🔗 Share this article

Looking at my reflection, I appear to be wearing huge shimmering pantaloons, perceptible exclusively in my view. Children sit in a water feature imitating mermaids, and nearby resides a speaking vegetable in a exhibition box, alongside a imposing pile of mattresses. It embodies the world of H.C. Andersen (1805-1875), among the nineteenth-century's widely adored storytellers. I’m in this Danish town, situated in the island of Fyn in the southern region of this Nordic country, to explore Andersen’s timeless impact in his home town a century and a half after his demise, and to experience a couple of enchanted tales of my own.

The Exhibition: The Andersen Museum

Andersen's House is the local museum dedicated to the author, featuring his childhood house. A museum representative explains that in previous versions of the museum there was scant attention on his fairytales. The writer’s life was studied, but The Ugly Duckling were nowhere to be found. For guests who visit this place looking for storytelling magic, it was not quite enough.

The redevelopment of downtown Odense, redirecting a primary street, made it possible to rethink how the local celebrity could be celebrated. A prestigious architectural challenge awarded the Japanese company the Kengo Kuma team the project, with the innovative curatorial vision at the heart of the structure. The unique wooden museum with interwoven spiral spaces launched to significant attention in 2021. “We’ve tried to build a place where we avoid discussing the writer, but we talk like Andersen: with comedy, sarcasm and perspective,” says the expert. The outdoor spaces embrace this concept: “This is a landscape for strollers and for colossal creatures, it's created to create a feeling of diminutiveness,” he explains, a goal accomplished by thoughtful gardening, playing with height, scale and multiple meandering routes in a deceptively small space.

Andersen's Impact

He authored multiple memoirs and regularly provided conflicting accounts. The exhibition takes this approach seriously; often the views of his friends or fragments of correspondence are displayed to subtly challenge the his narrative of incidents. “The writer is the narrator, but he’s not reliable,” notes the curator. The result is a compelling rapid journey of the author's biography and work, mental approaches and most popular tales. It is stimulating and playful, for mature visitors and youngsters, with a extra lower-level imaginary world, the fictional village, for the smallest guests.

Exploring Odense

In the actual city, the compact town of this Danish city is charming, with stone-paved roads and historic timber buildings painted in bright colours. The writer's influence is ubiquitous: the street signals display the writer with his distinctive characteristic hat, metal shoe prints offer a free guided stroll, and there’s a sculpture trail too. Every August this dedication reaches its height with the yearly Andersen celebration, which marks the writer's impact through visual arts, dance, theatre and music.

Recently, the multi-day event had hundreds of events, the majority were without charge. As I explore this place, I come across painted stilt-walkers, spooky creatures and an author double sharing tales. I hear empowering poetry and observe an remarkable evening show featuring acrobatic dancers descending from the city building and suspended from a construction equipment. Future activities in the coming months are talks, creative sessions for all ages and, extending the narrative tradition past the author, the city’s yearly wonder event.

Each wonderful enchanted locations deserve a castle, and the island features numerous historic homes and stately homes around the area

Biking Adventures

Like other Danish regions, bikes are the best way to get about in this town and a “cycling highway” meanders through the city centre. Departing from my accommodation, I ride to the public harbour-side swimming pool, then out of town for a route around the nearby islet, a tiny landmass linked by a road to the mainland. Town dwellers have outdoor meals here following their day, or appreciate a tranquil moment catching fish, water sports or bathing.

Returning to town, I visit a local eatery, where the menu is based on the writer's motifs and stories. The verse the national ode appears at the restaurant, and proprietor the host recites passages, translated into English, as he serves every dish. This is a practice commonplace in my time in Odense, the fynbo enjoy storytelling and it appears storytelling is constantly offered here.

Historic Estate Tours

Every excellent enchanted locations need a castle, and this region boasts over a hundred manors and stately homes around the area. Going on excursions from Odense, I explore Egeskov Palace, Europe’s finely maintained moated palace. While much of it are available for tours, the castle is also the personal dwelling of the noble family and his wife, Princess Alexandra zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. I wonder if she can feel a pea through a mound of {mattresses