They do want to meet you. Yes, it is hygge too!

Dinner at home with friends. It is a precious hygge moment that every guest and the hosts alike look back on. But there is a sense of exclusivity. These dinner parties are not for strangers or even people the Danes do not know well, like colleagues or neighbours. There are people who claim that this is the dark side of hygge: closed and exclusive. Not open to new people, in order to build new relationships. It’s like preserving the status quo. Whoaaa! Is hygge really that bad? Then why has it become a worldwide trend? How do the Danes go about this side of their national lifestyle concept?

Meet the Danes. For real!
They need time. You need patience. The Danes (as all other Nordic people) need that extra time to get to know you better, slowly but surely.  Then they can become your best friends ever. You need to make that little extra effort not to put pressure on them, to accept or befriend you.  A safe path to follow is through common interests or activities.

Food is one of them. No no, they will not invite you to eat together to get to know you, nor should you try to invite them for the same reason (too pushy). But you can’t deny that they are kind and inclusive overall: they accept and promote diversity.

Some might even make a leap of faith and (yes!) invite you for dinner at their house to show you true Danish hospitality and culture. To be specific, you invite yourself to dinner at their house. They simply accept the invitation and then -drum roll- they open their house to welcome you.

This all happens on the Meet the Danes platform where foreign guests and Danish hosts meet and arrange for hygge dinners at the latter’s home. They cook and serve a 3-course meal with beer or wine included in the price (around 75 euros or 85 US dollars). Also, culture sharing and much talking are included in the agenda.

These are your real Danish friends!