I often get that question.

Many times it is from books. Sometimes a film. For example, the film Out of Africa was a huge inspiration for me doing the Maasai Expedition back in 2000. I bought the whole romanticized idea behind the film, the book by Karen Blixen. And sometimes, it is a bit of a fluke. Like for example, last time Hannah came to visit me, she sat next to a Hungarian chef on the airplane who plied his trade at the Karen Blixens House and Museum in Rungstedlund in Denmark, an hour from where I live. So Hannah wanted to go there. And yesterday we did, in pouring rain.

Karen Blixen, also known by her pen name Isak Dinesen, was a Danish author born on April 17, 1885, and best known for her memoir “Out of Africa,” which recounts her experiences running a coffee plantation in Kenya.

We had seen half of the movie the evening before when we arrived at the house. Even though it still thrills me, this time in life I can see the way she turned Kenya into an “erotic dreamland” where white settlers are romanticized, and her view of Africans is paternalistic at its best. But being in love with Hannah, it is easy to forget that reality. I have been at the place where Denis Finch-Hatton has his grave in the movie. Not where it is in reality. I have been to Karen Blixen’s house in the Karen district outside Nairobi a few times. It does create dreams, even though I am well aware of the colonial disaster for Africa.

Karen Blixen was indeed an interesting personality, but also incredibly complicated. That is the most fascinating aspect of the visit. Knowing that all humans are really complicated.

The house is for sure worth a visit. And since it is Scandinavia a lot of emphasis is put on shoe covers not to soil the floors. Another paternalistic view of life…..

And it makes your thoughts wonder and dream. And it is great to be with someone who can dream too and see future possibilities.