Wienerbrød, bicycles and coloured little bricks: discovering Denmark with Levi and Lykke

Levi and Lykke are brother and sister and, thanks to their smile and the photos taken by their mom Helena, they are the protagonists of the #WeAreOriginal campaign. They live in Copenhagen and today we want to take you along to discover their country: Denmark.

Levi and Lykke are extremely creative, especially Lykke, who loves to create robots and automobiles with any cardboard box she finds around the house. It is not a coincidence that her favourite subject is art. Lykke can unleash her creativity with LEGO® too: the famous little bricks invented in 1949 in Billund by Danish Ole Kirk Christiansen. In Denmark there is an amusement park dedicated to Lego and visitors can learn everything about this game that never goes out of fashion at the LegoHouse. And another fun fact: the name LEGO® comes from the Danish expression "LEg GOdt", which means to “play well”. 

Among Levi’s and Lykke’s favourite activities there is cycling, something they have in common with many people who live in Denmark. In fact, in Copenhagen each inhabitant rides on average 3 km a day on the bicycle, not bad as a way to respect the environment while keeping fit! Danes’ passion for the bicycle is known all over the world, and being a completely flat country certainly works in their favour, especially the children.

Denmark has a large variety of sweets. We would like to point out to you the wienerbrød, a sweet pastry stuffed with chocolate or cream. But this delicacy has no Danish origin, rather it comes from Austria. These beloved Danish pastries were invented around 1840 by Austrian bakers who had settled in Denmark. When Levi and Lykke ask the baker for these sweets they never say ‘please’. It’s not that they are impolite; they are simply not familiar with this expression because there is no similar term in the Danish vocabulary. When their mom Helen prepares the sweets at home for them, instead, they thank her in 3 different languages! Besides Danish, Levi and Lykke speak perfect English, Swedish and Norwegian.


And speaking of Danish words, one that exists and is certainly known all over the world is ”Hygge”, pronounced “Hugga”. This word holds the entire Danish philosophy of life to reach wellbeing and happiness through small everyday gestures. Preparing sweets for a friend is Hygge, freedom of expression is Hygge, reading a book in front of the fireplace is Hygge. Appreciating small everyday gestures, always seeing the positive side and taking time for oneself, for friends and family are the basis of the Hygge philosophy. Could this philosophy be the reason why the Danes are considered the happiest people in the world?

Levi playing a video game is Hygge, and so are Lykke’s dance moves. If you want to see some Hygge moments that they shared with us during the #WeAreOriginal campaign, visit the website wearoriginal.it and discover Original Marines’ new Autumn/Winter collection.