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VELKOMMEN

 


“VELKOMMEN til en Hyggestrurd på”

A sign at Maude’s restaurant in Copenhagen

“WELCOME to One Fun time” (translation)  

Copenhagen was definitely one fun time. The food, the people, the weather, the clothes, and the danishes were all better than I had hoped. I am planning to carry over some of that fun time to this fall. I am also hoping to carry over some of the good food, and of course the danishes. I hadn’t planned on any clothes shopping but when your luggage goes missing for 4 days you get to add a little more Scandinavian look to your wardrobe.

What I loved and what I will try and bring into my days back home are the work life balance, the time to just be, the not so sweet danishes, and the walking & biking culture. 

Mr Blue Shed dislikes the term work-life balance because there is never an even balance between the two. Maybe a better way to refer to it is a mindfulness approach to living. Be mindful of where you are and what it is you're doing. That is a great thing for all of us, if you  are with family, friends, colleagues, or by yourself, be mindful and present in what you are doing. That transitions into my next point really nicely, learn to just be or be still. 

We have this view in the US that you need to be busy, busy, busy or you are not productive. It’s OK to have time for doing nothing, being still, quiet, or have downtime. So often we realize we need downtime but don’t prioritize it, which leads to it never happening. Now I’m going to schedule it, it might look different everyday, but that’s what I get to decide.  

I tried many many danishes, breads, and tarts in Copenhagen, and the one thing that stood out was how not overly sweet they were. They were small in size, not dripping in frosting and very simple. The other thing was the use of seeds, nuts, and grains. We were lucky enough to be able to take a Danish pastry class at CPH cooking school, we had a great time, learned a lot, and ate way too many danishes. A bonus was the owner of the school and my husband started talking coffee and we left with a list of 5 of the best coffee shops around Copenhagen, a great way to explore different districts of Copenhagen.  

Great transition into the walking & biking culture, yes we rented bikes, we walked, we took the metro, and trains. We never got in a car until we were back in the US. It was so nice to be in a place that wasn’t car-centric. Bike lanes are throughout the area, specifically for commuting. Bikes are a means of transportation not just for leisure activities, an important distinction. It was fun to get up in the morning, walk to a local coffee shop, hop on the metro, and go to another part of town, then we would walk our way back to the hotel. Great way to see things and interact with the area.  

As you can tell, Copenhagen was “One Fun Time”. We created some great memories and we will just ignore the travel issues.

 

FIKA - Make time for yourself, or enjoy time with a friend.

I have a lot of recipes to try the next few months, I made a list. My first thing is to find the perfect Danish rye bread recipe, so far I tried this one. I also made the Copenhagen Rye Cookies with Chocolate, Spice, & Seeds from Dorie Greenspan's book Baking With Dorie: Sweet, Salty, & Simple. Don't let the complicated name scare you, they were simple to make and were a perfect fika treat. 

 

A few books I’m reading: 

THE ART OF GATHERING : How We Meet and Why It Matters 

TAPROOT MAGAZINE: Inspiration for Makers, Doers & Dreamers

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