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Looking at my reflection, I appear to be wearing huge golden pantaloons, visible exclusively in my view. Kids sit in a stone basin pretending to be mermaids, meanwhile nearby sits a talking pea in a exhibition box, next to a towering mound of mattresses. It embodies the world of H.C. Andersen (1805-1875), one of the 19th century’s highly cherished storytellers. I find myself in Odense, located on Fyn in the southern region of the Danish kingdom, to discover the writer's lasting influence in his home town many decades after his death, and to experience a couple of magical stories of my own.

The Cultural Center: The Andersen Museum

The H.C. Andersen Museum is the town's museum honoring the storyteller, featuring his original residence. An expert states that in previous versions of the museum there was scant attention on his fairytales. His personal history was studied, but The Little Mermaid were missing. For visitors who visit Odense seeking fairytale wonder, it was somewhat disappointing.

The redevelopment of the city center, diverting a major road, provided the opportunity to reconsider how the city’s most famous son could be commemorated. An international design contest granted the Japanese company Kengo Kuma and Associates the commission, with the innovative curatorial vision at the core of the design. The unique wood-paneled museum with interlinked spiralling spaces launched to great fanfare in 2021. “We have attempted to design an environment where we avoid discussing the author, but we speak in the manner of him: with humour, sarcasm and perspective,” explains the curator. The landscape design take this approach: “The outdoor area for strollers and for colossal creatures, it's created to create a feeling of diminutiveness,” he says, an objective accomplished by clever planting, playing with height, scale and multiple meandering routes in a surprisingly compact space.

The Author's Influence

The author penned multiple memoirs and frequently changed his story. HC Andersens Hus takes this approach fully; typically the perspectives of his friends or snippets of written messages are shown to gently question the writer's personal account of incidents. “The writer is the narrator, but he’s not reliable,” says the expert. The outcome is a fascinating whirlwind tour of the author's biography and work, thinking patterns and favorite tales. It’s stimulating and fun, for grown-ups and kids, with a bonus underground make-believe land, the fictional village, for the youngest visitors.

Exploring Odense

Back in the actual city, the modest urban center of Odense is charming, with stone-paved roads and historic timber buildings colored in vibrant hues. The Andersen legacy is all around: the road indicators feature the writer with his iconic formal headwear, brass footprints provide a complimentary Andersen walking tour, and there’s a outdoor exhibition too. Every August this focus peaks with the annual storytelling event, which celebrates the author’s legacy through visual arts, movement, stage shows and melodies.

This year, the week-long event had numerous performances, the majority were complimentary. As I explore Odense, I come across artistic acrobats, fantastical beings and an writer impersonator telling stories. I listen to contemporary performances and witness an incredible evening show with acrobatic dancers lowering from the city building and hanging from a construction equipment. Future activities this year are talks, creative sessions for all ages and, expanding the oral history past the author, the city’s annual enchantment celebration.

Each wonderful magical places require a fortress, and this region features numerous historic homes and manor houses across the island

Biking Adventures

Like most of Denmark, bikes are the ideal method to navigate in Odense and a “bike path” winds through the downtown area. Starting at the local hotel, I cycle to the complimentary port-side aquatic facility, then out of town for a circuit around Stige Island, a small island linked by a road to the mainland. City residents picnic here in the evening, or take pleasure in a quiet hour angling, paddleboarding or swimming.

In town, I eat at the themed restaurant, where the menu is based on the writer's motifs and tales. The verse the national ode is highlighted at the restaurant, and manager the host recites passages, translated into English, as he introduces the meal. It’s an experience commonplace in my time in Odense, the island inhabitants enjoy storytelling and it appears sharing tales is continuously available here.

Historic Estate Tours

All good enchanted locations deserve a fortress, and the island features over a hundred manors and estates throughout the region. Taking day trips from the city, I tour Egeskov Palace, the continent's best-preserved Renaissance water castle. While much of it are open to visitors, Egeskov is also the private residence of the noble family and his wife, the royal resident. I wonder if she might sense a small legume through a pile of {mattresses