Hans Christian Andersen, danish

Hans Christian Andersen was already quite famous when he came to Portugal to visit some childhood friends. The trip inspired him to write a book as wonderful as his fairy tales, which to this day continue to delight children and adults all over the world. Below are some extracts.

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It was in Copenhagen as a young boy that Hans Christian Andersen got to know José and Jorge O’Neill, whose father was the Portuguese Consul in Denmark. In 1866, when he was already 61 years old, he came to Portugal to visit Jorge O’Neill, who lived in Quinta do Pinheiro on the outskirts of Lisbon, and who also had a beautiful house near Palmela. During his visit, Andersen also went to Coimbra and fell in love with Sintra.

“There was only a short stretch of railway line between Madrid and the Portuguese border to be completed. The king of Portugal had used the line recently but it wasn’t open to the public yet, and people said it wasn’t likely to be before the Paris Exhibition the following spring. The quickest way for me to get from Madrid to Lisbon would be to take the mail coach, which goes every evening with letters and small packages.”

“(…) What a change there is when you enter Portugal from Spain! It’s like leaving the Middle Ages and coming into the present.”

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Quinta do Pinheiro

“(…) Finally we turned off a narrow street with walls to either side and started going up a steep and difficult path, which led to an ancient and isolated country house on one of the highest points. It was called ‘Pinheiro’, or Pinietraeet in Danish (…) When I arrived the flowers in the garden were still in bloom. There were lots of roses and fire-coloured geraniums, as well as creepers similar to the ones in our forests and passionflowers hanging like great carpets over the walls and bushes. The white flowers of the elder and the red flowers of the pomegranate trees combined to form the Danish colours (…) How full of charm this country is!”

In Lisbon

“Between the Convent and Lisbon, but nearer the city, there is a hill with a broad view over the Tejo River, where one of the capital’s largest cemeteries, Alto de São João, is located.”

“(…) I didn’t see the biggest cemetery, which is called ‘Prazeres’. This means Fornøielse in Danish and plasir in French. It almost makes you think it was a humorist who named the place.”

“(…) From all the descriptions of Lisbon I had come across, I formed a picture of the city in my mind’s eye. However, in reality the city turned out to be much more luminous and beautiful.”

“(…) Now the streets are wide and clean and the houses comfortable, their walls decorated with blue and white tiles; the doors and bay windows are painted green or red.”

“(…) The public promenade, a long, narrow garden in the middle of the city, is illuminated by gaslight at night and concerts are held there. The trees are in full-bloom and give off a strong scent; it’s as though you are in a spice shop or a confectioner’s where vanilla ice-cream is being prepared and served.”

“(…) The opera-house was closed while I was in Lisbon. The ‘Prince’ circus, where short operas and operettas were performed, as well as the Teatro de Dona Maria II, were the most popular venues. The latter isn’t very big, but it’s a beautiful building, adorned with pillars and statues, and it overlooks a square with trees and an elegant mosaic patterned pavement. A bit further on is the wide Rua do Ouro, where you’ll find countless jewellery shops displaying gold chains, medals and other splendours. This street leads to Praça do Comércio, the largest square in the city, which extends to the paved banks of the Tejo River, where the ships are anchored.”

“(…) A monument to Camões is going to be erected in the highest and most frequented part of the city. The square already has trees and flowers. I don’t know what the monument will be like; however, his work will always be his best memorial. It is by that work, rather than by any battles or bloody conquests that Portugal is remembered and exalted by generations all around the world.

Setúbal and Palmela

“(…) We went by carriage from Jorge O’Neill’s country house to Lisbon, a half-hour journey. We then immediately boarded the steamer which takes passengers across the Tejo River to the railway line on the south bank. The river is as wide as a large lake, meaning the steamer takes almost an hour to make the crossing.”

“(…) As we sailed further out, the outline of the city became clearer, looking like enormous waves of houses and palaces. The south bank, where we were headed, was dotted with convents, fortifications and pine forests on its slopes.” “(…) The region at the foot of the Serra da Palmela is more picturesque. Soon ahead is Setúbal, the St Ubes of the English, where endless orange groves cover the whole valley between Palmela, São Luís and the Serra da Arrábida out towards the sea.”

“(…) It got dark earlier in the orange grove. Darkness crept through the trees, and the leaves seemed to form an enormous velvet cloth, on which delightfully twinkling fireflies settled. Lights shone in the white houses of Setúbal. (…) All this beauty could never be reproduced in a painting or described in words.”

“(…) The carriage was waiting for us, and so too were the newspapers, which we started reading with great interest in order to find out what was happening in the world. (…) While blood was being shed and death rattles were being heard in other countries, peace reigned over Portugal, a country far from those dangers. And I felt and enjoyed that tranquility, that beauty and peace.”

In Coimbra

“(…) Coimbra is situated on a hill, its streets one above the other. (…) There are lots of shops of all types, especially bookshops. You see students everywhere …you often hear the sound of guitars and serenades …”

“(…) From the convent and the church the streets lead up to the university, a large building which occupies the highest part of the city. Up there, one of the gates of the crumbling castle walls gives access to the Botanical Garden, which is rich in flowers and rare trees.”

“(…) Then I saw the grand chapel, the throne room and the library, which is decorated in rococo style, with magnificent arches, gilding and painted ceilings. The librarian showed me several rare editions of Os Lusíadas illustrated with beautiful copper engravings.”

“(…) In the Quinta das Lágrimas (Quinta of Tears) as Camões and the people call the place where Inês was killed, the large cypress trees next to the fountain of love looked like marshal’s batons wrapped in crepe in front of the palace, the sarcophagus of memories.”

In Sintra

“(…) The most beautiful and celebrated part of Portugal is undoubtedly Sintra. Byron named it ‘The new paradise’. The Portuguese poet Garrett sings ‘Here Spring has its throne’. We were headed there now.”

“(…) It is said that every foreigner can find something of his homeland in Sintra. I found Denmark there.”

“There was a tremendous variety and exuberance in the landscape. There was laurel with its dark red fruit, geraniums growing in great bushes and fuchsia the size of trees.”

“D. Fernando’s summer palace is different, more beautiful and picturesque. It is built high up and overlooks the whole region.

“(…) The way up to the top of the hill is a garden where nature and art complement each other wonderfully. It’s the most beautiful walk imaginable.”

The farewell

“(…) We went down to the harbour where the captain’s launch was waiting and we took our seats.”

“ (..) after breakfast it was time to say goodbye. Jorge O’Neill joked and smiled but I felt sad. I wondered if we would ever meet again and I was sure that I would never visit this faraway and beautiful country again, where I had felt so well and at home.”

“When, God willing, I am once again walking

Among the beech trees in my homeland,

My thoughts will often return

To the beautiful country that is Portugal.”

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by Paula Ribeiro

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