Karen Blixen: Out of Africa and into the heart of Copenhagen

In the movie, Out of Africa, Meryl Streep perfectly portrays how Africa, and Kenya in particular, changes Karen Blixen over the seventeen years that she lived there. Blixen, so inherently and elegantly Danish on her arrival in Africa was transformed from her European aristocratic roots into the beautiful African memsahib, who embraced everything that Africa threw at her, and in the end fell in love with the people, landscapes and animals of the Dark Continent.

In 2014, the same can be said of the Karen Blixen suite (Room # 201) at Denmark’s iconic Hotel d’Angleterre, one of the finest hotels in Scandinavia, which recently reopened its doors after a three-year process that saw a full renovation, refurbishment and beautification of every inch of the Copenhagen landmark.

Inspired by historical Danish authors and artists, Hotel d’Angleterre also re-launched with a collection of suites paying homage to Hans Christian Andersen, Bertel Thorvaldsen, and Karen Blixen. The Karen Blixen Suite pays homage to the time Blixen spent on her farm at the foot of the Ngong Hills, by bringing elegant touches of her beloved Kenya into the heart of Copenhagen. D’Angleterre’s Karen Blixen Suite features an African motif, with photos of Blixen throughout. In one photo, Blixen kneels triumphantly over a lion that she shot on the plains of Africa. Authentically Danish in elegance and African in spirit, the Blixen suite is one of the most popular guest rooms at Hotel d’Angleterre.

The Karen Blixen Suite nails Out of Africa-chic with its Edwardian-style net curtains, zebra-inspired chair covers, and a leopard-printed sofa. Its corner location in the historic hotel not only gives the suite a lovely view over Kongens Nytorv (the King’s Square), but also allows for constant light to shine through its windows, echoing the constant play of sunlight on Africa’s great plains …

And if you get the chance, the Karen Blixen Museum, situated in Rungsted, where Blixen was born and where she died, is a worthwhile half-day excursion from Copenhagen’s city centre.