i left my heart in copenhagen

By Alice Kuo Shippee

Copenhagen was never anywhere near my bucket list. I’m an Anglophile who got my Bachelors in British Lit, and all my celebrity crushes are from the UK. If given a chance to travel in Europe, I’m definitely beelining for a Scottish castle, followed by an Irish pub. But in honor of my Dad’s 80th birthday this year, the entire family took a holiday–to Denmark and Norway. My Dad has always been a Scandiphile, his affinity as random as mine for the English, seeing as we are both 100% Chinese. (The only thing that can explain it is past lives.)

So to focus on the things my Dad loves, we cruised the fjords (mind blowing) and then spent a couple of days in Copenhagen before returning to the States. 

All I can say is: Wow.

I started searching for English-speaking jobs in Copenhagen when I got back home. My husband & I spent hours swiping through the Danish version of Zillow, hastily doing currency calculations. I searched for Instagram accounts about Copenhagen, so I could relive all the sights and eats that had seduced us.

I consider myself a pretty cosmopolitan person, but I hadn’t been to Europe in 20+ years, & I knew pretty much nothing about Denmark, besides that LEGO was invented there. Color me embarrassed now, because now I get it. I get it about the Scandinavians. About Scandi design. About Scandi sustainability. About Scandi architecture. About Scandi cool. It only took about 24 hours for me to get it. 

Copenhagen, where have you been all my life?!