Day 44. Architecture, Part 2: Churches.

The grand cathedrals of Europe often marked the dawning or even the apex of a particular architectural era. Notre Dame de Paris is a temple to the gothic, Rome's Church of the Gesù to the Baroque, Imperial Russia's Smolny Cathedral to the Rococo. Churches are simply the best indicators of architectural standards before, say, World War I, because money and talent flowed to these projects.

The same can be said for the churches of Denmark. I've already included a few churches, including one from Amager, a traditional stave church and Grundtvigs Kirke, all of which have unique character. Even when conforming to period-specific architectural forms, the Danes made their churches distinctly Danish.

The corkscrew spire of Vor Frelsers Kirke, Copenhagen, Baroque

St. Albans Kirke, Odense, Neogothic

Days 30 and 31. Half-timbers.

Though they're more common in smaller towns, Danish half-timbered buildings do still exist in Copenhagen. Spotting one in the middle of a modern city, with cars and buses buzzing past, always reminds me of when somebody superimposes an old photograph on a present day scene. Spatially, the buildings fit, but they're entirely anachronistic with their sagging frames and bright colors.

central Copenhagen

Odense

near Christianshavn, Copenhagen

Day 21. Front lawns.

Front lawns as Americans know them hardly exist in Denmark. The homes themselves instead often act as personal gardens, with English climbing roses, thick ivy, or tidy flower boxes adding flashes of color to an already charming picture. It's easy to stop and smell the roses when they spill onto the sidewalks.

Day 13. Odense.

I ventured west for the first time, making it to the island of Fyn. I took the train to Denmark's third-largest city, Odense. First of all, any town named after Odin - essentially the Zeus of Norse mythology and the father of Thor - is automatically a winner in my book.

In reality, Odense should be called 'Andersenville,' given its  obsession with native son, Hans Christian Andersen. The author of The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling and so many other famous works was born in Odense. Andersen grew up in grinding poverty, the son of a struggling, single alcoholic mother. By the end of his rich life, Andersen had written 212 fairy tales, 51 theater works, several books and thousands of notes. Born a pauper, he died while earning a "national treasure" stipend provided by the Danish crown, and he received a state funeral in Copenhagen.

I visited the Hans Christian Andersen Museum in Odense, which includes the house in which he was born and a series of rooms detailing his life, complete with daguerreotype portraits and hundreds of his drawings, notes and paper cuttings. My favorite part may have been the quotes scattered around: "To travel is to live," "My life will be the best illustration of all my work," and so on.

The birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen, now a museum

Along the same street. H.C.A.'s house is the small yellow one with the visible chimney