I must confess that most of my Danish sayings are gammel dansk or old Danish. I grew up saying farvel for good-bye (it translates as “farewell”). There is something a little sad, I think, in this word just as there is with “Good-Bye” – those words sound so final. As though you are saying, “this is the end.”

So I was happy to discover that in Denmark there is a new way of saying goodbye – hej, hej or quite simply, hi, hi. It is said in a very quick, high, charming, sing-song way no matter who says it. This word has taken over and replaced the old farvel which is good for me. Because in a few short hours I leave Copenhagen and I so don’t want it to be fare well. I want it to be, hi hi.