Travel — Memoir
Living a Fairytale in Odense
Soaring through the magical city with Hans Christian Andersen
“To move, to breathe, to fly, to float,
To gain all while you give,
To roam the roads of lands remote,
To travel is to live.”— Hans Christian Andersen
After a long flight from India, I arrived at the Odense train station from Copenhagen. With a direct connection, I was at the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen in 1.5 hours! I felt instantly charged as I whiffed magic in the air! The city center was a short walk from the train station, and my apartment was a stone’s throw from the center. Always a light traveler, I started walking. Just passing through the old town allowed me to breathe in the air of fairy tales.
“Most of the people who will walk after me will be children, so make the beat keep time with short steps.” — Hans Christian Andersen
The google map guided me through the cobbled streets of Andersen’s childhood until I discovered Eventyrhaven (The Fairytale Garden) with trimmed hedgerows, pergolas, and bridges! Nearby, there was a trail of fairytale sculptures inspired by Andersen. A bronze statue of the writer welcomed me by the Odense River before walking past sculptures of a paper boat, wild swans, and a sea horse. I finally reached my apartment, which overlooked the beautiful fairytale garden. The place was charming, surrounded by books, and a perfect journaling retreat for me.
“Enjoy life. There’s plenty of time to be dead.” ― Hans Christian Andersen
I headed to the ‘Restaurant Under Lindetræet’ for an early dinner. Odense is a perfect expression of a make-believe city, with witch’s-hat steeples, crooked streets, pastel-colored townhouses, a snow-white palace, and gardens. Thumbelina, the one-legged tin soldier, the wild swans, the flying trunk—I could spot most of Andersen’s fairytale references in this town until I reached my destination. I had refreshed my memory, brushing up on his stories on the flight. The connections were even more potent!
Housed in an old building across a cobblestoned road from HC Andersen’s house, the ‘Restaurant Under Lindetræet’ emitted a ‘Babette’s Feast’ charm. A delightful little place with many period details served a three-course danish traditional menu with a modern twist. The flavor of the salmon was distinct. The fantastic wine pairing deserves mention. Each course was explained to me by the lovely server. After a gratifying evening, I returned to my abode, all excited to visit the HC Andersen’s museum the next day.
H.C. Andersen House, a museum dedicated to the author’s life, is designed by the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma. I booked my ticket in advance. With most of the museum’s space below ground, I put on a pair of headsets and began walking down the sloping spiral ramp pausing in galleries dedicated to different aspects of the author’s life and his stories. The underground museum has a garden and a lake built on top of it. As I looked up, I watched the sky through the blue waters and the people walking around the garden, like ‘The Little Mermaid!’ I lay on the pillows on the floor and heard the mermaid’s sisters tell me when they were up there the first time in my ears. Mind-bending interactives and ambisonic sound poured through my audio guide—I just had to lean closer to an object to hear it talk!
What I loved about the museum is that it left a lot to our imagination. It is much more about how we tell things and interpret them. There is a section on Andersen’s unrequited love life — all the objects from his failed relationships telling very different stories as if they were the story’s protagonists. The young Andersen often said, he was too poor to find a match. Though later in his life, he wrote, ‘The Butterfly’, who cannot decide which flower to choose before it’s too late. One needs to reflect and interpret. If one has experienced heartbreak, that is what one would give as a reason for Andersen’s relationship failure. He becomes a mirror for deciphering our own life.
In the fairytale section, a heartfelt experience is ‘The Little Match Girl’, an impoverished, abused girl who freezes to death on the street on New Year’s Eve. Every time I pressed the golden button, she lit a match to see the luminous visions of warm rooms, abundant food, and her loving grandmother. I was so moved by the images that I couldn’t stop pressing the button to give ‘The Little Match Girl’ more hope! There was a fun experience about Andersen’s dark tale ‘The Shadow’; one can play with their shadow, which initially behaves normally, but abruptly stops and does the opposite. So, ‘The Shadow’ is nothing at first — only a shadow, until it later develops into the antagonist like the story! The final part of the fairytale section touched me the most; it is said to be the writer’s autobiography, ‘The Ugly Duckling’ — an existential story, it was for us to interpret if we have ever felt the odd one out or felt alone. A tearjerker.
Each experience in the museum has such deep stories and so many layers to them. Everything I thought I knew, I experienced anew! I felt more profound and richer after spending 4 hours in the museum and the garden. I exited the museum through a tiny room, said to be the writer’s birthplace. It is connected to his childhood home with the physical footprints that let me walk in Andersen’s footsteps around the city from one location to the other.
Too consumed with this unforgettable rendezvous with Hans Christian Andersen, I dropped the idea of going to any other museum after this marvelous one. Instead, I went to Munke Mose Park, grabbed a sandwich and coffee from Nelle’s, and followed all the sculptures to identify the characters. The city is indeed an atlas of Andersen’s imaginary characters.
It was time to catch the train to Billund. My fairytale was short-lived. One should spend at least a week in this magical city. But I’d surely be back to this beautiful world of H.C Andersen.
The parting lines that’d stay with me forever —
Myself
Impetuosity
To be happy
Do not entertain sorrow or give
it a chance to remain with
you throughout your life.
© Manali Mitra 2022. All Rights Reserved.
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