Our Life in Denmark: Week 24

Written by Grace on in Life in DenmarkTravel

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Number of weeks living in Denmark: 24

Weather: Cloudy, misty and 67 F

What I’m loving

  • Foraging: I think my favorite part of summer here is the practice of foraging and savoring all of the fruit growing around us. My son and I must have gone to our local park (just a short walk away) a dozen times to pick fresh blackberries to pop into our mouths or take home to eat or bake with. And then we enjoyed our apple tree in the backyard, with pinky green fruit just a little tart with notes of cherry. What a treat! Our dog has been loving the apple treats, too. People will even post on our neighborhood Facebook page with extra fruit from their yards and set out the excess for others to grab before it goes to waste.
  • A routine: In August (after a 3-week daycare break for my son), we finally started settling into a routine. My husband with his normal work weeks, my son with his daycare routine and me with a few hours of freelance writing most days. It feels so good to have some predictability in our life and settle into more normal days.
  • Biking culture: Although I’m still building up my “bike thighs,” I’m so excited to join the biking population in Copenhagen. And I can’t even tell you how much my son loves riding his little balance bike. And I get it: It feels great to take yourself places and feel the breeze in your face. My next goal is to get strong enough to ride my son to school with him in his little trailer attached to my bike. Hopefully soon!

What I miss

  • Target: I really miss having one store to get any home or personal item that I need. Sometimes, I’ll go to several stores here (and walk miles) and still not find what I’m looking for.
  • A garden: Although we’ve grown a few cherry tomatoes in our greenhouse and some herbs outside, it’s our first summer in 6-7 years not to have an in-ground garden. I really missed watching things grow and watering and weeding to help them along.

What’s hard

Some days I will feel so settled in our new routine and living in such a beautiful and calm place. But then other days, I will just feel homesick and wish I could sit down at our favorite Mexican restaurant table and eat salty tortilla chips and gluey cheese dip until I feel sleepy. Missing family birthday parties, seeing restaurant specials from our favorite places and thinking about how I’m not sure what our home/neighborhood will be in a year makes me wish things were more settled at times. But then, the next day or hour, I’ll have a magical walk with my son to grab a local apple or meet a new puppy and friend at the park and I’m back in this special season.

What’s surprising

I really feel like I’m adjusting to the culture here. In fact, I often find myself thinking about how odd some things we do in the US are. I found out recently that Danes don’t use tissue paper in gifts, and I couldn’t love them more. They’re all about practicality and less waste, and I really like living that way. Living more simply and savoring the little things with family. We had a very low-stakes 2nd birthday party for my son a few weeks ago, and it was delightful. Just some snacks, a Danish kagemand and hours spent in the September sun together with new friends. Simple and delightful.

What’s tasty

Thanks for journeying along with me!