Mountain Hygge
As promised, here's the final chapter of the Hygge Bus European summer tour. It's a few months overdue but a great reason to reminisce about some of the most inspiring moments of last summer's journey. We spent the final days of our European tour wandering the French, Swiss, and German Alps on our pursuit for hygge...
Alpine Modern, an inspiring quarterly magazine, shop and cafe in Boulder, Colorado captured this chapter of the tour beautifully in their recently released Issue 02. I'll let their article help tell the story.
“We embarked on a life-changing adventure. We bought a 1971 Opel Blitz camper, painted it blue, hitched up our bicycles, and toured Europe, selling poffertjes (mini Dutch pancakes) and collecting European vintage treasures. We stamped “Hygge Life” on the camper and called it the “Hygge Bus.””
France
After a week in the grapevines we headed straight for the Alps where we could finally breathe in some fresh mountain air. Chamonix, France was our first stop. This place has it all: a beautiful town with cozy mountain cafes, striking views of the Mont Blanc, hiking trails and active people from all over the world itching to hike, ski, bike or do all of the above.
We spent our days in Chamonix drinking coffee on sunny terraces, hiking and grilling elaborate dinners at our campsite. Heaven!
Switzerland
We continued North into Switzerland where the alpine scenery and charm is like nothing else. Wooden chalets with green shutters, mounted roe deer antlers above doorways, roaming cows ringing their bells, and heavenly cheese raclette. The hygge holy-land!
“Driving the Hygge Bus up and down the windy roads in the Alps across France, Switzerland, and Germany, we discovered these mounted roe deer antlers among other alpine artifacts.... We began buying them at flea markets, antique barns, and auctions along the way until we had a beautifully unique collection.”
Germany
Germany is the home of the magnificent Schwarzwald (black forest). We spent 2 days walking along the long winding trails through the forest. In almost every valley and hilltop sat a biergarten; a refuge for the tired hikers to take a seat at a long picnic table and enjoy a German beer and bratwurst. We made sure to take breaks often and fuel up on liquids along the way. ;)
“Hygge Life has evolved into an online shop of new and vintage items from all over Europe that help create hygge spaces and moments. After lovely shared meals at our table, an evening filled with smiles, conversation, and warmth, we now have a word to describe the experience... hygge.”
Where to next?
The final days of the hygge tour took us through France, Switzerland, Germany and finally back to the Netherlands. Refreshed and inspired by the mountains, we were ready and at peace with returning home and continuing our lives in Amsterdam.
After 3 months of living in the hygge bus, seeing new places, meeting new people and soaking in many unforgettable moments, we are enriched and inspired! This year, the hygge life shop opened as a way to share the inspiration we received from this journey. I hope you like it!
Thank you Alpine Modern for sharing our story!
With love, Alexandra
