Essays in Andersen's hometown

In Northern Europe, although Denmark is the smallest country, its per capita GNP ranks among the top in the world. In fact, for foreign tourists, it is more because Denmark is the hometown of fairy tale writer Andersen. Andersen's literary works are precious treasures of world literature, and make Denmark famous as the "fairy tale kingdom".

Many cities in the world take magnificent buildings as their symbols, but the symbol of Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, is a little mermaid statue. When driving to the entrance of the port of Longerini and looking at the beauty of the mermaid sitting alone in the port, a kind of almost trembling joy surged in my heart. I really don't know why, when a childhood dream came true many years later, there was a trace of inexplicable disappointment besides joy.

I know that this sadness stems from the story itself. In Andersen's Daughter of the Sea, a story is told: In order to pursue love and happiness, the "mermaid" exchanged a dose of medicine for a witch with her tongue and became a human form. She fell in love with a prince, but the prince finally married a woman on earth. The witch told her that as long as she killed the prince and let the prince's blood flow on her leg, she could restore the fish shape, return to the bottom of the sea and live a carefree life as a daughter of the sea again. But the "mermaid" didn't do this for the prince she loved. On the contrary, on the day of the prince's wedding, she threw herself into the sea and turned into a bubble. Danes admire the noble sentiment of "Mermaid" and regard it as a symbol of Danish spirit.

Approaching "Mermaid", I found that this bronze statue is 1.61 meters high, the size of a real person. The graceful "mermaid" sits alone on a brown rock by the sea, with a fishtail, shy and serene, looking at the sea with a thoughtful look, revealing the innocent beauty of a girl. Since the bronze statue was completed, the image of "Mermaid" has not only won the love of Danes, but also won the love of people all over the world. Anyone who visits Denmark must come here to see the moving style of "Mermaid". According to a Danish friend, it is precisely because of its great fame that the bronze statue of "Mermaid" was "disintegrated" three times. Fortunately, the sculptor's mold was still preserved, which enabled the statue to be restored.

With reverence for "Mermaid" and nostalgia for Andersen, we paid a visit to Andersen's former residence. The former residence is located on a quiet street, and the simple conjoined villa looks unassuming. The furnishings in the house seem to be more humble, just a bed, a table and a chair. There is a set of Andersen's Fairy Tales neatly on the table. In this house, Andersen lived for decades, and he wrote more than 16 fairy tales in his life. Smelling the book, I seem to see Andersen sitting and writing fairy tales, so I hold my breath and be careful, for fear that my careless expression and movements will disturb the master's writing.

Andersen experienced a rough time. He was down and out in his later years and never married. He suffered too many satires, criticisms and blows. However, he was deeply remembered by children because he created many simple and lovely fairy tale characters. Speaking of Andersen, Danes always look proud. In the eyes of Danes, Andersen is not only a writer, but also a milestone. There are statues of Andersen everywhere in the south side of Copenhagen City Hall, the king's back garden, and the river where Andersen's mother used to wash clothes. However, what impressed me deeply was the bronze statue of Andersen about 3 meters high in the south side of Copenhagen City Hall. He wore a gentleman's top hat popular in the 18th century, a cane in his left hand, a book in his right hand, pages separated by his forefinger, his head slightly raised to the left and looked forward. Behind him is the famous "Andersen Street". Because people often take pictures here and can't help touching his hands, knees and even trousers and shoes, these places seem a little white, and I think tourists always want to "contaminate" some masters' aura.

As a "Nordic Paris", "Garden City" and "Mermaid's Hometown", although you come from a foreign country, you clearly feel at home in Denmark. In Copenhagen, tourists can choose a bicycle as a means of transportation, find a bicycle station by the roadside and the hotel, plug in a 2 kroner coin and open the chain to lend a brand-new bicycle. There is a traffic map of Copenhagen in the basket in front of the car, so they don't have to worry about getting lost wherever they go. For Danes, the distance between the most powerful people and the least powerful people is very small. This is a very equal society. On weekends, the Queen often walks quietly into the church with only two attendants to pray. In Denmark, the boss will never ask the secretary to pour water. If he does, the secretary will probably pour water on his face. It seems that Denmark attaches great importance to mutual respect, however, mutual respect is not unconditional. The famous writer Chen Shixu wrote in his travel notes: "Danes like to mind their own business. You are fishing, and some irrelevant people will come over. You think they're here to entertain you, but in fact they're here to see your fish bucket. If the fish you catch don't meet the standards stipulated by law, he will ask you to put them back into the water. And don't just talk about it, but always supervise it until you fully meet their requirements. Birds are forbidden in Denmark, but its bird food market is large and prosperous. People bought bird food and hung it in their own yards for the birds in nature. " ..... Is it fair to say that? This is a well-educated country, and it is education that gives birth to a relaxed, peaceful and harmonious society.