Starting Life In Denmark....Beginning To Learn The Word Hygge

Gammel Estrup Castle

Ok, I'll let you in on a little secret....I moved to Denmark and got married!!  I can't believe that I actually left beautiful sunny California.  Even though I will always be a Cali girl at heart, when something great comes along you just can't walk away from it. Dan & I met way back in 1988.  Long story short, here we are 34 years later. 

We reconnected 6 years ago and when we finally decided to meet again in person, Covid times began and we had to spend nearly 2 years on Zoom!! We made it through and after a visit to Denmark I decided that this was it! A few months later I moved to Denmark and we had our winter wedding. 

(I made my wedding dress from a collection of fabric & lace from dresses I have made over the years, then I tea dyed them and put them all into one dress that is very sentimental to me )

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned.  As a Cali girl when you think of Denmark you think snow and castles! We had planned to have our wedding with all of our friends and family at Gammel Estrup Castle in Auning, Denmark.  A couple weeks before the wedding everything shut down.  So instead we had 13 friends with us in person and nearly 400 on Zoom from all over the world.  When I look back, even though we could not have everyone with us physically, what a treat to have everyone we loved join us via Zoom on this very special day.  After the ceremony our friend drove us around in a beautiful Rolls Royce with gorgeous red leather seats as we shared laughs with all of our Zoom guests....even though we all were time zones apart, we got to Hygge with all our loved ones!

Now here we are, coming up on our one year anniversary on December 31.  What a whirlwind year it has been.  It took nearly 9 months to get through all the immigration process to get my residency.  But it has all been worth it.  Even though I do miss my California life, my family & my bridal sewing business....sometimes we need to make big changes in our life in order to make the kind of life we desire.  Denmark has been a complete change of life for me.  Everything is different than what I am used to.  The climate, the culture and of course the language!!  Here I am in my 50's learning a completely new life!  But completely worth every minute.  I love it here.  Now I call it my home. 

Denmark is lovely.  If you can visit here one day then you definitely should!!  So what is this "Hygge" that everyone is talking about?  You can search the internet and find this word on cups, posters, shirts, door mats and just about anything!  I must admit that it is a very peculiar sounding word.  However the meaning is wonderful.  The feeling is wonderful.  So stay tuned as I try to explain it as I learn it.  But for now just imagine sitting by a fire wearing your most comfy sweater and socks. Perhaps your curled up in your favorite chair, or cuddled up with your loved ones on the couch.  There are candles all around sparkling in room.  And you have your favorite mug filled with hot cocoa or warm tea....now....that's Hygge!

You'll hear from me again soon....in the meantime you can visit my little shop online Hygge by Hathaway for Scandinavian vintage finds that could add a little Hygge to your home. ~~Renee 😊