Velkommen til Danmark
Dear Chewey,
You know how American’s constantly get the whole “Nordic countries are the happiest countries on Earth” thing thrown in our faces?
Yeah, well I’m here to tell you that it’s all true, at least as it pertains to Denmark, where I’ve been for the last two days. For more than a decade, Denmark has either topped the World Happiness Report or landed in second place, most often just behind Finland. From holding first in 2012, 2013, and 2016 to securing second in nearly every year since, Denmark’s consistency is striking. Year after year, the country remains one of the happiest places on earth, at least according to pseudo-quantifiable data. Take a look below at the rankings for the last ten years…
In a scene cut straight from the “Cleveland” episode of 30 Rock, I’ll just say it…I’m in love with Copenhagen. The people here truly are a happy gaggle of democratized socialists if I’ve ever seen one.
The seagulls here don’t screech as much as they sing, or, at the very least, gently whistle.
Women (and yes, this is a double-edged sword, as so too do the men) just strip down in the middle of their downtown swimming areas, due to a lack of changing rooms, but hey, who needs to waste money on modesty when you are living this happy?
Everyone seems to speak English, not that hooting and hollering ‘Merica is the key to happiness, but they don’t give you a French eye-roll when you can’t figure out the metric system, let alone when you wear an American flag tank top (or so I’ve heard)
How can you not be happy when your city looks like a staged scene?!? (and yes, I took this photo)
They have 7-11’s here, Chewey! Have I told you that?!? How American is that!?!
Going back to a less pervy sounding swimming anecdote…It’s 8 p.m. right now, and the temperature is comfortable to walk around in…with a light sweatshirt…but oh no, not for these rhapsodic descendants of the Viking. There are three dozen Dankeres swimming in open water right outside my hotel balcony…it’s dusk, Chewey, and it’s barely 60 degrees…or…18,333 Celsius (thank you ChatGPT)! I, on the other hand, can’t even be bothered to dip a toe in water that’s less than 32ºC (you can figure that one out).
If American’s can all agree that Disneyland is “The Happiest Place on Earth”, well they can only do so because Hans Christian Andersen (Danish) wrote the screenplays to half of their iconic movies, making that possible.
People here smile while they run! And everyone here seems to ride a bicycle, and I do mean everyone. In fact, I would rather drive stick shift in the heart of downtown London than I would take a chance riding a bicycle in Copenhagen. How there aren’t more injuries, let alone fatalities on bikes here is beyond me. Here’s what I DO know…as these jolly Danes ride around the cobblestone of their country, you would swear you can hear their seagulls serenade them, channeling their inner BJ Thomas.
In fact, as far as I can tell, about the only thing in Denmark that I imagine causes any sadness is the situation with their bedding. They have two small duvet blankets here instead of one big one. I have no doubt that YouTube could help me with this, but my entire night’s sleep is one big Curb Your Enthusiasm episode playing out in real time.
All this to say, it’s a good start to the trip, Chewey. I love you, and I look forward to checking in with you when I get to Ireland.
