Denmark

After an uneventful train trip from Stockholm to Copenhagen, we headed North to Hillerod- the small town just outside of Copenhagen where my Danish relatives live. Due to our family being scattered across the world, I had only met my aunt Liz and uncle Frits once before when I was younger, and I had never met either of my two grown-up cousins, or their partners, or their children!

So it was very exciting to stay a week in Copenhagen, get to spend some time with everybody and to see the places where they grew up and where they live now. We spent the first day exploring their part of Denmark, including a breathtaking lake and castle right on their doorstep- a past home of the royal family. We walked through the gardens of Fredensborg (home to Frederick and Mary and the kids) and spent a few hours at Louisiana; an amazing art centre where the grounds and view of the coast are as spectacular as the art galleries inside. We finished with a drive up the coast and ice-cream on the beach- it seems like we had brought the good weather with us.

We met my eldest cousin Ingelise and her husband Andreas, along with their kids Marcus and Emilia. It was both thrilling and awkward meeting the kids since neither of them spoke or understood english and were therefore a bit shy around us strange unintelligable new folk. They are both so cute, and Emilia is so funny- despite being only 3, she is boisterous and tries her best to boss everyone around It was so nice to finally catch up with Ingelise and Andreas- you think you have a sense of a person from seeing photos of them growing up- but you realise just how much is unknown when you meet them in person. In was great to share stories of growing up and just talk and really get to know each other better.

We were treated to a tasty traditional Danish meal cooked up by Frits- he really went out of his way to feed us as many different Danish delicacies as possible during our time there. Being retired, he has spent a lot of time honing his skills in the kitchen- the quality of his cooking shows it- and the food was definitely a factor in us considering moving to
Copenhagen to work for a while

Another alluring factor was the wonder of Danish design... It's one thing to have modern architectural wonders sitting shoulder to shoulder with historic buildings in central Copenhagen, but it goes so much deeper. Studying design in Perth we got used to learning about design classics but rarely laying eyes on them- unless it was in a museum or the foyer of an office tower on The Terrace. Sometimes it seems like it's only people involved in the design industry who even know these famous furniture pieces even exist! Maybe it's because Denmark has produced so many design talents or that it's embedded in their history, but this is a country where everyone knows and appreciates good design.
Every house we entered had beautiful modern lamps, chairs, and furniture. Famous designers are household names and everyone is knowledgeable of the iconic pieces of Danish design, since they are surrounded by them as they grow up. It's this appreciation of design on a societal level that really gives Denmark and the rest of Scandinavia such a unique feel- good design resonates through daily life, just like it is supposed to do!

We set out to research jobs and accomodation while we were there, spending a morning at a centre especially set up to help non-Danish speakers to find places to stay and give advice on work. We found a bunch of local design firms and sent out CVs and folios, while trying to get a feel for the different areas of the city in terms of living. It was quite hard to cram so much into our week there- work stuff, sightseeing, time for family, shopping... and as a result we were quite exhausted.

A great lead came our way when my cousin Torben got us interviews at the large shipping company he works for. The jobs were just administration assistant positions- nothing really creative- but the office was close to the city centre and the jobs would give decent pay. We quickly warmed to the idea of spending a few months working in Copenhagen before heading to the UK- we would have a bit more time to relax and research firms in London, a bit more time to explore the city and spend time with my cousins, we could start to learn a new language, and we could ride bicycles everywhere! We set up interviews at the end of the week and then tried to cram in as much time as possible to soak up the city.

We spent a day exploring on bicycles, swam in the harbour baths, visited the military barracks-turned-hippie town Christiania, visited galleries, museums and design stores and saw plenty of modern architecture dotted around the city. We went out one night, hitting a few bars and wandering the streets, window shopping at the cool design, clothing and bicycle stores. We had another day of being driven around the countryside, this time to visit a couple of iconic churches- each one of them so stunning and so different from one another.

At the end of the working week, we went and interviewed for those admin jobs- the first time either of us had done 'proper' interviews with logic and personality tests. I never knew someone could tell me so much about myself based on a squiggle on a page!Knowing that we were only in town for a few days, they moved us straight onto the second interview, and we even met the heads of the department we would be working for and discussed the work environment and tasks in more depth. We left feeling very confident and excited about the opportunity, expecting them to make us an offer within a week or so.

Another exciting event was that we were in town for the christening of Torben and his wife Susanne's first child, 5-month-old Emma. We sat through a church service in Danish, and were singing along by the end of it- nothing beats a couple of hours of talking and singing to help you get hang of the pronunciation of a new language! We went back to Torben and Susanne's house near the beach, and proceeded to eat buffet food and drink all afternoon, meeting extended family and friends. The kids were much more animated this time around, and would often approach us with gifts of sweets and questions we couldn't understand. Sonia very quickly learned to communicate in tickles, while I was still resorting to grins. We ended the day with a walk down to their shared private beach- the weather hadn't turned out quite as good as expected, so only one brave soul went swimming while the rest of us were content to wet our feet in the shallows, pick berries and skim rocks along the shore. The little ones gradually shed their clothes and were soon shouting, splashing around in the freezing water and running up and down the small jetty

So we said our goodbyes to our newfound family and jumped on a train heading into mainland Europe. We embarked on our last leg of travel knowing that we knew we would be back in Denmark in four weeks time- either for another week's holiday, or perhaps to live for a while longer.

-Liam and Sonia