Holidays should be magical and full of memories. Some can also be right out of a fairytale, as Europesure’s travel tips team discovered when seeking out perfect places to visit on Tell a Fairytale Day, on February 26. Discover the selection and find out how comprehensive travel insurance can prevent a fairy-tale vacation becoming a nightmare.
Think of fairytales and the name Hans Christian Andersen will not be far from your mind. But did you know that the author of classics including the Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Pea and The Ugly Duckling, was born in Odense in Denmark? As a result, making a bee-line for Odense makes perfect sense.
A comprehensive exploration of Odense
The author was born in Hans Jensens Stræde but his early-19th-century family home was a tiny, 18-square-metre, yellow-coloured house in Munkemøllestræde, in the centre of Odense, near to the Cathedral and river. This property, now open to the public, offers great insight into the impoverished life young Hans led between the ages of 2 and 14. The back garden is full of flowers mentioned in his works.
A more modern tribute can be found in the Hans Christian Andersen House in Odense’s historic quarter. Here, an immersive experience sprinkles the magic into his story and speaks like the author, rather than talking about him. Wearing headsets, you can interact with the installations around you and have Andersen’s universe brought to life in the most thrilling way. The Hans Christian Andersen Garden at the museum allows you to explore the magic amidst outdoor greenery. And, if that’s not enough, head to Ville Vau to explore an adventure land, play oases, rooms with fantastic costumes and props and even a witch and potions!
In Odense’s Fairy Tale Garden, you will discover a statue of Hans, whilst if modern art is more your thing, head to Bangs Boder No. 26 to discover a 12-metre high mural by street artist, Don John. Sculptures from Hans’s fairytales also delight in Munkemose Park and throughout the streets of the city you will find characters such as Thumbelina and a one-legged Tin Soldier. You can also buy what are said to be Hans’s favourite raspberry biscuits, hindbærsnitte, all over town. In August, don’t miss the Hans Christian Andersen Festival.
Odense has much to offer, with its medieval area lying east of the city centre, brimming with courtyards, old merchant houses, passageways and the colourful Nedergade, where half-timbered houses tell the stories of the past. If you take the steep Paaskestraede, it will lead you to Odense river, where history is kept alive through the preservation of the old laundry spot, where Andersen’s mother would work in her role as a laundrywoman. If you want a past-meets-present experience then enjoy the farmers market held every Wednesday and Saturday in Sortebrødre Tort.
Fairy-tale details in Copenhagen
Of course, if it’s Denmark’s capital you wish to explore, you will also find tributes to the country’s fairy-tale son there. Andersen lived in three different houses in the harbour area of Nyhavn and number 20 is now a museum dedicated to his life and works. Statues to the author can be discovered in both the King’s Garden, Copenhagen and in Town Hall Square.
You will also see tour boats along the canals of Nyhavn named after Andersen stories and might well be tempted to jump onboard The Tinsoldaten. However, the main Andersen attraction in Copenhagen is undoubtedly the world-renowned statue of The Little Mermaid, gifted by Carlsberg’s Carl Jacobsen. Visitors flock from around the world to photograph this sculpture, located at Langelinie Promenade, in the inner harbour area.
Germany’s Fairytale Road
If it is Germany you fancy exploring, did you realise there is a Fairytale Road comprising more than 60 towns and regions? If you take the 600km route, starting at Buxtehude in the north and ending at Hanau east of Frankfurt, you will discover much about German fairytales and legends. The route includes areas such as Little Red Riding Hood Country and takes the visitor to key locations, often included in the works of the Brothers Grimm.
One of these is Bremen, where the story of the Town Musicians is inescapable. Motifs of the four animals are everywhere you look and in the much-loved Town Musician’s statue, close to the main square. There, luck is supposed to be imparted to those rubbing the donkey’s feet. Here, you can also see the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Town Hall and the imposing statue of Roland. If you seek out a grid on the far side of the square, you can drop a coin in and hear one of the animal noises associated with the Town Musicians! Listen to a podcast about Bremen here.
If you want more, Puss in Boots welcomes visitors at the entrance to the small mountain village of Talle. Head to the village centre and you will also find the Frog King on the fountain’s edge. Do keep eyes peeled for Rumpelstiltskin too, as you tour around or take one of the fairytale walks.
In Alsfeld, there is a Fairy Tale House, home to one of the most important collection of dolls houses in Germany. Gieselwerder tells the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in abstract form, with the characters carved in stone. Puss in Boots reappears in Oedelsheim museum car park. Meanwhile, in Heilberg Heiligenstadt there is a Fairytale Park and fairytale festival on the first Sunday in July. The whole 600km trail is full of such make-believe.
Visiting Kassel
The pinnacle for those on the trail of German fairytales has to be a visit to Kassel, where the Grimms resided for many years, collecting and revising more than 200 fairytales. At the Grimm World Museum (Grimmwelt), you can learn about both their fairytales and linguistic work, as you explore 25 modular exhibition areas, moving from A to Z in terms of Grimm knowledge, in a most comprehensive way.
Kassel has much more to offer too, with the UNESCO World Heritage Wilhelmshöhe Mountain Park and glorious English garden, complete with 350m baroque cascade. You can explore, the fine rococo Wilhelmshöhe Palace, Löwenburg Castle and rose garden, the German Wallpaper Museum and Fridericianum, one of the oldest public museums in Europe. There is also the chance to see Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s famous elephant, at the Natural History Museum, and above the town you will find the Greek demi-god, Hercules, presented as an imposing 70-metre-high figure.
Visiting Sleeping Beauty’s Castle
But if there’s only one fairytale for you, and that is Sleeping Beauty, you need to say ‘bonjour’ to Le Château d’Ussé in the Loire Valley. This is the privately owned castle that inspired Charles Perrault and became his Sleeping Beauty castle. With lakes, fountains, orangery and stables, this castle, close to Azay-le-Rideau, Chinon and Villandry, is all a castle should be. Added to that, you can solve clues left around the château on a fairytale treasure hunt and also find Princess Aurora, Prince Charming and the evil fairy, Carabosse, in the dungeon. Open every day from mid-February to mid-November, the castle is a must for adults and children alike.
Whichever of these fairy-tale locations you choose, do not be caught off-guard by thinking you do not need comprehensive travel insurance, just because they are in Europe. A health card, be it the EHIC or GHIC, will only provide healthcare in state facilities, on the same basis that local citizens enjoy. Any private treatment or costs for private ambulances or facilities will not be covered.
Additionally, if you needed emergency medical repatriation back to your home country, none of the associated eyewatering costs would be covered, whether you travelled by air, boat or plane. No fairy godmother can save you from huge financial outlay, unless you have a comprehensive single trip or annual travel insurance policy to cover it.
The moral of the tale, something included in every good fairytale, is to make sure you always purchase comprehensive travel insurance, for every trip, and do so as soon as you book your flights and accommodation, so as to immediately gain cancellation benefits. Head to https://www.europesuretravelinsurance.com to buy your single trip or annual policy today and get that comprehensive travel insurance policy packed and ready to go.
