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In the mirror, I seem to have on huge shimmering pantaloons, visible exclusively in my view. Youngsters relax in a rock pool acting as sea nymphs, while adjacent resides a chatting legume in a exhibition box, alongside a tall stack of bedding. It represents the world of H.C. Andersen (1805-1875), a leading 1800s widely adored authors. I'm visiting Odense, located on Funen in the south of Denmark, to explore the author's lasting influence in his home town a century and a half after his demise, and to experience a handful of magical stories of my own.

The Cultural Center: HC Andersens Hus

The H.C. Andersen Museum is the city’s museum honoring the storyteller, featuring his childhood house. A curator notes that in past designs of the museum there was little focus on his fairytales. Andersen's biography was examined, but The Little Mermaid were missing. For visitors who travel to the city looking for storytelling magic, it was a little lacking.

The redevelopment of downtown Odense, diverting a main thoroughfare, created the chance to rethink how the city’s most famous son could be honored. A major architecture competition granted Japanese firm the Kengo Kuma team the project, with the curators’ new approach at the heart of the structure. The remarkable wood-paneled museum with interwoven spiral spaces opened to much acclaim in 2021. “We’ve tried to build a place where we don’t talk about the writer, but we talk like him: with comedy, satire and perspective,” says the curator. Even the gardens embrace this concept: “The outdoor area for wanderers and for colossal creatures, it's created to give you a sense of smallness,” he notes, an objective accomplished by strategic landscaping, manipulating verticality, proportion and many winding paths in a deceptively small space.

The Author's Influence

The author penned multiple autobiographies and often provided conflicting accounts. The exhibition takes this approach to heart; often the views of his companions or excerpts of written messages are displayed to gently question the writer's personal account of incidents. “The author is the narrator, but he’s not reliable,” explains the expert. The outcome is a compelling rapid journey of Andersen’s life and creations, thought processes and most popular tales. It is stimulating and fun, for mature visitors and children, with a bonus underground imaginary world, the fictional village, for the children.

Exploring Odense

Back in the physical town, the small city of the municipality is delightful, with historic pathways and old wooden houses colored in vibrant hues. The writer's influence is everywhere: the street signals show the writer with his signature characteristic hat, metal shoe prints give a complimentary Andersen walking tour, and there’s a outdoor exhibition too. Each summer this focus reaches its height with the yearly HC Andersen festival, which celebrates the writer's impact through visual arts, performance, drama and musical performances.

Recently, the multi-day event had numerous performances, many were free. While visiting the city, I meet painted stilt-walkers, fantastical beings and an writer impersonator narrating adventures. I listen to contemporary performances and see an incredible nocturnal display including graceful performers coming down from the city building and dangling from a crane. Still to come during the season are lectures, creative sessions for all ages and, expanding the oral history further than the writer, the city’s yearly wonder event.

Each wonderful fairytale destinations require a palace, and the island contains numerous historic homes and stately homes throughout the region

Cycling and Exploration

Like most of Denmark, bikes are the ideal method to navigate in this town and a “cycling highway” winds through the downtown area. Departing from the local hotel, I cycle to the public waterside bathing area, then out of town for a route around Stige Ø, a small island linked by a road to the mainland. Local inhabitants have outdoor meals here following their day, or enjoy a quiet hour angling, paddleboarding or taking a dip.

In town, I dine at the themed restaurant, where the food selection is based on author-inspired concepts and stories. The literary work the patriotic piece is highlighted when I visit, and manager the host reads extracts, presented in English, as he presents each course. This is a practice repeated often in my days in the city, the island inhabitants enjoy storytelling and it appears storytelling is continuously offered here.

Castle Explorations

Each wonderful magical places deserve a fortress, and this region boasts 123 castles and stately homes around the area. Traveling briefly from the city, I visit the historic fortress, the continent's best-preserved Renaissance water castle. Despite parts are accessible to the public, Egeskov is also the family home of Count Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig-Bille and his spouse, the princess. I wonder if she would notice a small legume through a stack of {mattresses