Lee’s Blog
Sometimes pieces of life’s puzzle fall together perfectly. My recent trip to Denmark was one of those occasions.
A few years ago I published a picture book entitled The Emperor’s Cool Clothes — a humorous retelling of The Emperor’s New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen. After its release I began dreaming about doing a school visit in Denmark, Hans Christian Andersen’s home country. As fortune would have it, this past October I was invited to the Copenhagen International School for a two day visit.
Most of my school visits occur within a few hundred miles of my home in Pennsylvania, and most of the time none of my family members are interested in joining me. But this time my wife Krista and seventeen year-old son Dan were more than happy to take the opportunity for a mini family get-away in Denmark. It also turned out to be a great chance to connect with my Danish friends Astrid and Thomas.
Another piece of the puzzle that fell fortuitously into place was that we were able to schedule the trip to coincide with ‘Kulturnatten’: a city-wide celebration of Danish culture which takes place every year on the second Friday of October. The final piece of the puzzle to fall into place was the weather. Our week in Denmark was unseasonably warm.
In preparing for the trip, I read about a uniquely Danish cultural phenomenon known as ‘hygge’. It doesn’t have an exact translation to English, but generally it refers to ‘cosiness, or social situations with a complete absence of anything annoying, irritating or emotionally overwhelming’. Most attempts at an English translation of the word are accompanied by the disclaimer that you have to experience it to understand it. I decided one of my goals during this trip would be to understand ‘hygge’.
Krista, Dan and I departed from Newark late on Monday and arrived in Copenhagen in the early afternoon on Tuesday. Astrid met us at the airport and helped us navigate the metro to our hotel in the heart of Copenhagen. The first big difference between the US and Denmark to strike me was all the bikes. There were bikes, bikes everywhere! Also, the air smelled surprisingly fresh for a city the size of Copenhagen, and the people looked more physically fit than they do in the US which can probably be attributed to all that bike riding!
It was only a week-long trip, but we packed a lot into it. For the first four nights we stayed at the Copenhagen Strand, a hotel located on a canal a short walk from the famous tourist center of Nyhavn, which you can see behind Krista in the photo to the right.
On Wednesday and Thursday while I was visiting The International School, Dan and Krista explored the city with no itinerary in mind. They walked the Strøget, the longest pedestrian street in Europe, climbed the Rundetårn, visited Amalienborg Palace, and later crossed the bridge to explore Christiania, a semi-autonomous ‘hippie-town’ within the borders of Copenhagen. They had a nice time, although Dan commented that it was a little embarrassing to be in Christiania with his mum...
While Dan and Krista explored, I had a wonderful time at the International School. The librarian Urania Beyer, along with Diana Lloret, Anu Chander, Sarah Jørgensen, and the entire staff made sure everything was just right. The children all arrived with paper and pencil as planned. The audio/visual system was ready. My easel and pad of paper were set to go. A lunch of smørrebrød — a style of Danish open-faced sandwich with very specific and unusual combinations of ingredients — was thoughtfully ordered for lunch. And most importantly of all, the children had all read my books before my arrival. Their connection with my books resulted in their eager and enthusiastic participation in my program before I had even spoken a word.
Diana Lloret, Urania Beyer, Lee Harper, Sarah Jørgensen and Anu Chander.
I take my job as visiting author very seriously. I see it like this: The teachers work hard every day to build a metaphorical fire in the children. The fire represents a child’s passion to read, write and make art. When I visit, my job is to act as the fan that feeds that fire. Judging by the happy smiles and wide eyes of the children, I think the fire was roaring. (Or maybe they just really enjoyed inventing silly costumes for a turkey.) Either way, it was a school visit I’ll never forget. I’m very thankful to the Copenhagen International School for providing me with this opportunity.
I did eight presentations over the course of two days and the kids were great in each one. My time at CIS concluded with a presentation to the kindergarteners, which is always the highlight of any school visit for me. The thing I love about kindergarteners (beside the fact that they’re adorable) is that they don’t quite live in the real world yet — a quality I enjoy.
Although I had a great time at CIS, I was happy when Thursday afternoon rolled around and it was time to relax with nothing on my schedule for the next three days besides hanging out in Denmark searching for the meaning of ‘hygge’ with Dan, Krista and our friends Astrid and Thomas. On the bus ride back to the hotel I disembarked a few stops too soon and got lost. Note to readers: If you’re ever going to get lost somewhere, I recommend Copenhagen. No matter where you are there’s something interesting to see and the entire town is very safe.
On Friday, Astrid led a fast-paced, condensed grand tour of Copenhagen and it’s environs. We began with an hour drive north to the Kronborg Slot, well known as the setting for Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The clouds were particularly nice on this day.
After strolling around the grounds of the Kronborg Slot we looped back toward Copenhagen following a scenic coastal road to the Louisiana Museum; a museum of modern art that has become the most popular tourist destination in Denmark. The museum is set in a landscaped sculpture garden dominated by huge, ancient specimen trees and sweeping views of the Øresund sea. The collection includes all the big names of 20th century art as well as some great contemporary artists such as Olafur Eliasson, whose work I’m glad to have become acquainted with.
Above: Walking through an installation by Olafur Eliasson.
After our castle and museum sojourn it was back to Copenhagen for ‘Kulturnatten’, a night when Copenhagen bustles with life more than usual. It was a night of entertainment, sense experiences and adventure…a cultural journey through museums, libraries, schools, theaters, botanical gardens, musical venues, churches, and royal palaces that all opened their doors and dressed themselves up for this very special occasion.
Krista and I in front of a work by Jens Søndergaard, one of my favorite paintings at the National Gallery of Denmark.
On Saturday we all piled into Thomas and Astrid’s energy efficient hybrid and drove to their beach house on the north coast of Zealand. One of the first things we did was go for a dip in the North Sea, which got us all in the proper frame of mind for some serious ‘hyyge’! We spent the next day and a half eating, drinking, fishing, hiking, laughing and talking late into the night.
Photo on right: I was on ‘life-guard duty’ while Thomas and Dan went fishing. The clouds were again very good.
On Sunday afternoon we drove back to Copenhagen, with a stop at Rudolph Tegner’s Museum & Statuepark along the way. I found it to be a a spiritually moving place with more good clouds.
Our time with Thomas and Astrid was capped-off back in Copenhagen with another delicious meal at their flat. Astrid’s sister and brother-in-law made a surprise visit after having just attended Puccini’s Tosca at The Royal Danish Opera House. More laughter, great food and interesting conversation ensued. By this point in time I’m pretty sure I had come to understand the word ‘hyyge’.
The next morning it was time to catch our flight back to the US. Since I woke up earlier than Dan and Krista (and the sun) I decided to take a walk to see two things I’d missed: Christiania and The Little Mermaid. Christiania was strange before dawn. Revelers were still singing from parties that had begun the night before. (In respect to local custom I took no photos of Christiania.) The Little Mermaid was great. Because I’d gotten such an early start I was able to enjoy her in solitude before the busloads of tourists descended.
On my final walk back to the hotel I saw a group of swans swimming in the canal with St. Alban's Church in the background. The beauty of the moment brought tears to my eyes. I was happy to have had such an amazing experience in Denmark, but sad to be leaving so soon. Many thanks to Thomas and Astrid and everyone at the Copenhagen International School for being such incredible hosts.
Monday, October 6th to Monday, October 13th, 2014
A scene from The Emperor’s Cool Clothes
Denmark
