A LITERARY DAY TRIP TO KAREN BLIXEN’S MUSEUM & HAMLET’S CASTLE IN DENMARK
By Barbara Redding
Visiting Karen Blixen’s coffee plantation in Kenya has been a dream of mine since I first read the author’s lyrical prose about her unconventional life in Africa.
That experience remains on my wish list. But on a recent trip to Denmark, I found the next best option: her childhood estate in Rungsted on the coast north of Copenhagen that is now the Karen Blixen Museum. On the same day, I also explored the nearby Kronborg Castle, the inspiration for Elsinore in William Shakespeare’s play, “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.”
The two visits blended literature, history, and Denmark’s stunning coastline into one memorable day trip from Copenhagen.
ON BIG BLEND RADIO: Award-winning travel writer Barbara Redding takes us on a literary journey through Denmark, exploring the Karen Blixen Museum and Kronborg Castle, the real-life setting for Hamlet. Tune in for an enriching blend of travel, history, and literature. Watch here in the YouTube player or download the episode on Podbean.
Train Follows Scenic Øresund Strait
The coastal train from Copenhagen to the town of Rungsted follows the Øresund Strait, the narrow body of water separating Denmark from Sweden. Rain streaked the windows during our 30-minute ride as the busy city streets gradually gave way to leafy seaside towns and mist-shrouded harbors. I had hoped for sunshine, but the weather somehow matched the melancholy mood of both Hamlet and Blixen’s tempestuous life.
The author, born Karen Dinesen in 1885, grew up on the estate, known as Rungstedlund. After spending 17 years in Africa, she returned there and became a writer using the pen name Isak Dinesen. She is best known for her memoir “Out of Africa,” which was made into an Academy Award-winning movie in 1985 starring Meryl Streep and the late Robert Redford. She also authored other books and numerous essays that led to her recognition as one of Denmark’s literary giants, alongside Hans Christian Andersen, recognized worldwide for his beloved fairy tales.
The rain slowed to a drizzle as we disembarked in Rungsted. My travel companion and I walked along a one-mile trail, guided by stakes bearing a caricature of Blixen. A canopy of trees covered the well-trodden path that winds through the 40-acre estate, which includes a sanctuary for hundreds of birds such as green-backed tits, kestrels, and tawny owls.
Orchards and Flower Gardens Welcome Visitors
Flower gardens, lilac bushes, and budding fruit trees spread out as the trail reaches a tranquil pond behind the house. Muddy shoes and damp hair aside, the stroll was a lovely introduction to her world.
The white two-story house, where she was born and where she lived after returning from Africa, became a museum in 1991. Inside, thoughtfully curated exhibits document different phases of her life. The first section chronicles her early years at Rungsted, with pictures of her childhood and young adulthood. Early sketchbooks and paintings reveal her lifelong passion for art in all forms.
Photographs and memorabilia recount her ill-fated marriage to her cousin, Swedish nobleman Baron Bror von Blixen-Finecke, and their adventurous move to Africa. They managed a coffee plantation outside Nairobi, then part of British colonial East Africa.
Exhibits Chronicle Blixen’s Life
The museum’s exhibits chronicle her life as a woman who challenged societal expectations in Africa and later in Denmark, where she became a revered storyteller. She was nominated twice for the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Artifacts on display—a paintbox, portraits she created, and editions of her books translated into many languages—underscore her creative reach. They also document the collapse of her life in Africa: her divorce and her romance with British big-game hunter Denys Finch Hatton. His death in a plane crash coincided with the failure of the coffee farm, forcing her return to Denmark, heartbroken, financially ruined, and in ill health in 1931.
Writing provided new life as Blixen settled back into her childhood home with her mother. Her breakthrough first book, “Seven Gothic Tales,” launched her career as an author at the age of 48 in 1934. Her memoir, “Out of Africa,” followed in 1937, recounting in languorous detail what life was like on the coffee farm.
Blixen’s Flowers Fill the House
Viewing her home, just as she had left it, is inspirational. Large windows overlook the gardens she adored, while vases of fresh flowers on tabletops continue her tradition. African artifacts line the walls: Masai spears, shields, drums, carved masks, and hunting rifles that belonged to Finch Hatton. Seeing her writing desk, I could almost imagine her drafting the next story.
Though Blixen never returned to Africa, she spent decades recounting her African experiences on paper and during her many radio talks and interviews at Rungstedlund. Unconventional and plagued with health problems, she reportedly lived on oysters, Champagne, and painkillers until she died in 1962 in her bedroom.
Before leaving, we devoured Danish open-faced sandwiches, known as smørrebrød, in the museum’s airy café, named after her long-time cook. On the walk back to the train station, I paused at her grave beneath a 300-year-old beech tree.
Kronborg Castle Dominates the Strait of Øresund
Back on the train, we caught glimpses of the sea on the ride to Helsingør. Thankfully, the rain had cleared as we strolled from the ornate station along the harbor, watching ferries plying the strait known as the Gateway to the Baltic Sea.
Ahead, we could see the golden spires and green copper-clad roofs crowning Kronborg Castle, one of Northern Europe’s greatest Renaissance fortresses and immortalized as Elsinore in “Hamlet.”
A Danish king built the castle in the 15th century at the narrowest point between what is now Denmark and Sweden. By extracting tolls from ships traversing the Baltic, Kronborg brought immense wealth and power to Denmark. Helsingør, once one of Europe’s most prosperous towns, is now a UNESCO World Heritage site, drawing history and castle lovers and Shakespeare fans alike.
Castle Is a Symbol of Danish Power
The castle remains a symbol of Danish ambition. Its deep moat, sandstone walls, towers, and sea-battered ramparts appear untouched by time. Tales of the castle’s size and opulence likely reached London, inspiring Shakespeare to set his famous dramatic play there. In the fortress he called Elsinore, the prince of Denmark took revenge against his uncle for murdering his father and marrying his mother. Hamlet also dies, and his spirit is said to roam the hallways of Kronborg.
Each summer, actors perform “Hamlet” in the courtyard. Though our visit didn’t coincide with the play dates, strolling the echoing halls and elaborate banquet rooms felt like stepping into the pages of a Shakespeare play.
Guided tours delve deeper into the castle’s history and myths. One legend says Holger the Dane, a stone warrior hidden deep inside the castle, will awaken to defend Denmark if the country is ever threatened. Mystery lingers over whether Shakespeare himself ever visited the fortress.
We enjoyed sweeping views across the sea to Sweden before taking the long way back to the train station through Helsingør. As we strolled its cobbled streets and admired its medieval buildings, I wished we had more time to linger before heading back to Copenhagen.
If You Go
– Getting There: Trains from Copenhagen Central Station reach Rungsted Kyst in about 25 minutes and Helsingør in 45 minutes. Both stops are on the coastal line.
– Tickets: The Copenhagen Card covers train travel as well as entry to both the Karen Blixen Museum and Kronborg Castle.
– Museum Hours: The Karen Blixen Museum is open Tuesday–Sunday, with extended hours in summer. Kronborg Castle is open daily year-round, though hours vary by season.
– Tip: Wear good walking shoes if you take the wooded trail to Blixen’s estate and allow time to stop at the café and walk through the gardens before continuing north to Helsingør. Be prepared for a 20-minute walk from the Helsingør train station to Kronborg Castle.
Barbara Redding is a freelance travel writer based in Austin, Texas. A retired journalist, she loves to explore new destinations and revisit familiar places. She’s written about finding the largest statue of Jesus in Poland, a Hindu wedding in India, snorkeling in Cuba’s Bay of Pigs, and tiptoeing through tulips in Keukenhof Gardens in the Netherlands. An award-winning writer, Barbara’s travel stories appear in Travel Weekly, TravelWeekly.com, Food Wine Travel Magazine, Live in Italy Magazine, Rovology, and Travel By Vacation Rental. Read her articles on www.BarbaraRedding.com and social media sites Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
