Travel and Adventure by Various Travel Authors

"I have one free day in Copenhagen and I want to do a Hans Christian Andersen tour," I said to the concierge at my hotel. He gave me a look that I couldn't interpret; it either said "Ah, a common request," or "Why would a grown man want to do such a tour?"

He told me a tour group would be gathering the next morning at the Tourist Information office and I should go along. It sounded like a great idea, so the next morning I arrived at the Tourist Office only to find it closed. That was a Sunday and there was to be no tour group. I was suddenly in an Andersen scenario of unmet expectations.

What would any plucky Andersen hero, or heroine, do? What would the Ugly Duckling or the Little Mermaid do? Why, of course, they would beat on against their ill fortune and overcome. It was a pleasant day, I had two strong legs and a desire to crisscross the city finding remnants of Copenhagen's most favorite son. Yes, I could do it.

Hans Christian Andersen, a writer of some of the world's most beloved fairy tales, from "The Little Mermaid" and "The Ugly Duckling" to "Thumbelina" and "The Little Match Girl" to "The Princess and the Pea" and "The Emperor's New Clothes," was born in Odense, Denmark, in 1805. When he was 14, Anderson came to Copenhagen to make his name.

Much of Andersen's Copenhagen remains. To travel in his footsteps is a pleasant way to see the heart of the city. My hotel was near the train station, so my first stop was the Tivoli Gardens, just the next street away. I was in Copenhagen in winter so the "world's oldest amusement park" was close, but I walked along the perimeter, speculating on Andersen's fascination for what I could clearly see was a, charming place for children of all ages.

There are a couple of well-quoted stories about Andersen and the Tivoli. The first says that it spurred his creative enthusiasm and inspired him to write "The Nightingale" fairytale. According to an entry Andersen's diary, the fairytale about the "Emperor of China" and the bird that saved his life, "began in Tivoli," which at the time had Chinese motifs.

The second story is funnier and unlike a fairy tale. After he was famous, Andersen visited a pavilion in the garden that featured a bawdy cabaret. When the dancers and singers realized the well-known writer was in their midst, they began directing their risque songs at him. As my guidebook noted, "he fled in horror."

There is an old, brick building next to the gardens called the HC Andersen house and it is now home the wax museum. Across what is now HC Andersen Boulevard are a couple of things to note: the grand old City Hall (Radhus); the busy plaza, a venue for many events including concerts; and beside the great hall, a statue of Andersen, himself. Perhaps the oddest thing in proximity to the Radhus is a small, delightful, if not childlike, exhibition called The Wonderful World Of Hans Christian Andersen. It shares the same space as the Ripley's Believe It Or Not and if both are of interest, you can double up your tourism

Basically, a poor man's Disneyana, the WWofHCA offers a bit of history, a few tableau of the more famous stories and then some artifacts and facsimiles. The main concept is you can hear the stories, look at the tableau and perhaps gain a greater understanding as to what Andersen was thinking.

The walk through doesn't take long and is in a corny way, a lot of educational fun.

The statue by the Radhus shows Andersen in his 18th century garb of opera hat, long coat and walking stick. He's looking off into the distance, perhaps, at the dancing girls of the Tivoli.

The more famous statue of Andersen can be located in the King's Gardens. The tall bronze on marble podium is sited in a botanical semi-enclosure. Andersen is seated, but leaning forward with one hand raised as if he is telling one of his famous fairytales.

Andersen grew up in poverty. Basically, his home was little more than the workroom for his father, a shoemaker. About his only joy was a toy marionette theatre, which truly might have been the object that spurred his creative imaginings. When Andersen came to Copenhagen he thought his future was to be theatrical, a ballet dancer or opera performer. He worked at the Royal Theater, which today is a beautifully imposing structure and still a venue for theatrical productions of all sorts.

A short walking distance from the theatre can be found the Nyhavn neighborhood where Andersen lived. Like Andersen's tales, some things improve with time. That is certainly the case with Nyhavn, which evolved along a picturesque canal filled with boats, some modern, some sailing, some old and wooden. Along the canal runs a string of restaurants and cafes, almost all with outdoor seating.

If you have made it this far, you have seen most of the Andersen sights in the center of Copenhagen. However, you have not seen the most famous. To do that, walk past Nyhavn, through the Amalienborg Palace plaza (make a quick note of the royal guardsmen in traditional dress) and finally back along the shore. Go through Churchill Park, make note to stop later at the Museum of Danish Resistance on the way back, go past the grounds of the old fortress and there along water already attracting a crowd is the most famous statue in Denmark, that of Andersen's Little Mermaid, sitting demurely, nakedly and wistfully alone on a rock.

For those of us too old to remember the original story, "The Little Mermaid" is a bittersweet tale with an oddly religious backdrop about a mermaid who saves a prince and falls in love. She takes human form but in the end realizes her hopelessness as the prince will love not her but another. She sacrifices herself for the sake of the prince and in doing so earns her immortal soul.

Although alone on a rock, the Little Mermaid is almost never alone. It is perhaps, the most popular site in Copenhagen.

IF YOU GO

Accommodations: There are many outstanding and classic hotels in the center of Copenhagen. I stayed at the Marriott, which sits along the banks of one of Copenhagen's grand canals, just a few minutes walk from the Tivoli and the train station, the arrival point for most visitors.

The Wonderful World of Hans Christian Andersen has an inexpensive fee. All other sites are free unless you take in a production at the Royal Theatre or eat in a Nyhavn cafe.

Steve Bergsman is a freelance travel writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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