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PICS OF KAREN BLIXEN NATIONAL MUSEUM
As part of our tour of Nairobi, we visited the Karen Blixen National Museum in the suburb of Karen (named after Karen Melchoir, Karen Blixen’s cousin). Karen Blixen settled in the Ngong Hills in 1914 (ngong means "knuckles" in Swahali; which is what
the hills looked like!). She came with her husband, Baron Bror Blixen, to establish a coffee farm.
Her experiences, and her love affair with Denys Finch Hatton, inspired the book "Out of Africa," which she wrote under the pen name Isak Dinesen. In her book she expresses her love for the Ngong Hills, "that had not its like in all the world."
Karen’s book was made into the academy award winning 1985 film “Out of Africa,” starring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep. We visited the colonial farmhouse where she lived until 1931, and where much of the action of her book takes place. She left Africa penniless after a series of personal tragedies and never came back. The property and the adjacent agricultural college were presented to the Kenyan government as independence by the Danish government.
The house is beautiful. It was built in 1910, and it has a red tile roof and square mahogany paneled rooms. It has been restored to its original appearance with much of the original furniture on display. The kitchen has been restored, with a Dove Stove similar to the one used by Karen on display, as well as all her kitchen utensils.
The gardens have also been laid out as they originally were and are quite spectacular to see. Nearby there used to be a fake-1920’s Nairobi that was built for the shooting of “Out of Africa,” but the government tore it down shortly after filming ended.
Jeff and I received an excellent tour of the house. It lasted about 30 minutes and was extremely informative. I highly recommend seeing the film right before you go to Kenya as it will really bring this house to life when you visit it. The guide will make many comparisons between the book, film, and how life really was for Karen. This is a definite must see!
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Copyright © 2002, Dawn M. Dalton.
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