Out of Africa
Meryl Streep gave her a face in the movie, but it were Karen Blixen's own words in her books 'Letters from Africa', 'Shadows in the Grass' and 'Out of Africa' that made her famous. Her house is now a museum in the suburb of Karen in Nairobi.
Karen's house, now a museum
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View of the Ngong hills behind the house |
Baroness Karen Blixen moved to Africa in 1914. At the foot of Ngong hills, she established herself as a farmer. After her departure in 1931 the suburbs retained the commemorative home of Karen.
At independence, the Danish government donated the house and the surrounding land to Kenya. The house was restored by the Danish government and was used during the filming of 'Out of Africa'. The museum was opened to the public in 1986.
The house built in 1910 has a red tile roof and mellow wood paneling in the rooms. When Baroness Karen Blixen bought the property in 1917, it had 6,000 acres of land but only 600 acres were developed for growing coffee, the rest was retained under natural forest.
Coffee is grown near the house
Rear view of the red-tiled house
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It is not allowed to take photos inside the museum but this postcard will give some idea of its interior |
Much of the original furniture is on display in the house. The aim here is to take an individual back in time and provide a visual impression of settler life in Kenya.
Surprisingly, the manor is larger than I had expected. And it's cool inside, despite the hot sun that burns twelve hours a day on its roof. We take a short walk through the gardens; the sheer size of the various cacti and agaves awes us. The agaves are taller than myself; a cactus of the kind that might decorate a window sill back home grows five, six meters high without effort.
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