Odense - A Saturday Celebration

Odense, a Saturday in August, on the island of Funen, the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen. Two hours of late afternoon in a city in celebration, where the pedestrian street is covered with hats and stilt walkers come out in costume.

A cyclist passing the brick facade of the First Hotel Grand, Odense — Odense

The brick centre.

In Odense, everything is brick: the ornate facade of the First Hotel Grand, a stepped gable, red walls against which logs have been stacked and where a woman has sat down. On a terrace, behind the hydrangeas, an elderly man enjoys the sun, alone.

A pedestrian street under hundreds of hanging top hats, Odense — Odense

Under the hats.

In the pedestrian street, hundreds of pink, white and black top hats float above the passers-by, like a nod to the city’s storyteller. In the nearby lanes, sunflowers hang in garlands, the terraces are full, and a small courtyard hides behind a mural.

A stilt walker dressed as a giant flower, arms raised, Odense — Odense

The stilt walkers.

That Saturday, the city is celebrating. Under a banner, stilt walkers dressed as a giant flower and a green grasshopper greet the children. A little further on, two trams wait side by side at the foot of a church spire.

A cobbled street lined with low pink, red and yellow houses, Odense — Odense

The old quarter.

In the old quarter, low pink, red and yellow houses line the cobbled streets, with their painted doors and their rose bushes. A park opens its gravel paths, and on a square, a giant flower blooms above a fountain.

A young woman in a blue tutu, a can in hand, Odense — Odense

The party goes on.

Late in the afternoon, costumes take over the pavements: a young woman in a blue tutu and knee socks, a passer-by in a neon outfit in front of a banner, and on a tattooed arm, Little My from the Moomins. Odense celebrates at street level.