Statsminister, or the fresh air that fills Copenhagen’s cobbled streets because everyone rides bikes, but that’s already been done and I think the answer is in something a little less obvious. Rather than going the way of the Montrealers and building an entire city underground, the Danes have hygge, roughly translated (there’s never a smooth translation in Danish) it means cosy, comfortable and warm. In reality, it means candles everywhere, log fires at 12 in the afternoon, cafes built into basements and fur rugs on seats. It’s not just cosy, it’s bliss. And it means people still go outside in winter, have meals out with their friends and keep enjoying life even if the weather’s miserable.
Whenever I go to a mainland European city I don’t want to leave, but this time it was something different. In Paris, I fell in love with the utter beauty of the city, in Berlin it was the history and their effortless cool. But Copenhageners just get it, life that is, they’re incredibly friendly, don’t lock their bikes and sit outside when it’s -5 because it’s sunny. And it’s those little things that make a big difference.
I was dreading coming back to Manchester, to complaining about the little things like rubbish on my street or the trams not running on time, so I tried something different. Instead of pining for everything Danish and longing to be sat on cobbled squares drinking wine, I brought a bit of hygge back with me. Every night since I’ve been home I’ve lit candles, put a warm blanket on my couch and felt content where I am. And do you know what it works. Instead of looking at the grey clouds and rain tonight, try lighting a couple of candles, snuggle up and think ‘this is hygge’.
Make yourself feel “tryghed” or tucked in like a snug child, any culture that has a word like that in their vocabulary can’t be anything but happy inside.
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