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Reflected back at me, I appear to be wearing enormous gilded pantaloons, visible exclusively in my view. Children sit in a stone basin imitating mermaids, and in the next room rests a speaking vegetable in a exhibition box, beside a tall mound of mattresses. It embodies the domain of Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875), one of the nineteenth-century's most beloved authors. I’m in Odense, on the island of Funen in the south of Denmark, to investigate the writer's timeless impact in his home town 150 years after his death, and to experience a handful of fairytales of my own.

The Museum: H.C. Andersen's House

HC Andersens Hus is the local museum dedicated to the writer, including his childhood house. A curator explains that in previous versions of the museum there was scant attention on Andersen’s stories. Andersen's biography was examined, but The Ugly Duckling were absent. For visitors who travel to the city looking for fairytale wonder, it was not quite enough.

The redevelopment of Odense city centre, diverting a major road, created the chance to reconsider how the local celebrity could be celebrated. A major architecture competition gave Japanese firm Kengo Kuma and Associates the commission, with the curators’ new approach at the center of the structure. The unique wood-paneled museum with interlinked spiral spaces debuted to significant attention in 2021. “We’ve tried to create a space where we move beyond simply describing Andersen, but we communicate similarly to the storyteller: with comedy, satire and outlook,” says the representative. Even the gardens take this approach: “It’s a garden for strollers and for giants, it’s designed to create a feeling of diminutiveness,” he notes, an objective accomplished by strategic landscaping, experimenting with height, proportion and numerous twisting trails in a unexpectedly limited space.

Andersen's Impact

He authored several autobiographies and regularly changed his story. The museum embraces this concept fully; typically the perspectives of his acquaintances or snippets of correspondence are presented to politely doubt the his narrative of incidents. “The author is the storyteller, but his account isn't always accurate,” explains the expert. The outcome is a compelling whirlwind tour of Andersen’s life and creations, thinking patterns and most popular narratives. It’s stimulating and playful, for mature visitors and children, with a additional underground make-believe land, the pretend town, for the children.

Exploring Odense

Returning to the physical town, the small city of the municipality is delightful, with stone-paved roads and historic timber buildings finished in cheerful shades. The writer's influence is ubiquitous: the traffic lights show the storyteller with his signature formal headwear, metal shoe prints give a free Andersen walking tour, and there’s a outdoor exhibition too. Each summer this dedication reaches its height with the regular Andersen celebration, which marks the writer's impact through visual arts, movement, drama and musical performances.

During my visit, the multi-day event had hundreds of events, the majority were free. During my time in Odense, I meet artistic acrobats, fantastical beings and an Andersen lookalike telling stories. I hear contemporary performances and see an remarkable nocturnal display including graceful performers descending from the city building and hanging from a mechanical arm. Future activities during the season are lectures, family art workshops and, broadening the storytelling legacy past the author, the city’s regular enchantment celebration.

Each wonderful magical places need a castle, and this region features 123 castles and estates across the island

Cycling and Exploration

Like much of the country, bikes are the ideal method to navigate in this town and a “cycling highway” winds through the city centre. Starting at Hotel Odeon, I pedal to the free harbour-side swimming pool, then out of town for a circuit around Stige Island, a tiny landmass joined by a bridge to the mainland. City residents relax with food here following their day, or take pleasure in a tranquil moment catching fish, water sports or bathing.

Returning to town, I dine at Restaurant Under Lindetræet, where the food selection is derived from the writer's motifs and stories. The poem the national ode is featured when I visit, and proprietor the restaurateur reads extracts, rendered in English, as he presents each course. This is a practice frequent in my visit, the local residents love a yarn and it feels as though storytelling is constantly available here.

Castle Explorations

Each wonderful fairytale destinations need a castle, and the island boasts numerous historic homes and manor houses throughout the region. Taking day trips from town, I explore Egeskov Castle, the region's finely maintained Renaissance water castle. Despite parts are accessible to the public, the castle is also the private residence of the noble family and his partner, Princess Alexandra zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg. I wonder if she can feel a pea through a stack of {mattresses