The Places That Shape Us

Welcome to The Joy Edit with me Lucy, joy seeker, nature lover, cold water enthusiast and a woman on a mission to weave as many moments of joy into my every day life as is possible. Sharing the joys and the messy middle bits in between, because you can’t have one without the other.

The Places That Shape Us

Have you ever visited somewhere new and felt it change the course of your life?

Falling in Love with Copenhagen

In October 2023, I took my husband, P, to Copenhagen as a surprise for his fortieth birthday. I’d never been to Denmark, or anywhere in Scandinavia, at this point. I’d heard so many wonderful things about Copenhagen and was keen to discover more. P isn’t really a “city” person, but I hoped he would enjoy it.

It was also our first time travelling abroad without our daughter, so there was the added giddy excitement of forty-eight hours of being grown-ups who could do whatever we pleased!

I think I fell in love with Copenhagen almost instantaneously. Its calm, laid-back atmosphere was unlike anywhere I’d been before — not once did we hear a car horn or a siren blaring. Everyone cycles everywhere. There are no traffic jams, no flashy cars, and everyone looked so relaxed. We didn’t hear a single raised voice.

Copenhagen was so easy to navigate on foot or by public transport, which was cheap, impeccably clean, accessible for all, and efficient. We had the most wonderful forty-eight hours walking everywhere and eating the most incredible food.

The Food — Life-Changing Buns

Oh, the food. The food. The food. It was so amazingly good — and don’t even get me started on the buns.

We visited Juno Bakery after I saw an Instagram post about their blackberry cream buns. When we arrived, there was already a queue. P groaned, “We’ve come all this way to stand in the rain?” But I said, “This many people queuing must be a great sign…” and oh my goodness, it was!

I will never forget the taste of that bun. It was followed by a cardamom bun — oh my, oh my. Honestly, they were two of the best things I’ve ever eaten in my life. I’ve craved them ever since. They were life-altering. (And that’s coming from someone who gets an immense amount of joy from baked goods!) Juno changed everything. Nothing has come close since — and I’ve tried a lot of baked goods in the last two years!

A Different Kind of Energy

But aside from the food, there was something else I felt so deeply about Copenhagen: its energy. It felt safe. Everyone was friendly. But more than that, there was an undercurrent of contentment. People seemed comfortable and happy.

Every school and nursery we walked past had children playing outside in their puddle suits, having the time of their lives. It was the kind of city I could easily imagine moving to. As we walked past Flying Tiger’s head office, I even joked, “Oh, I could get a job here!”

Discovering Danish Life

When we returned home, I couldn’t shake the feeling of Copenhagen and wanted to learn more. A friend suggested I read The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell, a UK journalist who relocated to Denmark when her husband got a job at Lego HQ.

Living Danishly with Helen Russell

Once I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down. As Helen explored what makes Denmark one of the happiest places on Earth, and shared anecdotes of living there as an outsider. The more I read, the more I felt compelled to learn. The Danish just seem to get so much right.

Work-life balance is protected. Children are encouraged to lead their own learning, mainly outdoors — climbing trees and chopping wood long before they learn to read and write. Their childhoods are protected as a space for adventure, imagination, and freedom — not targets or tests. Community matters. Trust in others, and even in government, is strong. It all just felt perfect — everything I felt life in the UK was sorely lacking.

Parenting Lessons

Living Danishly with Helen Russell

I then moved on to Helen’s next book, How to Raise a Viking, and I was completely sold. This is the book I wish I’d had when I first started my parenting journey. It highlighted how badly we are failing our children in the UK — how we are stealing childhoods with an education system driven by results and targets, rather than nurturing a lifelong love of learning.

Children learn best when they play, when they move their bodies, when they are free to lead their own discoveries. That freedom is something we’ve taken away here.

Keen to learn more — both for my family and for the work I do — I signed up for a Hygge in Early Years accreditation, to explore how I could slow down and create a calmer, gentler approach to learning, one rooted in time outdoors and balance. I haven’t yet completed it, but it has already taken me on a wonderful adventure.

A Life Filled with Joy

So much of what I’ve read is about creating a life filled with joy. About slowing down. About being in nature. About getting cosy. About finding joy in simple moments. Everything I want to embrace in my own life.

I’ve gone on to read more books;

and realised I needed to see more of Scandinavia, because it felt so aligned with the life I crave.

We’ve since visited Oslo, Denmark again (for Legoland — which was amazing!), Finland for Christmas which was beyond all of my wildest dreams and this summer we ventured through the Norwegian fjords after reading The Place of Tides as I sought out our own Wild Island Adventure.

Each trip has only deepened my love of Scandinavia.

This Christmas, we’ll be returning to Copenhagen as a family. I am beyond excited. Yes, I’ll be running to Juno and fitting in as many visits as possible — but more than that, I’m excited to share this magical city with my daughter, and for her to feel it too. To discover “enkelt” - beautiful simplicity. Plus after Sandi Toksvig sharing about the Tivoli gardens at Christmas I knew we had to go and feel the magic she describes.

France vs Scandinavia

For as long as I can remember, I’ve dreamt of a life and a home in France: the countryside, the acres of land, an adjoining B&B, days spent lingering over croissants and wandering the aisles of my beloved French supermarchés. France represents tradition, romance, incredible food and fashion but most importantly a slower rhythm of life, that I so desperately crave. It’s the country I married in and have returned to countless times — a place that feels woven into my story.

But now Scandinavia has crept in and claimed its own corner of my heart. Where France speaks to my love of beauty, ritual, and history, Scandinavia speaks to my longing for balance, simplicity, and a sense of belonging. It embodies values I crave for my family and my work: trust, community, time in nature, and a childhood protected from hurry.

Perhaps that’s why these two loves feel so different, yet equally strong. France connects me to who I have been — the dreamer, the romantic, the seeker of joy. Scandinavia connects me to who I want to become — calmer, more grounded, more attuned to the seasons and to my family.

So maybe I don’t need to choose between them after all. For now, I’ll keep returning to both, gathering little pieces of the life I long for, and weaving them into the joy filled one I’m already creating.

Until next time,

Ps. If anyone has any other book recommendations, about Scandinavia or France please share them with me.