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Looking at my reflection, I seem to have on huge shimmering pantaloons, seen just for my eyes. Youngsters relax in a stone basin acting as ocean creatures, and adjacent resides a talking pea in a exhibition box, alongside a towering mound of mattresses. It represents the domain of H.C. Andersen (1805-1875), among the 1800s widely adored storytellers. I find myself in this Danish town, located on Fyn in the south of the Danish kingdom, to explore the writer's timeless impact in his home town many decades after his death, and to experience a couple of fairytales of my own.

The Exhibition: H.C. Andersen's House

The H.C. Andersen Museum is the town's exhibition space celebrating the author, including his childhood house. An expert explains that in previous versions of the museum there was minimal emphasis on the author's tales. The writer’s life was examined, but The Little Mermaid were nowhere to be found. For visitors who travel to the city looking for storytelling magic, it was not quite enough.

The redesign of downtown Odense, redirecting a main thoroughfare, provided the opportunity to rethink how the renowned native could be celebrated. A prestigious architectural challenge awarded Japanese firm the Kengo Kuma team the commission, with the curators’ new approach at the heart of the layout. The distinctive wood-paneled museum with interwoven spiralling spaces launched to much acclaim in 2021. “Our goal was to create a space where we don’t talk about the author, but we speak in the manner of the storyteller: with humour, satire and viewpoint,” explains the expert. The outdoor spaces embrace this concept: “It’s a garden for wanderers and for colossal creatures, it's created to give you a sense of smallness,” he notes, a challenge realized by clever planting, experimenting with elevation, size and numerous twisting trails in a surprisingly compact space.

Andersen's Impact

He authored multiple memoirs and regularly contradicted himself. HC Andersens Hus embraces this concept fully; often the perspectives of his acquaintances or fragments of letters are shown to subtly challenge the author’s own version of incidents. “Andersen is the storyteller, but he’s not reliable,” explains the representative. The effect is a compelling whirlwind tour of his personal story and work, thought processes and best-loved narratives. It is stimulating and playful, for mature visitors and children, with a additional underground imaginary world, the pretend town, for the youngest visitors.

Visiting the Town

In the real world, the compact town of the municipality is charming, with cobbled streets and traditional Danish homes painted in vibrant hues. The author's presence is ubiquitous: the road indicators show the storyteller with his distinctive characteristic hat, brass footprints provide a free pedestrian route, and there’s a outdoor exhibition too. Annually in August this dedication culminates with the annual storytelling event, which celebrates the author’s legacy through art, performance, theatre and music.

Recently, the week-long event had hundreds of events, the majority were without charge. As I explore Odense, I meet painted stilt-walkers, spooky creatures and an Andersen lookalike telling stories. I hear feminist spoken-word pieces and witness an amazing late-night performance with athletic artists lowering from the municipal structure and hanging from a mechanical arm. Upcoming events during the season are presentations, hands-on activities and, expanding the narrative tradition further than the writer, the city’s regular wonder event.

Each wonderful enchanted locations deserve a castle, and this region contains 123 castles and estates across the island

Cycling and Exploration

Similar to much of the country, bicycles are the ideal method to navigate in Odense and a “bike path” meanders through the urban core. Starting at my accommodation, I cycle to the public port-side aquatic facility, then out of town for a loop around the nearby islet, a small island linked by a road to the larger island. City residents have outdoor meals here after work, or enjoy a tranquil moment fishing, paddleboarding or swimming.

Back in Odense, I eat at Restaurant Under Lindetræet, where the menu is based on the writer's motifs and narratives. The poem Denmark, My Native Land is featured at the restaurant, and proprietor the restaurateur shares excerpts, translated into English, as he presents each course. Such encounters frequent in my days in the city, the island inhabitants enjoy storytelling and it appears storytelling is continuously on the menu here.

Manor House Visits

All good enchanted locations require a fortress, and this region boasts numerous historic homes and manor houses throughout the region. Taking day trips from the city, I tour the historic fortress, Europe’s best-preserved Renaissance water castle. Despite parts are accessible to the public, this historic site is also the private residence of the noble family and his partner, the princess. I wonder if she might sense a pea through a pile of {mattresses