Submitted by Kristen Pruett on the 2018 spring semester DIS program in Copenhagen, Denmark…
After Berlin, I realized how little time I truly had left in Denmark. However, I have been making the most of it! One of my favorite days was one of the simplest; a picnic in the park! My friends and I met up at the train station to go to the grocerystore for food for a picnic in Dyrehaven, a deer sanctuary outside of Copenhagen. We took our bikes on the train and headed north. We biked around the park and found a perfect spot to lay out our blanket. After we filled our stomachs with cheese and crackers, fresh fruits, vegetables and spreads and more, we laid there soaking up the sun, surrounded by trees while listening to music. It was truly a wonderful moment. Then, we packed up and continued biking further to explore this gigantic park. We found another place to stop on top of a hill overlooking the water, we could even see Sweden from it. We munched on some cookies and chocolates while playing games and having nice conversation. When we were ready to leave, we didn’t forget to stop in Bakken, the oldest amusement park in the world! We spontaneously decided to ride the wooden roller coaster that is 82 years old!. After that, we were ready to take the train home after a long and wonderful day together. This was one of many days in Denmark where I knew I was experiencing the true meaning of hygge.
Another day full of hygge was spent with my host family. We visited a lake near the house and walked around on a beautiful sunny day, complete with an ice cream stop at a shop on the side of the lake. We then headed to the Frederiksberg Palace which has beautiful grounds where many people were picnicking or tanning. We took a little boat ride around the canals in the park. Then we enjoyed a delicious barbeque dinner which we ate outside for the first time since I’ve been here! After dinner, we biked through Taastrup to find another wooden troll that lives on the top of a small hill. It was around sunset and the light shining through the trees of the hill provided gorgeous scenery. As I embark on my last week in Denmark, I have begun to start saying my good-byes to friends who I will not see again for awhile, but I will be embracing all the new things I get to do with my friends and host family in this perfect Danish summer weather.
