Laura Hall earned her perspective on Scandinavia one cold plunge at a time. The Copenhagen-based author and journalist chases stories in wild Nordic corners where brave souls challenge convention and the landscape hasn’t been flattened by tourism.
Her debut book, The Year I Lay My Head In Water is released today and emerged from crisis turned catalyst. When stress and burnout shattered her Copenhagen dream, Hall did what Scandinavians do: she stripped down and walked into freezing water. What followed was a year-long pilgrimage through iceberg-filled Greenlandic seas, Viking spas in Iceland, and countless Nordic beaches, swimming her way toward answers.
What made you want to write about Nordic swimming culture?
I couldn’t help it. I lived in a flat 20m from the harbourside and everyone around me was throwing themselves into the water at all times of year. I’d always loved swimming and it just became inevitable that I would join in. When I realised that it opened up forms of connection and community with my neighbours and other people in my city, at a time when I was feeling a little isolated, it all started to make sense. I felt like I’d found my people.
Most memorable or transformative swimming encounter?
Swimming in the harbour in Bergen, Norway. It was the start of December and the sky was dark and twinkling with stars. It felt like an illicit swim, in a way, because we were in this little harbour tucked out of the way and swimming in the dark, and it was very, very cold. I swam with two friends and as we warmed up in a cafe, woman after woman came in to join us, until we had a whole circle of swimmers around us, hands wrapped around coffee cups, talking about swimming. I felt like I was part of a tribe, and it kick-started the whole idea to swim around Scandinavia and meet other people who were doing it.
Favourite Nordic wild swimming spot?
There’s a beach on Uunartoq island in south Greenland that I think is the most beautiful in the world. It’s all soft white sand, clear water, whales and icebergs passing by, and dark mountains in the distance. A short jog up the hill, there’s a natural hot spring made by the Inuit and expanded by the Vikings, where you can plunge in and warm up. I defy anyone to find a better spot to swim in Northern Europe.
Most surprising Scandinavian tradition?
The lack of shame around nudity is refreshing.
Best landscape for Nordic introspection?
Greenland does something to your heart on a cellular level. I liken it to the Snow Queen, where Kay gets a splinter of glass in him: going to Greenland puts a splinter of ice in your heart and then it’s always with you. Its nature is so vast and so dominant that it makes you reassess your place in the world. Photos start looking like poetry. Icebergs become art galleries. It’s so wild. I can’t properly articulate the feeling of being there, really, but I know it has profoundly changed me, just knowing a place like that can exist.
Nordic spa or wellness ritual you swear by?
I’m a big fan of a very hot Finnish sauna. Throw that water on the oven, and ride the wave of löyly. I’m very into that.
Best place to experience “friluftsliv” (outdoor living)?
Norway. Bergen, with its mini fjord cruises, is a great place to start.
Most underrated northern destination?
I love Helsinki and have been back to swim multiple times. I think it deserves a bit more publicity. It’s a great city.
Thoughts on sustainable Nordic tourism?
People might be surprised to know that it’s still a struggle in the Nordics and that sustainability isn’t a given. The water in the Baltic Sea is basically dead, Denmark suffers immensely from run-off pollution from the farms into the sea, and the Oslofjord is nearly devoid of kelp.
Cruises are terrible for the environment, socially for small towns, and for water quality, but they continue to bring in money around the region so nobody complains. I think people should be up in arms about it! Scandinavia has a better relationship with nature than a lot of the world but there’s plenty of work to do. Nobody’s perfect.
How does Copenhagen living shape your perspective?
You’re never more than 300m from a green or blue space in Copenhagen, and we cycle in all weathers, which means you feel the seasons more. I find that sense of nature helps me feel grounded. It’s better for the soul than living in the middle of a city that’s more focused on hustle culture and fast cars.
Favourite local restaurants?
Copenhagen is an outstanding city for food. I love the fine dining options in the city, which can feel like an art experience as much as anything else. For fine dining, I love Alchemist, which is the most mind-bending place in the world for food; I also love Kadeau and Alouette. There’s a French restaurant in Copenhagen that doesn’t get talked about much but should – Kong Hans Kælder. I can still remember the dishes I ate there four years ago, and its dessert trolley.
On a more regular budget, Jah Izakaya is my absolute top recommendation. It’s a Japanese izakaya with amazing beer and a reggae soundtrack. And Bar Vitrine is amazing for Indian food and excellent wine too.
Local hidden gem?
The David Collection – a townhouse museum full of Islamic art that holds really great exhibitions. Also, not so hidden, but a lot of people don’t know about Arken, a modern art gallery just outside Copenhagen. It’s one of my favourite places ever – edgy, dynamic and very colourful. I get a burst of energy every time I visit.
Best local bars?
Ved Stranden for wine, Ruby for cocktails, Apollo Bar for the vibe.
Where do you go for pure escapism?
I take myself off to the pool for a swim.
And where do you go for stimulation and creative energy?
I generally need less stimulation, not more. Going on a walk, a long one for an hour or more with my dog, is the best way I’ve found to channel my excess of creative energy and marshall it into a form I can work with. That, and just plain writing, pencil on paper, one page at a time.
Where do you go when you need a creative reset?
Overall, the Arctic is the place for me. There’s a place in Norway that I aspire to visit every year for this (but in reality make it once every 2-3 years). It’s called The Arctic Hideaway and it’s a small hotel on a tiny car-free island where you can see sea eagles, whales and otters. It’s got an indefinable magic to it. I need a soul cleanse there more regularly than I’d like to think.
Favourite hotel, anywhere in the world?
I was a hotel reviewer for many years and I think that is just too hard a question to answer! But there is this one hotel in Denmark called Falsled Kro that I think is incredibly special. It’s like staying in a fairytale.
Most inspiring city for writing you’ve visited recently?
Manchester, UK. I went to a Manchester Metropolitan University summer school for writers in the city this summer and met so many brilliant people and so many inspiring tutors. I love the energy of the city – it’s where I grew up – and I spent so much time in its bookshops and talking about writing. There’s a fantastic library, John Rylands Library, where they have a set of Joy Division lyrics on display next to Shakespeare’s First Folio. I love that juxtaposition.
Your top museums in the world?
I’ve always been interested in anthropology. The Pitt Rivers in Oxford is an absolute treasure trove – I studied down the road from it and have always loved picking through the cabinets and immersing myself in the stories the objects tell.
I also loved the Museum of World Culture in Gothenburg, which has artefacts from all over the world and tells beautiful interactive stories that put them in context and bring them to life.
Then, my most visited museum/gallery is probably the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art just outside Copenhagen, where I saw a life-changing Ragnar Kjartansson exhibition a few years ago. It’s set in sculpture gardens overlooking the sea and is an art gallery with a beach. You can even swim there (and I have!)
What’s always in your carry-on?
One less item than there should be. Last time it was my toothbrush. Previously: pyjamas. You’d think I’d be good at packing by now, but I’m not.
Dream vacation, not yet fulfilled?
I’d like to swim at Icebergs in Sydney. It’s my dream swimming pool. I’ve been to Australia several times before but never yet made it to that pool.
Favourite travel books?
My favourite travel book is The Summer Book by Tove Jansson, a novel about a grandmother and her granddaughter who spend a summer on a tiny Finnish island. It’s not a traditional travel book but it tells you everything you need to know about relationships, small details and a Scandinavian approach to life. I read it every summer, and have done for a decade.
I read more literary fiction than anything else at the moment and I try to draw from it in my travel writing. Travel writing is unique as a part of journalism where you can bring in this kind of flourish, and I love that. I eat up anything by Deborah Levy (who also loves swimming), Maggie O’Farrell and Claire Keegan. Sean Hewitt’s recent book Open, Heaven was beautiful and incredibly raw. I’m also excited by how Max Porter plays with form.
Best recent travel book discovery?
I got really obsessed last year with a book called A Woman In The Polar Night, by Christiane Ritter and read it about four or five times. It’s a memoir of an Austrian housewife who leaves Vienna in the 1930s to stay with her husband in a remote cabin in Svalbard for a year. I found her descriptions of the landscape and northern lights absolutely captivating.
