Finding Andersen: from his birthplace to the funeral church

I worship Andersen. Sometimes, I call myself Jessie Anderson.  I always like stories that are short but powerful with poetic language and  insights. Some of his stories may be too obvious with moral lessons, but some pieces like Little Mermaid are winged with bitter truth that could fly through times and touch hearts of different generations. I took a four-day trip to Denmark to find Anderson. I wanted to walk around the places where he walked, and if lucky, I could pick up some inspirations that he might have left behind.

I know some writers are not lovable, and Andersen was with no doubt one of them. People have already known that he was not good looking, or he was vain (always formally dressed and posed his profile for portraits). I wasn't surprised that he didn't like children or he tried to cover his humble beginning.  Here I want to give you a less-known part of Andersen.

Artistic Andersen:

 Can you believe this tiny little paper rock chair came from his big hands? Anderson was good with paper cutting, but this one shows us how crafty he was.

 He liked to draw. These sketches showed his potential to be a painter, totally self-taught, hey, like me.

 Looks like a modern art? If you look closely, you can find it is a matrix where Andersen stretched letters in an artistic way.

Ink drawing? I did that a lot when I was in primary school. I squeezed color paints and then folded the paper to make symmetric patterns. It was fun because you'd never know what the pattern would look like  until you open the paper.







Awkward Andersen:

 This 185cm tall and lanky man had a dream to be a ballet dancer. See my feet are only half of his size. I can only laugh when I imagine him move awkwardly on the stage with his long legs and arms getting in the way.

 He had been paranoid about fire breaking up in tall buildings. This is the rope he always brought when traveling. He reckoned he could save himself by throwing the rope down and climbing himself to safety.

He Stayed with Charles Dickens for more than 5 weeks, having no sense that he was not really welcome there. What worse was he later wrote something about the Dickens, which was considered private and inappropriate. Dickens cut off the communication, which Andersen had absolutely no clue why.





Anderson in comics

 It's fun to see people portrait him differently.

 Andersen's ugliness has become a distinctive feature. See this sculpture set up in his home town.

 Young Andersen and his patron, the one who supported him for better education to become a better writer. But imagine he went to school at 17 with other 14 years-old boys? Embarrassing.

 He looked so young, shy, and reserved.

 This picture reveals a lonely childhood so much that you just want to sit beside him.
















      In Copenhagen : Glory and Death  :  


In this flat in Nyhavn, he created many of his famous fairy tales. I've found a small cafe named after him at the first floor. I saw they decorated the entrance with his tall hat. Unfortunately, it was closed. Looks like the name "Andersen" did not bring much business.

  The inside of the flat. It was said that Anderson always sat by the windows, watching people passing by. The flat is vey close to the theater where he worked. I trailed along the path to the theater, imagining him going to work, picking up inspirations along the way. 

 Cathedral of Our Lady, the church that held Andersen's funeral. Here, he bore the final farewell to the people.

 Inside of the Church.

 At the right hand side of the entrance, I saw this neon-lighted message. Immediately I feel God's love and warmth.

Like Anderson, I love The Lord, too. I couldn't believe the blessings that have been given to me. He created Andersen; he created me. I don't know whether I could be as influential as Andersen, but I do believe that I have my calling, and I'm fulfilling it.