Hello friends!

Hope you are enjoying this beautiful season, Spring. I find very fascinating the fact that nature turns from white to multi-color in such a short period of time, in these latitudes. As an expat, coming from South America from a place where seasons were not so neat and different, this comes as a revelation every year.

With this background, when I was asked this month to collaborate with an article for the Norwest Danish Association in Seattle about my journey in Denmark, it was an easy choice for me to write about the wonders of that first Spring. Enjoy reading!

With the aroma of elderflowers
 
Hello there! I’m an Argentinean gal who once lived for 5 years in the suburbs of Copenhagen, and now moved to the Pacific Northwest. I treasure countless memories and fun culture shock experiences from my days in Denmark. It was an amazing journey and I’d like to share a tiny bit with you today.
Back then, it was February 2014 – and a very cold winter, when we arrived in Denmark, straight from the middle of the summer in our home town Buenos Aires. Two months later, by mid-April, there was still snow all over and freezing temperatures. Even though everything looked just the same to me, no difference from the winter time, still wearing the same heavy warm jacket, people kept saying “foråret er på vej” (Spring is around the corner). Truth is every day I was more skeptical about it and had even started wondering if there could just exist a frozen season like Winter that the Vikings would call Spring?
However, nature proved me wrong, and, eventually, from one day to another, little white, yellow and purple flowers suddenly appeared in all houses’ gardens and parks. Green leaves colored the landscapes, it was such an amazing Spring revelation. I was completely astonished. I took pictures of it everywhere I went.
We were renting a house in Bagsværd, and the landlord was one of the many Danes proud of their gardens. And, by the way, he would take care of the garden himself. It was a beautiful front and backyard, with even a pond with fish in it, with a colorful vegetation composition.
What surprised me the most, was the good amount of edible plant species that were so easy to find, and so yummy to try. We were so lucky, as we happen to have an elder tree in our yard.  Our landlord helped us identify it before the Spring had arrived, and afterwards it was extremely easy to point, once the elderflowers bloomed. The perfume in the air was indescribable. We had a friend come over one day, and she was the one to unveil the hidden secret to us: we could use the elderflower to make delicious lemonade!
I not only made a huge batch of elderflower lemonade for that afternoon, but also turned it to ice cubes, so that we could add it to drinks and cocktails for the whole summer! This was one of the many life-changing discoveries during our stay in Denmark. Never take anything for granted, and just let yourself be amazed by the change of the seasons and by nature itself. Enjoy and Skål!

Northwest Danish Association – Newsletter March 2019

What is it that you like most about Spring? Let me know in the comments and have fun!

Love, Mery