Nestled between the North and Baltic Seas, just north of Germany, Denmark is one (excellent) place made up of lots of places: more than 400 islands, Greenland, the Jutland Peninsula (which, BTW, is so much fun to say: sounds like YOOT-lan), and the Faroe Islands (which are a 40-hour ferry ride away in the far North Atlantic).
Every blog post, travel guide, and video will tell you that Denmark is laid-back and chill. All evidence seems to point in that direction; the country routinely ranks in the top five happiest nations in the world. It does seem quite idyllic, all sparkly and fresh: water, sky, and land, bright with wildflower fields, colorful boats ferrying among the islands, cozy little Lego-ish houses with grass roofs, and so. many. bicycles.
Sure, there were marauding Vikings — but there is also Denmark’s creative Golden Age, Hans Christian Andersen, Tivoli Gardens, two (beautiful) historical libraries, and New Nordic Cuisine.
In this episode, we talk about the magic of wild swimming, learn whether or not Danishes are truly Danish, discuss how Danes eat like bears, and get very excited about a rabbit island. Then we recommend five books that took us to Denmark on the page, including a modern crime classic, a memoir about why Danish people are so deeply contented, a thriller with a strong sense of the Faroe Islands, a poetic novel about witches (with a unique narrator), and a magical, multi-generational family saga about the sea.
Smilla’s Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg
The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell
The Blood Strand by Chris Ould
We, the Drowned by Carsten Jensen
The Wax Child by Olga Ravn
For more on the books we recommend, plus the other cool stuff we talk about, visit show notes.
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Transcript of Denmark: Gettin' Hygge With It
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