First adventure on Viking land
by Miriam Mircea
Denmark, February 2017
So, yeah, I finally was able to visit one of the Scandinavian countries. I was craving for them for quite some time, ever since I’ve met some nicely weird Norwegians back in 2015. They introduced me to their laid-back, no unnecessary talking style and I started looking into their culture since that summer. It’s not that I became an expert or something but I kinda got to understand them a little bit more when we travelled to Copenhagen this month.
First things first: I’ve never seen such genuinely happy people. Literally happy. Do you know what I mean? Polite, no fuss, no attitudes, just happy and enjoying themselves. The weather was a big no- go, so what?!? Nobody seemed to be bothered by the low temperatures, the rain or the snow storms. Hey, I mean, they’re born in that climate, for them is as normal as heat is for the Greeks. But still I couldn’t stop admiring their life lust. It was not faked or pushed or forced. It just was. Their kids all dressed in old-school jumpers and thick overall, were playing with simple and sometimes wooden toys. I haven’t seen them dressed from head to toe in Burberry or Gucci or whatever brand you’re supposed to spend a crap load of money for your kid on. Of course there are well-off people but the wealth, the status isn’t plastered all over their clothes, cars, phones. The idea is to have slick expensive or good quality things without looking like a Christmas tree, covered in logos.What I appreciated most in women was their choice of accessories or a very well-chosen statement piece, like for example, fantastic leather jackets I was drooling over or a chic bag. It’s a no-fuss nation, from their sometimes abrupt sentences, which may seem rude, to the non-complicated lifestyle. Because they understood less is, indeed, more.
So, Copenhagen isn’t too big or too fancy. But it is clean, as are most of the streets we explored, all the way to the port, where The Little Mermaid was waiting. It is full of shops, some of them supporting national and local producers, as it should be, but in between I’ve seen some American fast-food chains or coffee shops. What I really appreciated was their love for anything meat, a good juicy steak and a nice dinner out, on some week days, even if they’re gonna go to work the next day. On that, it didn’t really strike me as the 9 to 5 working nation. I’ve read that they are the happiest people in Europe, because they get to work less hours and spend more quality family time. Makes sense, huh ?!?We explored as much as we could on foot, inspite of the cold weather, but that only added extra charm to our little Scandinavian adventure. A highlight was our walk to see The Little Mermaid. We knew we had to see her, and it was exactly on an evening with a beautiful full moon. She’s in the port, sitting on a rock, shy, or maybe pensive and absorbed into her own thoughts. She’s not big or embellished, she looks human and she’s as charming and mesmerizing as the Mona Lisa or Nefertiti’s bust.
Copenhagen is charming, too. All the center has a certain “je ne sais quoi” which captivated my mind during those days. I loved the food, the good coffee, the strong clean air which made my appetite go crazy and the good sleep, even if our hotel beds were somewhat horrible. Before traveling to Denmark, I did a little bit of online research and found a great site and a Facebook page, called Nordic Mood/Nordisk Stämning. Their site is
.My biggest surprise was to discover this page and site belong to Romanians with a big curiosity and love for all things Scandinavian. They regularly post articles, photos, or bits and pieces about all Nordic countries and their site has sections for all major “players” from that area. Go check them out, it’s worth it. Oh, they’ve got cool sections about Nordic movies, series and music. A well-kept and updates library. So this being said, I’m planning to return to Scandinavia soon, aka when I’ll have the money for it, coz they ain’t cheap. Maybe have a go at Norway this time, since it’s on my list since forever.Go and explore. This world has amazing things waiting to be discovered by curious minds.
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