Saying hello to the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen

by Sonali Dutta

Iconic of Denmark, this surprisingly small statue is a must-visit on your first visit to the city. Sculptor Edvard Eriksen’s statue has the mermaid staring out to see while sitting on a rock during her transformation into human form. It seems to be compulsory for tourists to make a pilgrimage to see her, so on a sunny April day I made my way to visit.

The Little Mermaid by Edvard Eriksen

Han Christian Andersen’s original tale is a lot darker than the Disneyfied version of the tale – the mermaid (spoiler alert) dies at the end instead of living happily ever after. The prince in the original story marries someone else and, unable to kill him in order to return to her mermaid form, our heroine perishes.