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Looking at my reflection, I appear to be wearing oversized gilded pantaloons, seen only to me. Youngsters sit in a water feature pretending to be mermaids, meanwhile adjacent resides a chatting legume in a display case, alongside a towering mound of bedding. It represents the world of the beloved author (1805-1875), a leading 1800s highly cherished storytellers. I find myself in the city of Odense, located on Funen in the southern region of the Danish kingdom, to explore the writer's lasting influence in his native city many decades after his passing, and to experience a couple of fairytales of my own.

The Museum: HC Andersens Hus

HC Andersens Hus is the town's museum honoring the writer, including his first home. A museum representative states that in past designs of the museum there was minimal emphasis on Andersen’s stories. Andersen's biography was examined, but Thumbelina were nowhere to be found. For guests who come to Odense in search of storytelling magic, it was a little lacking.

The renovation of Odense city centre, diverting a major road, made it possible to reconsider how the city’s most famous son could be commemorated. An international design contest gave Japanese firm Kengo Kuma and Associates the contract, with the curators’ new approach at the core of the structure. The unique timber-clad museum with interwoven spiral spaces debuted to much acclaim in 2021. “We have attempted to design an environment where we move beyond simply describing the writer, but we speak in the manner of Andersen: with humour, irony and outlook,” explains the curator. Even the gardens follow this philosophy: “This is a landscape for strollers and for colossal creatures, it's planned to create a feeling of diminutiveness,” he notes, a goal realized by strategic landscaping, playing with elevation, scale and many winding paths in a unexpectedly limited space.

Andersen's Impact

Andersen wrote several personal accounts and often provided conflicting accounts. The exhibition adopts this philosophy seriously; frequently the opinions of his acquaintances or snippets of correspondence are displayed to subtly challenge the author’s own version of incidents. “Andersen is the narrator, but he's untrustworthy,” says the curator. The effect is a fascinating whirlwind tour of his personal story and creations, mental approaches and most popular stories. It’s provocative and whimsical, for adults and kids, with a extra lower-level imaginary world, the fictional village, for the smallest guests.

Discovering the City

Back in the physical town, the modest urban center of this Danish city is charming, with historic pathways and historic timber buildings colored in bright colours. The Andersen legacy is everywhere: the street signals feature the storyteller with his signature top hat, brass footprints provide a complimentary Andersen walking tour, and there’s a outdoor exhibition too. Every August this focus culminates with the annual Andersen celebration, which marks the his influence through creativity, performance, drama and music.

This year, the week-long celebration had 500 shows, most of which were complimentary. During my time in this place, I come across artistic acrobats, ghoulish monsters and an author double sharing tales. I hear feminist spoken-word pieces and observe an amazing evening show featuring graceful performers coming down from the municipal structure and suspended from a construction equipment. Still to come in the coming months are talks, hands-on activities and, broadening the narrative tradition past the author, the city’s annual wonder event.

All good fairytale destinations need a castle, and Fyn boasts 123 castles and manor houses across the island

Cycling and Exploration

Similar to most of Denmark, bikes are the best way to travel around in this town and a “cycling highway” winds through the downtown area. Starting at the local hotel, I ride to the public port-side aquatic facility, then out of town for a loop around Stige Island, a small island linked by a road to the larger island. City residents picnic here in the evening, or appreciate a tranquil moment catching fish, water sports or bathing.

Back in Odense, I dine at Restaurant Under Lindetræet, where the food selection is based on the writer's motifs and narratives. The literary work the patriotic piece is featured at the restaurant, and manager the host shares excerpts, presented in English, as he introduces the meal. It’s an experience repeated often in my days in the city, the fynbo enjoy storytelling and it appears sharing tales is continuously offered here.

Castle Explorations

All good fairytale destinations deserve a palace, and Fyn boasts numerous historic homes and estates throughout the region. Traveling briefly from Odense, I explore the historic fortress, the continent's best-preserved Renaissance water castle. While much of it are open to visitors, this historic site is also the personal dwelling of Count Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille and his wife, the royal resident. I ponder if she might sense a tiny vegetable through a stack of {mattresses