MARKED MY DEN! đ©đ°
A field report on the poetry of systems...
Hello, Hej, Namaskar, Sat Sri Akal from MH 31! :)
Long time, no see, I know! Have been living out of a suitcase since September, working my ass off, and went to see what happiness looks like when it isnât a hashtag.
Recently visited Denmark to experience how it is built the economy on trust, design, and quiet joy. Copenhagen (the capital) and Aarhus (the second largest city) are listed among the top 5 happiest cities in the world. In the world! I wanted to know why from the rhythm of their daily life.
Thanks to VFS, my Schengen visa came through in just a fortnight. And before I knew it, I was on my first European trip carrying curiosity and courage. Super, super glad I chose Denmark instead of the usual suspects. Hereâs whyâŠ
All thanks to my dearie, Sampada, I stayed with her (and now my) friends I had never met before - Arpita, Badal and their daughter Eva. They opened their home and hearts with ease. Their warmth dissolved the formality instantly, and I found myself thinking how rare it is to feel at home with strangers. My Airbnb hosts were kind too.
For someone who loves spreadsheets and to-do lists, I did the exact opposite. I winged the entire trip. Full on improv gig. Yes, you read that right. I did that in New York in May, and I guess I am gonna do it all along. And my spreadsheets will weep harder.
Iâd wake up, make breakfast, and decide my day then and there. Sunshine equaled power-packed exploration with 25K steps, whereas drizzles meant lingering longer over brekkie and being at natureâs mercy.
On day one, Badal handed me his Metro card and said, âDonât forget to swipe in.â I looked at him, confused. âBut how do you even enter without swiping?â He smiled. âYou can. The country runs on trust.â
In Delhi, Bangalore, or India, you canât even enter the metro without scanning your card. Yonder, you could technically board without swiping, but probably not without conscience. The system believes youâll do the right thing.
Trust is the infrastructure. Trust is the infrastructure.
Later, I learned from Arpita that in Denmark, you can take up to three months of PAID sick leave without a doctorâs certificate. You just tell your employer youâre unwell. Itâs both amazing and amusing. How a country built on the audacity of believing people wonât do wrong!
When I planned my trip, I wrote to my Neuromarketing professor, Thomas Zoëga RamsÞy, a few weeks in advance. He made time to meet despite his packed schedule. I was running late (thanks to my adventures with the Danish railways), but Meava Rondol and the team were incredibly kind and welcoming.
They gave me a tour of Neuronsâ office, which is home to 36 nationalities! Thomas gifted me signed copies of his books that I canât wait to finish.
While talking on the phone and stepping off a train, I left my books behind. But that mistake turned into gratitude. I filled out a lost-and-found form and got an email within 3 hours or so: Your books have been located. THE SIGH OF RELIEF!
The next morning, I picked them up at Copenhagen Central Station. Only in Denmark could losing something restore your faith in systems. Maybe Mumbai local can, but the NY subway could never! Wish we could find lost socks like this! :P
Food was another revelation. My Twitter connect, Prachi, had given me a list of bakeries, and each one was a masterpiece. Juno and Hart lived up to every bit of their reputation. Such delicate pastries and scones that silence felt like the only fitting reaction. Yummax!
Denmark treats waste like data as if every piece has a purpose. Across cities, households follow an intricate 17-category garbage segregation system that separates everything from paper, plastic, glass, and metal to textiles, electronics, and even hazardous waste. What sounds obsessive is, in fact, ordinary there. Youâll find people rinsing yoghurt cups before recycling or walking a few extra meters to drop compost in the right bin.
Then thereâs Copenhill. It is a power plant that turns 440,000 tons of waste into clean energy while doubling as a public ski slope and hiking trail. Itâs a spectacle. The Danish stress on everyday participation. From green rooftops to bicycles replacing cars, the idea is simple: if you design systems people enjoy using, theyâll naturally care.
The Danish design and architecute whisper elegance through precision. Every chair, lamp, and facade feels deliberate, human-centred, quietly brilliant. Denmark is also the birthplace of LEGO; comes from the Danish phrase âleg godtâ (âplay wellâ). Hope I get to visit LEGOLAND in Billund with my nephew someday⊠:â)
I also walked down Hans Christian Andersen Boulevard, passed stories turned into stone, and stood at Kronborg Palace in HelsingĂžr, where Shakespeare set Hamlet. There, between turrets and sea winds, I dressed as a queen for a moment to meet the drama halfway. Bridgerton feels ultra max pro!
Took a day trip to Sweden, just across the bridge. Malmö was neat, quiet, polite, but something about it felt less alive. Maybe contentment, like art, needs texture. Denmark had that texture.
Hygge and Lykke are two concepts that define the Danish way of life. Royal, indeed. Hygge is cosiness that holds meaning. Lykke is happiness that comes from belonging. You see them everywhere: in the soft glow of window candles, in couples biking together, in childrenâs laughter echoing from parks, in the layers of baked goods, everywhere and all at once.
The Danes whisper how happiness is what you cultivate: in community, in belonging, and in the quiet confidence that people mean well. And through it all, I felt safe. Truly, effortlessly safe. Walking alone, sitting in parks, catching late trains, it never felt like something to be cautious about.
Over ten days, I explored this wonderland that felt both ancient and modern at once. The Design Museum was a masterclass in purpose and beauty coexisting. Roskilde, with its Viking ships and old-town quiet, was a gentle reminder of how civilisations thrive when they respect their past. Aarhus next time, along with Skagen, Fano Islands and maybe the Northern Lights too.
But in this trip, I could do everything I wanted to - from collecting maximum shades of Autumn leaves, capturing a fab rainbow, finding a Lego souvenir for baby sis on the last day at Roskilde, spotting a lot of sunflowers and much more. Worked a little bit, too!
Met a good bunch of people I probably never gonna see again, but will always try and remember their names to cherish the serendipity. You see, thereâs a reason I say that my hometown is synchroni-city.
Tusind tak, Denmark, for the poetry of systems. Wish to lowkey gate-keep your warmth but want everyone to experience it too! đ©đ°
Over the course of my madventures, I have known how happiness accumulates in small acts of faith. And thatâs the most beautiful souvenir to repeatedly bring back home.
Marked my den, royally so! :)
Hereâs to living and loving in sentences - yours, mine and ours!
Writeously yours,