Out of Africa: an account of living in glorious Kenya by famous author Karen Blixen, adapted into a movie starring Robert Redford in 1985. Visit the location that inspired this Oscar sweeping movie in Kenya at the Karen Blixen museum in Nairobi. In 1914, Karen Blixen moved to Kenya with her husband and Swedish cousin, Baron Bror von Blixen-Finecke, where they developed a coffee plantation. Initially the couple found happiness away from the hustle and bustle of European cities. As Blixen wrote: "Here at long last one was in a position not to give a damn for all conventions, here was a new kind of freedom which until then one had only found in dreams!" Visit the Karen Blixen Museum in Kenya to experience the Kenya of Old that inspired the movie: this is Karen Blixen's original house in Kenya and the location where the movie Out of Africa was shot.
In 1916 womanizing husband, Bror contracted and spread syphilis to Karen. Separation in 1921 was followed by divorce in 1925, as the couple's blissful escape to Kenya slowly became a nightmare for Blixen. Blixen then met and fell in love with English big game hunter, Denys Finch Halton. Blixen had two miscarriages, adding to her woes. Blixen's new husband, Halton, subsequently died in a light aircraft accident and the coffee plantation failed as a result of the world-wide depression after the Wall Street Crash of 1929. Situated at the foot of the Ngong Hills, the Karen Blixen Museum dates back to 1914 at the start of the World War in Europe. The private residence of Blixen was repossessed by the Danish government and the filming of the famous Oscar sweeping film Out of Africa, began in 1985.
Today, the museum has attracted visitors from all over the world, including adoring fans of Robert Redford, and those with a taste for colonial history. The Karen Blixen Museum rests within 6,000 acres of unspoiled forest, with only 600 acres developed as coffee plantation. The museum transports visitors back to the colonial period, reconstructing the lives of those who inhabited this region of Kenya, with original antique furniture and a re-constructed colonial coffee factory. the Karen Blixen also serves as a wonderful venue for including private parties, research and visitation. The museum is also filled with unique artifacts including Meryl Streep's boots and a bed that was a gift from Universal Studios.