I moved to Denmark in my early 20s as a student, after graduating from university in Scotland, where I moved as an 18-year-old. Most of my adult life has been spent in Denmark and later in Sweden, although that time has still not surpassed the years I spent in the UK growing up.
Despite this, I definitely feel at home in all the cities I’ve lived in, and I still find myself craving certain things from each city, whether that’s my favourite dim sum spot in Manchester, the café where I used to get soup for lunch between classes in Edinburgh, or the beer from the brewery where my flatmate worked in Vienna.
I take the train over to Denmark from Malmö quite regularly now (for obvious reasons), but when I first moved away I missed Faxe Kondi, rye bread with fiskefilet and remoulade and the pastries at the Copenhagen University canteen, and I’m sure if I ever moved away from Sweden I would miss my favourite brand of crispbread and the bags of pick-and-mix I buy with my daughter on the weekends from the sweet shop around the corner.
I find that the things I miss from Denmark often surprise people – my favourite brand of crisps, the brand of frozen pizza I often bought as a student when I wanted an easy dinner and the small snack-sized cucumbers and carrots you can buy for packed lunches.
Despite this, I don’t feel like my feeling of home is split or diluted between all the places where I have lived. Cycling around Copenhagen still feels as natural as it did when I was a student there, and there is something comforting in returning to a city you lived in years later and remembering the shortcuts you used to use to get around.
I don’t feel like part of me has been left behind in those cities, with my sense of self torn between where I belong, but rather I feel like I have multiple homes, friends to visit and favourite places to go, all spread out all over the place. I also love the fact that with the years, I’ve added new traditions and celebrations to my life. Even now, I find myself craving Danish æbleskiver, British mince pies and Swedish saffron buns at Christmas.
I think that is one of the greatest gifts you can gain from living abroad, and I definitely think that if I ever did move back to the UK I would still seek out some of my Scandinavian comfort foods despite once again living in my home country.
I’d love to hear what you find yourself craving or missing from your new home when you’re away.
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Thanks for reading,
Becky Waterton,
Editor, The Local Denmark
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