I had the chance to visit the Hans Christian Andersen Museum in Odense, Denmark a few days ago and was surprised to see this coil of rope on display.

Andersen wrote Thumbelina, the Snow Queen, the Emperor’s New Clothes and more than 150 other fairy tales and stories. And while he loved to travel and is credited with that pithy “To travel is to live” quote, he also evidently harbored some serious fears about perishing in a fire while on the road.

Andersen’s solution?

He always traveled with this rope in case he needed a fire escape.

Crazy? Maybe. But it probably gave him some peace of mind.

And you? What do you always take along when you travel?