Description: The real life home of Karen Blixen is a national treasure located in the Nairobi suburb of Karen. The house that she lived in back in the early 20th century had fallen into significant disrepair but was renovated by the movie production company for the Oscar award winning film "Out of Africa" starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. Today, the house sits at the foot of the Ngong Hills as it did nearly 100 years ago, open to the public on a guided basis (no photography inside, however).
Many of the original furnishings are back in the home, while others were created for the movie as reproductions. The guided tour lasts about 20 minutes and covers each of the rooms of the single level dwelling. Some aspects of the tour related to the movie production to include the clothing worn by Streep and Redford, but it is mostly a chronicling of Blixen's life as a baroness in a loveless marriage, her attempt to grow coffee in a climate not suited for such, and her love affair with Englishman Denis Finch Hatton.
Some of the original photos and portraits throughout are a bit on the startling side when you consider the timeless beauty of Streep and the real-life tragedy that Blixen endured that included contracting and being treated for syphilis given her by her cheating spouse. A chronic chain smoker who had to use arsenic for the syphilis, Blixen was clearly aged beyond her years. She died back "home" in Denmark at the age of 77.
On the day of my visit, there was heavy cloud cover, so I could not see the Ngong Hills that Blixen immortalized with the words "I had a farm in Africa at the foot of the Ngong Hills." That said, there was a peaceful tranquility throughout the grounds, which are significantly reduced from the scope of the original property lines encompassing over 6,000 acres.
The museum/house is open daily 9:30a to 6:00p and admission fee is 800KSH or $10 cash. More information may be found on their website: http://www.museums.or.ke/content/blogcategory/13/19/ .
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