🔗 Share this article

Looking at my reflection, I seem to have on enormous shimmering pantaloons, perceptible only to me. Kids relax in a water feature acting as sea nymphs, meanwhile in the next room rests a talking pea in a exhibition box, beside a tall stack of mattresses. It embodies the domain of H.C. Andersen (1805-1875), one of the 1800s widely adored storytellers. I’m in Odense, on the island of Fyn in the southern part of Denmark, to explore Andersen’s timeless impact in his home town 150 years after his death, and to discover a handful of magical stories of my own.

The Cultural Center: The Andersen Museum

The H.C. Andersen Museum is the local exhibition space dedicated to the author, including his first home. A curator states that in previous versions of the museum there was little focus on the author's tales. Andersen's biography was studied, but The Little Mermaid were missing. For tourists who travel to Odense seeking storytelling magic, it was not quite enough.

The redevelopment of the city center, redirecting a main thoroughfare, provided the opportunity to reimagine how the city’s most famous son could be honored. A major architecture competition gave Japanese firm Kengo Kuma and Associates the project, with the museum's fresh perspective at the core of the layout. The unique timber-clad museum with connected spiral spaces debuted to much acclaim in 2021. “We’ve tried to create a space where we avoid discussing the author, but we talk like the storyteller: with wit, irony and viewpoint,” says the representative. The landscape design take this approach: “The outdoor area for strollers and for giants, it's planned to create a feeling of diminutiveness,” he explains, a challenge accomplished by clever planting, playing with elevation, proportion and multiple meandering routes in a deceptively small space.

The Writer's Legacy

The author penned two and a half personal accounts and regularly contradicted himself. HC Andersens Hus embraces this concept to heart; often the perspectives of his companions or excerpts of letters are presented to subtly challenge the writer's personal account of happenings. “The writer is the narrator, but he's untrustworthy,” says the expert. The effect is a fascinating swift exploration of his personal story and work, mental approaches and most popular tales. This is stimulating and playful, for adults and children, with a extra basement make-believe land, the pretend town, for the youngest visitors.

Discovering the City

Back in the real world, the compact town of this Danish city is charming, with historic pathways and old wooden houses finished in cheerful shades. The writer's influence is ubiquitous: the road indicators show the storyteller with his signature formal headwear, brass footprints give a no-cost guided stroll, and there’s a art walk too. Each summer this focus peaks with the yearly Andersen celebration, which celebrates the his influence through creativity, dance, drama and melodies.

This year, the week-long event had 500 shows, the majority were free. As I explore the city, I meet colorful performers on stilts, spooky creatures and an Andersen lookalike narrating adventures. I hear empowering poetry and witness an amazing evening show with graceful performers descending from the municipal structure and dangling from a crane. Still to come in the coming months are lectures, creative sessions for all ages and, extending the storytelling legacy beyond Andersen, the city’s yearly wonder event.

Each wonderful fairytale destinations need a castle, and Fyn contains over a hundred manors and manor houses across the island

Cycling and Exploration

Like much of the country, cycles are the ideal method to travel around in this town and a “bicycle route” winds through the urban core. From Hotel Odeon, I cycle to the complimentary port-side aquatic facility, then into the countryside for a loop around Stige Island, a tiny landmass joined by a bridge to the mainland. City residents picnic here after work, or enjoy a tranquil moment catching fish, water sports or taking a dip.

Returning to Odense, I visit a local eatery, where the culinary offerings is based on author-inspired concepts and tales. The poem the national ode is highlighted at the restaurant, and proprietor Nils Palmqvist reads extracts, presented in English, as he introduces the meal. This is a practice commonplace in my days in the city, the local residents appreciate narratives and it appears sharing tales is always on the menu here.

Manor House Visits

All good magical places need a castle, and the island features numerous historic homes and stately homes across the island. Traveling briefly from town, I explore Egeskov Palace, the region's finely maintained Renaissance water castle. Despite parts are accessible to the public, Egeskov is also the private residence of the noble family and his wife, Princess Alexandra zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. I contemplate if she can feel a small legume through a pile of {mattresses