Well, hello again. Starting this post is overwhelming on many levels. For one, it has been months since the last time I wrote and it feels like a challenge to catch up (it may never happen). As promised, I return to this blog with one Master’s thesis checked off the list. The other overwhelming factor is that we have a huge change on the horizon. Tonight is our last night in our beloved Østerbro apartment. On Saturday we are moving from Copenhagen, Denmark to London, England! Although we are very excited for the new adventures that await and the joy of being closer to family (my sister and her family, aunts, uncles and cousins), goodbyes are never easy. This one has been particularly tough for me. Perhaps it’s because my adoration for Copenhagen has possibly been the greatest surprise of my life! I had no idea what to expect when moving here. We wanted to try something new, we were looking for a little adventure and the chance to show our kids more of the world. Even for the first year, I was guarded and didn’t think I’d fall in love. The funny language I would never learn, the car we didn’t own, the colder winters and fickle summers, the lack of mountains and higher taxes, what was to love, right?
Well, there is beauty everywhere if you are willing to look for it. Thankfully, you don’t have to look very far in Denmark. Even I think that all the “happiest place in the world” hype is a little too much, but I could go on at length about the many things this society does right. Maybe I’ll save that for another time…
I have so much gratitude towards this country and the people we have met here. The 4 of us are not the same people we were when we came here. Our youngest daughter has lived half of her life in Copenhagen — and it’s the half that she is more likely to remember when she grows up. I know that our girls would not be the same children if we had not moved here. Not to say they would have been worse off, but just different. To me, that is exciting. Has it all been perfect? No, because life isn’t perfect. It also isn’t entirely easy to leave the comforts of your home country and to miss family, but the past 3 years have meant something. That I know. I will take away so much from this experience…not to mention newly sculpted leg muscles from all the daily biking ;).
A 2 minute video montage could never capture it all, but here is a snapshot of our Copenhagen life. Tak og vi ses København! Jeg vil savne dig!