This was probably the place I was most looking forward to on our trip and it didn’t disappoint. Odense was our first stop in Denmark, and we definitely felt the sense of different-ness to home which is what we always seek as we travel.
Odense’s main claim to fame is that it was the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen, the writer of The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina, The Ugly Duckling and countless more fairytales we all grew up with. He was also a poet, playwright and artist. There are so many ways to connect with the stories, and the man himself, that you could easily fill day or more.
HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN’S CHILDHOOD HOME
A great way to set the scene is to start your day with a visit to the tiny, unassuming house Andersen lived in as a child, along with two other families. It’s a brief experience but interesting nevertheless, and puts him into context: you can see why he strived for more from life!
There’s a beautiful and peaceful garden at the back of the house although it wouldn’t have been a garden when Andersen lived there.
Key information: entry is free if you’ve bought admission to H.C. Andersen’s Hus – which you’re going to want to – otherwise it’s 75 DKK / £9 / €10; small gift shop and toilets on site.
H.C. ANDERSEN’S HUS
This is possibly THE best museum we’ve ever been to, certainly the best one aimed at children and those still young at heart!
Ten of Andersen’s stories had their own areas in the museum, and are each brought to life in an innovative, interactive and creative way. Every corner you turn brings a new gasp of amazement and the children were engaged in its magic from start to finish.
There’s a more informative section to the museum too, mainly chronicling Andersen’s life story. You might think that this would cause the kids to switch off, but an incredibly accessible audio guide and the well-presented artefacts and displays meant even Tiny (aged 2.5) listened and followed along with enthusiasm. As an adult, the audio guide and additional written information were fascinating, especially with the mentions of other famous historical figures who were woven through Andersen’s life.
On the top floor of the museum, there’s a craft workshop full of high-quality resources for families to independently make papercuts, collages, paintings, papier-mache and sketchbooks, all inspired by Hans Christian Andersen. As we would discover throughout our trip, because formal education starts later in Denmark, children and their parents are confident and keen to engage in all sorts of self-led learning and creative projects. And society trusts them to get on with it. There were no employees there at all yet everyone tidied up, shared and behaved considerately!
And the final piece of the museum’s puzzle was the role play area – Ville Vau. It was INCREDIBLE! We’ve role play centres at home but this was next level. The props were of great quality (nothing plastic in sight) and all light-weight and presented at child-height in multiples. The costumes and accessories were plentiful, in every size, and clearly made specifically for the museum as they were so unique and beautiful – you could be a peasant, an owl, a court jester, a princess, a swan, a knight, a cockchafer, a knight, a butterfly… the list goes on! And the zones to play in were so imaginative too: a bakery, a two-storey castle, a boat, a hair salon, a post office, a wicker teepee… too many to list. The low light and ambient music also removed the complete sensory overload of many similar places. Honestly, our girls could have spent the entire day in there!
I took far more video than photos during the visit…
Key information: tickets are 175 DKK / £19 / €22 for adults and free for under 18s and you need to book a timeslot; small strollers are available to borrow but large ones must be checked in; the building itself is very interesting and worth admiring from outside; there was a café but there were also a few tables near the Ville Vau where you could eat a picnic; great gift shop.
ODENSE’S GREEN SPACES
Odense also has a wonderful amount of green space too. There’s a map of all the parks and play spaces along the river which you could spend a full sunny day following.
Eventyrhaven (The Fairy Tale Garden) is a central park behind the Cathedral and City Hall featuring a Hans Christian Andersen statues as well as a playground and this whimsical structure.
FAIRYTALE STREETS OF ODENSE
A wander over the cobblestones, around the street art and squares, seeing the churches and houses in the sunshine is lovely if you have the time and energy. The bottom right yellow building is where Hans Christian Andersen went to school although, apparently, he would have preferred to attend a better one! You’ll also spot this Hans Christian Andersen mural.
There are plenty of great places to eat too but it’s pricey! Two pitta meals from a fast-food place set us back £30! Delicious though!
Odense was just one stop in our 2.5 week road trip from Derbyshire (UK) to Copenhagen in Denmark. The full itinerary, using our own car, is below. I’ll come back and link in future blog posts as I write them. It was overall a great trip but, if we’d had more time, we’d have broken up or spread out the long travel days, perhaps adding an extra day on our way north and possibly again on our return leg. The kids were fine with the duration of the journeys (they’re used to long trips down to Cornwall) but the days were just a bit too long and intense for Dean as driver.
Day 1: home to Folkestone for our LeShuttle crossing; drive to Bailleul, France (or similar for 1 night) (a long travel day but broken up so it didn’t feel too bad)
Day 2: long travel day #1 – breakfast in France, lunch in Belgium at Chateau d’Hélécine (free bouncy castles and amazing playgrounds next to a lake and café) and dinner in Germany (stay 2 nights in Weilerswist or similar or stay in Cologne if preferred)
GERMANY
Day 3: visit Cologne
Day 4: long travel day #2 – Cologne to Fleckby (or similar for 1 night) via Bremen Rhododendron Park (playgrounds, walks and a pricey/busy café so maybe bring a picnic)
DENMARK
Day 5: travel to Svendborg (4 nights) and visit Odense
Day 6: visit Aero island by passenger ferry
Day 7: visit Egeskov Castle
Day 8: visit Langeland island (self-drive tour)
Day 9: visit Sagnlandt Lejre (Land of Legends) then travel to Roskilde (or similar or stay in Copenhagen if preferred for 2 nights)
Day 10: visit Copenhagen
Day 11: visit Lisleje Beach; travel to Askeby (or similar for 2 nights)
Day 12: visit Mon island (self-drive tour)
Day 13: long travel day #3 – Askeby to Lubeck (2 nights) via a stop in Heiligenhafen Pier
GERMANY
Day 14: visit Lubeck
Day 15: long travel day #4 – Lubeck to Oberhausen (or similar for 1 night) via a stop in Celle
BELGIUM
Day 16: visit Ghent, Belgium (stay 2 nights in Wingene or similar or in Ghent/Bruges if preferred)
Day 17: visit Bruges
Day 18: Bruges to home
world wandering wonderings 