Over the last few days, I’ve spent my time in Copenhagen a little differently than I normally might in a foreign city — I’ve been traveling exclusively by bicycle.

Not for exercise, and not for sport — but simply to get where I wanted to go.

Two days ago, my daughter, my two young grandchildren, and I pedaled through the city to visit the Little Mermaid statue on the harbor.  We biked to a Danish bakery.

We biked to Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen’s grand amusement park in the heart of the city.  And then we biked back to our hotel.

Yesterday, after my family flew back to the United States, I set out alone.  I biked to Christiania, the famous “free town” established by squatters in 1971.  I biked to Refshaleøen, an old industrial shipyard turned vibrant outdoor food market.

And today, I explored more neighborhoods: the Meatpacking District, Vesterbro, and the bustling Nyhavn harbor.

In total, three days, dozens of miles, one bicycle, and countless observations.

A Question That Kept Pedaling Through My Mind

As I rode, another thought kept cycling through my mind:
Why does Denmark consistently rank among the happiest countries in the world?

And what does riding a bike — simply, unceremoniously, as a means of everyday life — have to do with happiness?

Turns out, maybe everything.

The Ingredients of Happiness: Health as a Foundation

Researchers who study happiness — from the Happiness Research Institute here in Copenhagen to the authors of the UN’s World Happiness Report, and even thinkers like Dennis Prager and Yale professor Laurie Santos — largely agree:
Happiness isn’t just a feeling.
It’s a system, built from key ingredients.

Among them:

• Togetherness (community)
• Trust
• Freedom
• Kindness
• Money (up to a point)
• And importantly — Health.

Good health allows us to play.
To seek out adventure.
To chase after meaning.
It is the sturdy frame on which much of life’s joy is built.

And the Danes, it seems, have figured out something crucial about how to sustain it.

Movement as Medicine

In Denmark, movement is simply built into daily life.

Some eye-opening statistics:

• 45% of all commutes for work and education in Copenhagen are by bicycle.
• For those who both live and work in the city, that number rises to 63%.
• 9 out of 10 Danes own a bike.
• There are five times more bikes than cars in Copenhagen.
• 63% of Danish Parliament members cycle to work daily.
• 58% of school children in Copenhagen ride bikes to school.

But here’s the key:
Danes don’t think of this as exercise.
They think of it as transportation.

They aren’t Lycra-clad Tour de France aspirants — they are parents, workers, students, and seniors simply getting from one place to another.

By embedding movement into the fabric of everyday life — not as a gym membership, but as a way of living — they have stumbled onto something profound:
Health, and therefore happiness, isn’t found in rare heroic efforts.
It’s found in daily, ordinary motion.

The Spirit of Hygge

Another piece of the Danish happiness puzzle is hygge — a concept often translated (poorly) as “coziness,” but which means something deeper:
A conscious slowing down.
Creating warmth, safety, connection, and comfort in everyday life.

A bicycle ride to a bakery with your grandchildren.
A spontaneous stop by a waterfront food market.
A moment of calm pedaling through quiet neighborhoods.

Movement. Presence. Simplicity.
Health isn’t just about bodies — it’s about minds and spirits too.

A Glimpse Toward Bhutan

This search for daily well-being connects across cultures.

In Bhutan, a country that famously measures Gross National Happiness instead of Gross National Product, the government and the University of Pennsylvania have collaborated on the Gross National Happiness Curriculum.

It teaches ten life skills designed to foster resilience and well-being among students — with mindfulness (“brain brushing”) as one of the core practices.

I’m planning a trip to Bhutan later this year to explore more about this firsthand.  But already, I’m struck by the simple thought:
Whether in Copenhagen or Bhutan, it seems the key isn’t chasing happiness like a finish line — it’s weaving happiness into how we move through the world every day.

Final Reflection

Three days.
One bicycle.
One simple reminder:

Sometimes the road to happiness isn’t paved with grand gestures.
Sometimes it’s as simple as moving your body, opening your eyes, and remembering that joy is found not just at the destination — but along the ride.