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00:00Here she lies, Denmark's greatest writer, Karne Leksten.
00:12She died after a long, violent and adventurous life, and is resting here in the park at the orphanage in Rundstedt Lund.
00:20Before she became the literary superstar we know today, she lived in Kenya for 17 years as a coffee farmer and large farmer.
00:28Down in Africa, she pursued the meaning of life, freedom and love.
00:33But she fell to the ground and lost it all.
00:36But just that cocktail of defeat that almost stood in line, and then on the other side met with Kenya's beautiful nature and people.
00:44Yes, it is with that fuel that she has since driven her famous writing.
00:49So welcome to the story about Karne Leksten, which is just the biggest.
00:56There are many ways to recognize the truth.
01:00And Bourgogne is one of them, said Karne Leksten.
01:04One of them is called it, I swear. One of them.
01:11I flew to Kenya, which at the time of Karne Leksten was part of British East Africa.
01:17Welcome to Karne Leksten's farm.
01:19Should I put on a sail?
01:21You should be able to get out in a hurry.
01:24And here I will experience the beautiful and lush nature of the country.
01:27I know an owner of a smelter in Denmark, it's called Pumpe.
01:30I meet the population that Karne Leksten takes to his heart.
01:41And that beautiful heritage, there are still Danes who are trying to lift.
01:45Now we need a long, long gin and tonic.
01:47Yes.
01:48Cheers to that.
01:50Hold on, man.
01:54This is real.
02:10You need Botox also.
02:16Do you talk about the men?
02:24Hitler's powerful Atlantic people.
02:27There are not many war heroes here.
02:29This is one of the biggest here.
02:31Esbjerg, are you with?
02:33Because the world is full of places that impress when you try to see.
02:37Yes, as in different ways, just feels bigger.
02:42The Carpathian Mountains
02:51I had a farm in Africa at the foot of the mountain once.
02:57In the middle of the day you could probably feel it as if you were high up and close to the sun.
03:01But afternoon and evening were clear and faint and the nights were cold.
03:06I had a farm in Africa.
03:13These are the first words in the most famous book by Karin Blixen, The African Farm.
03:18And it was right here, outside Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.
03:22Today, the fields are divided into a well-off neighborhood,
03:25but the head office, where Karin lived, is fortunately still here.
03:31And today, it's a museum.
03:37Hi! It must be Tove.
03:39I have agreed to meet Tove, who was involved in starting the museum back in the 80s.
03:44Welcome to Karin Blixen's farm.
03:47I can hear a little German in your dialect.
03:49I come from Randers.
03:50From Randers?
03:51Yes.
03:52And I'm from Rye, so that's a little...
03:53Yes, that's close.
03:54Well, thank you for coming here.
03:56It's a crazy story with Karin.
03:59It's a crazy story.
04:01The Blixen people live off their people in Africa.
04:04I'm one of them.
04:06You heard me.
04:07Karin Blixen came from a well-off family that was a little out of the ordinary.
04:12Karin forbade his father, Wilhelm A. Dinesen,
04:15who was already a famous war hero, writer, and not least an adventurer.
04:21The wars had also left deep marks on him,
04:24and when Karin was only 10 years old, he committed suicide.
04:29Already as a young woman, Karin was a wild and reckless soul like his father.
04:34But there were great limitations to how life as a woman could form in Denmark
04:39in the early 1900s.
04:42How in the world did Karin Blixen find out that she had to go down to Kenya,
04:46or what was called British East Africa, at that time?
04:49She just wanted to go out and experience something with her bare hands.
04:52She didn't go to school. She was allowed to go to school.
04:54She was taught at home.
04:55Coming to the art academy was almost a mega fight,
04:59but she got what she wanted, because she couldn't perform.
05:03She's a fighter.
05:06When Karin was 24, she fell in love with her first great love of her life,
05:12Baron Hans von Blixen.
05:14Unfortunately, the love was not reciprocated,
05:17and instead she left with his twin brother Blixen,
05:20who was also a real adventure.
05:24As I see it, they both had something to offer each other.
05:27Karin Blixen had money, and her brother had a title.
05:30Baron.
05:31She got the Baroness title, and he had no worries about how to pay
05:36for the things he wanted to know.
05:38And with Karin's family fortune behind them, they sailed to Kenya.
05:42They got married and set off to start a coffee farm.
05:47Shall we go inside?
05:48Yes.
05:49Then we'll also get into the shade.
05:52We're going into Karin Blixen's living room.
05:55So this is the original living room?
05:57This is the original living room.
06:03Is this where the great, fine dinners were eaten?
06:06This is where the Prince of Wales came for dinner.
06:08The late Edward VIII?
06:10Yes.
06:11Then we enter Karin Blixen's bedroom,
06:13and this is where she spent a large part of her time.
06:17In the beginning, she suffered from various diseases.
06:20Dysentery, hygiene...
06:22And then, unfortunately, she got syphilis
06:24the first year she was in Kenya.
06:26Female syphilis, yes.
06:27Like she got from her husband, brother Blixen.
06:30Yes.
06:31I mean, her start sounds pretty scary here in Kenya.
06:34Yes.
06:35There were many things that were also positive.
06:37Like she said, now I'm where I'm supposed to be.
06:39Everything was exciting.
06:41Then it was hunting, and she was allowed to try shooting lions.
06:45And all the romance about the life of a safari,
06:47which we all love.
06:51But life as a coffee farmer
06:53would soon turn out to be an endless battle,
06:55where the challenges stood in line.
07:00Is this part of the old coffee factory?
07:03Yes.
07:04There were grasshoppers that came, unfortunately.
07:07And then there was frost at night,
07:09and then it was ruined.
07:11And then there was no rain, and then it was ruined.
07:14So there was actually...
07:16Yes.
07:17One year where coffee can survive.
07:19At the same time, Karen's marriage to her brother was ruined,
07:22and they were separated in 1921.
07:25She started a stormy love affair
07:28with the British gentleman and big shot
07:30Dennis Finch-Hatton,
07:32but he was not interested in either the marriage or the farm.
07:35So when her brother left,
07:37it was for Alva and her that the boss was on the spot,
07:40and for the many employees.
07:42She was perhaps the only one,
07:44or at least one of the few directors,
07:46from such a large company,
07:48on the whole plot.
07:49I can't think of anyone else,
07:51but they had the power over all that.
07:54And the women had hardly the same rights
07:56as they got in 1915.
07:58I think that's the craziest thing,
08:00that when she came into a bank,
08:02they guaranteed to say,
08:04where is your water?
08:05Let's talk about Mr. Blixen.
08:07Today, there is a tendency to try
08:09to fit into the current political correctness.
08:14You don't need that with Karin Blixen.
08:16She is Vogue before anyone else
08:19knew what it was about.
08:21How could Karin Blixen go on and on,
08:24year after year,
08:25where there were no surpluses,
08:27there were surpluses through Vogue.
08:28How could she go on?
08:30That's actually what I ask myself all the time.
08:32I don't get it, that she didn't give up.
08:35Apart from the fact that the money came from home,
08:38every time she sent a message home,
08:40it was to get more money.
08:42As Tom Buscinti calculated,
08:44they spent 100 million kroner
08:46for that adventure.
08:48100 million kroner.
08:49That's a lot of money.
08:51Maybe we are at that, as she says,
08:54to be human, I must be free.
08:56And only in Africa can I be completely and entirely free.
08:59Absolutely.
09:00Maybe it was that simple.
09:02That's why she didn't want to go home.
09:04But it wasn't on the farm
09:06that Karin felt free.
09:08It was out on the savannah,
09:10when she was on a safari.
09:12And that is my next goal on the journey.
09:14When I have just solved
09:16an incredible game,
09:18Packet Tetris.
09:19We have to meet this one.
09:23We have to go almost 300 kilometers
09:25to Masamara, Sledden.
09:27And you can only have 8 kilos with you
09:30if you want to fly.
09:32I'll just say from the start,
09:34I'm sorry, Trine, my wife at home.
09:36You have been struggling,
09:38putting together and organizing.
09:40There is always
09:42and forever.
09:44But now I'm going to make it big.
09:47Underpants.
09:49If I saw a black mamba
09:51or a giant elephant,
09:52I would have
09:53one extra shitting pants with me.
09:56Socks.
09:58The iPad.
09:59And Kikkers.
10:00A safari without Kikkers
10:02and Kikkers is like champagne without bubbles.
10:05Trance.
10:06So I have Kikkers with me.
10:10When you have 8 kilos,
10:12do you need a beauty box?
10:14Yes, I do.
10:15Because I have to be pretty and graceful.
10:17So here is everything
10:19I need.
10:20It will probably show up in the afternoon
10:22that I forgot something,
10:23but we'll see.
10:25Good.
10:26I'll just pack it up
10:27and then we're ready.
10:29What a nice country night.
10:31Weather and climate and all that.
10:33Yeah.
10:34What do you think about Karen Blixton?
10:36Was she good or was she bad?
10:38She was good.
10:39Good?
10:40She was helping people out here.
10:42She left a legacy.
10:44She left a legacy that we are still enjoying.
10:47Yeah.
10:50You can see those years
10:52and we are still having her name.
10:55Yeah.
10:56Yes.
10:57The area is called Karen?
10:59Yes.
11:00This area, the whole area is Karen.
11:03So do you think that Karen was nicer
11:07than the other colonial people?
11:10She was.
11:11She was?
11:12She was.
11:13Okay.
11:14But she was a rich lady from the north.
11:16You can't compare her to the rest of the...
11:19Okay.
11:20Thank you very much.
11:21You're welcome.
11:22Thank you very much.
11:26Hello.
11:27Masai Mara is one of Africa's largest wild reservoirs.
11:31And it was in that area that Karen Blixton went on a safari.
11:35XL, I don't even think that's enough.
11:38You can't complain about that.
11:44Isn't it just about which way it turns?
11:48It is.
11:51Hello.
11:53Masai Mara.
11:57It's good that you're not so far from nature.
12:16Let's see.
12:18Hi Jesper.
12:19Hi.
12:20Welcome.
12:22Jesper is the safari leader in the Karen Blixton camp
12:25where I'm going to sleep tonight.
12:27It's amazing.
12:28I'm blown away.
12:29Are you excited?
12:30Yes.
12:31And there's a bit of a rainbow over him.
12:33So I'm confident that he's going to drive me to the camp
12:36and take me on a safari tomorrow.
12:38The most impressive thing is that I just texted my daughters
12:41and sent pictures.
12:42It's 4G on the phone out here.
12:44It's better than where I live in Denmark.
12:46I can't call anyone 500 meters from my house
12:48because the signal is gone.
12:49And here.
12:50There are so many masts around.
12:52Hold on.
12:53I'm far from Ry and thank God for that.
12:56Hello.
12:57Hi.
12:58Do you need a sail?
13:00You have to be able to get out at one speed.
13:03It's a 45-minute drive to the camp
13:06owned by the Danish billionaire and adventurer Carsten Rehn.
13:13But where in the colonial era rich white men owned the land,
13:17it now belongs to the local population
13:19who rent it out on long-term contracts
13:21to, among other things, safari camps.
13:27Is that a welcome committee?
13:29Yes.
13:30Is it like that every time?
13:31It's normal.
13:32It's not like that on TV2?
13:33No, it's not.
13:34Hi, hello.
13:35Jumbo.
13:36Hey, Solomon.
13:37You say Jumbo as well?
13:38Jumbo.
13:39Jumbo.
13:40Oh, sorry.
13:41Sorry.
13:42Hi, hello.
13:43Solomon, welcome.
13:44My name is Peter.
13:45Thank you very much.
13:46Is that the Mara River?
13:49I'm told you see it still.
13:54It's just like in a movie.
13:55This is real.
13:56It's real.
13:57We have our resident hippos, which you'll be able to see.
13:59When you look at the other side, you'll see some hippos there.
14:02The other side of the river, we have hippopotamuses.
14:04And we also get to see other animals like giraffes, buffaloes,
14:08elephants just coming down here to drink water.
14:11It's the first time in my life I've seen hippos in their real environment.
14:16They get as close as here.
14:17So in the night, sometimes you'll find some just coming very close here.
14:23We are going to give you a bell.
14:24So we'll use the cowbell to call for security
14:26any time you're in the tent to the main areas.
14:28So if you want to leave your tent and it is dark,
14:30you must be escorted from the tent to the main areas.
14:34What a service.
14:35So at night, no walking alone.
14:37I think I'll stay in my tent, but thank you for the service.
14:40You're welcome.
14:44Yeah.
14:46Holy shit, man.
14:49Carnblixen Camp is like a five-star hotel with a bathroom,
14:54restaurant and everything a man with a bad breath could wish for.
14:58Holy shit.
14:59A magical place.
15:01And it is with respect for the fact that the animals were here first.
15:04So we have the whistle and this is for emergency.
15:08Only for emergency, yes.
15:10And the security must be at the top.
15:12Because there is no entrance around the camp.
15:15And then you can risk being prevented from jumping into the pool
15:18if a leopard has chosen to take a sunbath just that day.
15:37Good morning.
15:40Are there any lions?
15:42No, just a few.
15:44When you lie down to sleep and can hear all this noise outside,
15:48you think you know where you are.
15:52But the leopard next to you is like ...
15:54Yeah, look at that, man.
15:57As I said, it's five o'clock and we're going out on a morning journey
16:00to see the sun rise and hopefully see a whole lot of animals.
16:13Good morning.
16:15Did you sleep well?
16:16Yes, thank you.
16:17A fantastic sound, right?
16:19Yes.
16:20And when I wake up, I look up for the first time and go out on the terrace
16:24and it's just completely dark.
16:26Again, without a dream, I just think, is there something out here?
16:29And it does.
16:31You shouldn't say that.
16:33When Karin Bliksen went on safari in the 1900s,
16:36it was either on horseback or on foot,
16:39and she was often away for several weeks.
16:43Sometimes with a crew of more than 100 helpers,
16:46other times it was just her and her brother who took the savannah.
16:56Out on safari, I have seen a lot of animals,
17:00Out on safari, I have seen a buffalo yacht
17:03of 129 come out of the morning train under a colorful sky.
17:08I have seen an elephant yacht on a hike through dense jungle.
17:12I have often seen the giraffes move across the slopes
17:15with their magical, incomparable, vegetative gracefulness,
17:19as if it were not a flock of animals,
17:21but a family of rare, high-stemmed, pointed, huge flowers,
17:25as they wrote.
17:29Now the sun is starting to come through.
17:31For Karin Bliksen, trophy hunting is inextricably linked
17:34to being on safari.
17:36What is this little one? It's a jackal.
17:38Is it a jackal? Yes.
17:40Today, however, I am only able to move it with a camera.
17:43Can you hear it?
17:45Yes. What is it?
17:47I would have said, it can't be a hippopotamus.
17:50No, it's something with teeth.
17:52Is it a lion? Yes. Cool.
18:00Right up here.
18:02It's standing out here.
18:04Can you see it?
18:06You get permission to look at it.
18:09Yes.
18:13It's a fine one.
18:15Shut up, it's a fine one.
18:17I'm sorry.
18:19This is what we call a honeymoon party.
18:21It's a dog that has turned brown.
18:24Cats need to be stimulated to ovulate,
18:29to get this egg solution.
18:31So she has to be paired continuously for several days.
18:35So there will be pairings every 20 minutes.
18:38Every 20 minutes?
18:40No.
18:42She is clearly brown.
18:44Then it's one of the many.
18:4620 minutes.
18:48Can you shut up?
18:51That was seven seconds.
18:53And it won't take any longer.
18:55No, it won't either.
18:57No, she says no.
18:59Thanks for that.
19:01Imagine if women, after seven seconds,
19:03looked so satisfied.
19:05You know what?
19:07We'll say 20 minutes.
19:09That's almost inhuman.
19:11But listen.
19:13This lion father is 3-4 years old.
19:17In that time, he gets some babies,
19:19including some males.
19:21Does he let them be?
19:23No.
19:25When they are two years old,
19:27they start to take a potential risk.
19:29Then it's time to leave the home front.
19:31And if they don't,
19:33does the father help?
19:35Yes, they do.
19:37That girl with the mane
19:39is a typical sign that she is willing to leave.
19:41Let's see if she wants to do it again.
19:43It's five minutes ago.
19:45No, no, no.
19:47Who's making that noise?
19:49It's the father.
19:51But she's also doing something.
19:53Let's just say it's over.
19:55It was also 20 seconds.
19:57Boom!
19:59That was crazy.
20:01That's how he's built.
20:05Beautiful, beautiful animals.
20:07That's maybe the most beautiful animal.
20:09Can I say that?
20:11Yes, you have to.
20:13Even though I'm crazy about a leopard.
20:15Or a puma.
20:17No.
20:19A leopard and a puma are the same.
20:21No.
20:23A puma and a panther are the same species.
20:25No.
20:27There's not a full plate in my bingo.
20:29That's what's over there.
20:31Oh, I'm sorry.
20:33The big tree.
20:35Oh, that's a bison.
20:37No, it's a gnome.
20:39I don't want to get involved in your animal park.
20:41I just think it's nice.
20:43Can you see it from that distance?
20:45Even though Karen Blixen
20:47loved nature and the free life on the savannah,
20:49it was especially the encounter
20:51with the natives, the coyotes,
20:53the masseurs, that really
20:55made an impression on her.
20:57During her time on the farm,
20:59she developed an enormous respect
21:01and love for the natives,
21:03which at that time was not suitable
21:05for a white backhoe.
21:09The worst thing about
21:11keeping so many natives as I do
21:13is that the more you are with them,
21:15the more boring I think the white people are.
21:17Especially with the English,
21:19I always have the feeling that you know
21:21what they want to say,
21:23whereas you can't guess it at all
21:25with the natives.
21:27Even though Karen Blixen
21:29came from the upper class,
21:31and as a white woman,
21:33even a backhoe,
21:35belonged to the absolute elite here in Kenya,
21:37she had a pronounced
21:39and at that time
21:41a deep respect and understanding
21:43for the natives.
21:45She created a hospital,
21:47where she even worked as a nurse,
21:49a school where she paid for books
21:51and education for the students.
21:53Yes, Karen Blixen took good care
21:55of her employees,
21:57after the hand came to count thousands.
21:59And that spirit,
22:01fortunately, lives on
22:03here in the Karen Blixen camp,
22:05where they are running a project
22:07that will make local women
22:09independent.
22:21This is David, he is a Maasai,
22:23and this is actually his land
22:25we are walking on.
22:39In this project there is,
22:41now this is,
22:43ourselves in Kenya we call mamas.
22:45Mama is ladies which are already married.
22:47And then they are making their own
22:49independent finance,
22:51where, you know, other things
22:53will be controlled by men in the Maasai.
22:55Because some of them, maybe
22:57their husband has passed away.
22:59Some, their husband are old.
23:01Okay. Hello.
23:03Hello. Jambo?
23:05You say Jambo, yeah?
23:09So all that is their
23:11crafts, their work.
23:13They make by their own hands.
23:15Hello, my name is Peter. My name is Nolari.
23:17Nolari, yeah.
23:19Nolari Ketuyo.
23:21Ketuyo.
23:23My name is Peter
23:25Ingemann Rasmussen.
23:27Welcome.
23:29That's hard to say.
23:35What does it mean for you to work in this project?
23:37As you see,
23:39I had one marriage life.
23:43Does men and women
23:45become more equal because
23:47of a project like this?
23:49Yes, but
23:51you know, when you marry
23:53you have the whole task of the family.
23:55You have to carry everything.
23:57But now, the women
23:59are giving some boost.
24:01But not 100% maybe.
24:0330% of what they are doing.
24:05It's a step on the way.
24:09It's not an engagement ring, no?
24:11Then my wife will be very angry.
24:21And my mother-in-law.
24:23David, as a
24:25landowner,
24:27how do you feel about that
24:29we come here as tourists
24:31and we are living
24:33here at your land?
24:37From my
24:39point of view and how I'm thinking,
24:41it is good because now I'm adding income
24:43and a lot of Maasai community has been
24:45employed, you know, the old guards and guides.
24:47So it is very nice
24:49and everybody in the community
24:51they are very much
24:53happy about it.
24:55But it is always a balance between
24:57unspoiled nature,
24:59unspoiled culture,
25:01and the income from
25:03tourism. There has to
25:05be a balance.
25:07A lot of things we are changing because of the
25:09system of life. We were cutting trees
25:11but now we don't do that.
25:13They are not using the firewood.
25:15So the income you get from tourists
25:17does that you can
25:19afford to leave the country
25:21unspoiled because
25:23you get income from all things.
25:25Like me.
25:27I warn you, I'm a very
25:29bad handcraft worker.
25:31But could I try?
25:33Is that okay?
25:35Oh, old man.
25:41I haven't got one.
25:43Are there
25:45something wrong with this?
25:47No.
25:49Wow.
25:55I got one.
25:57Yeah.
26:01I know David is here now
26:03but do you talk about the men back home
26:05when you sit here?
26:09Okay, even I could understand that.
26:13Thank you very much. Thank you for your patience.
26:17I think I'll let the professionals
26:19get back to work and say goodbye
26:21to the favorite massage women
26:23and David.
26:25Have a good day.
26:35This is the African steak.
26:37One of the big five.
26:39I want to have my camera filled up
26:41with digital memories of my safari.
26:43I know an owner painter in Denmark
26:45called Pumpe.
26:47God, it's a hippopotamus.
26:49Look behind you.
26:53When Karen Blixen
26:55went out on the savannah in the 1920's
26:57there were millions of animals
26:59and no one cared
27:01to keep the population up.
27:03Karen Blixen herself says
27:05that she shot all 44 animals
27:07on her first safari.
27:09There was an immediate
27:11demand for exotic skin
27:13and ivory.
27:15The wildlife on the savannah
27:17was significantly reduced
27:19and even Karen could see where it all went.
27:21Over time she also changed her rifle
27:23out with a camera.
27:25Today the animals live freely
27:27but are protected and supervised
27:29by rangers and a population
27:31that does everything to take care of them.
27:33So luckily you can still experience
27:35the world's largest land animal
27:37grazing here on the savannah.
27:40There are many elephants.
27:42Yes.
27:44And young ones.
27:48How beautiful is this?
27:50Isn't it fantastic?
27:55God, how beautiful.
27:57We got a mother bath here this morning.
27:59Wellness.
28:05What about shell protection today?
28:07Shell protection is still
28:09a huge factor.
28:11So when we talk about
28:13managing an area like this
28:15shell protection is one of the things
28:17we use a lot of resources on.
28:19It is especially relevant to elephants
28:21because of the support centers
28:23which are still an attractive commodity
28:25on the Asian market primarily.
28:27About 10-12 years ago
28:29there was shell protection
28:31for elephants really at its highest.
28:33It was Al-Jabab,
28:35primarily with headquarters in Somalia.
28:37It was well organized.
28:39It was soldiers who were sent in
28:41with AK-47s
28:43and then they were elephants.
28:45Today it is forbidden
28:47to shoot the animals in the reserve.
28:49And Kenya has a strict law
28:51when it comes to shell protection.
28:53There are both imprisonment
28:55and huge fines if you, for example,
28:57shoot an elephant.
28:59We invested in proper material,
29:01weapons, training of our rangers.
29:03It was former SAS soldiers
29:05who came and trained them.
29:07Some of the world's best elite.
29:09Not to be confused with air force.
29:11We have maybe one or two
29:13elephant murders a year
29:15and they are investigated
29:17as if it were a human murder.
29:19DNA is taken, bullets are found
29:21and it is a bit crazy
29:23that they are treated professionally.
29:25And we have received huge help
29:27from the TV companies.
29:29They can track their mobile phones.
29:31And in that way we can follow
29:33what is going on.
29:35But how do you practically
29:37stop shell protection?
29:39You do it by making
29:41the local population interested
29:43that the elephants have it good.
29:45It is about making it economically
29:47attractive for the local population
29:49that there is a fantastic nature around them.
29:51So the cycle is,
29:53if the elephants and the wild animals are here,
29:55then the tourists also come
29:57and they put money
29:59on renting the land
30:01for your free trips.
30:03And then they stop shooting the elephants
30:05because it would destroy
30:07the whole business.
30:11My photo safari is about to be over.
30:13And I am full of motives
30:15that have attracted people
30:17from all over the world to Africa
30:19since the time of Grand Blixen.
30:29But before I go home,
30:31I will meet another Dane
30:33who, just like Grand Blixen,
30:35has invested in Kenya's future.
30:39Hi!
30:41One of those who has lost
30:43their heart to this
30:45is the adventurer and businessman
30:47Carsten Reh.
30:49He has invested in the camp
30:51and he has made a lot of money
30:53from it.
30:55He has made a lot of money
30:57from this camp
30:59and yes, he is right on the stairs.
31:01He has driven all the way from Nairobi.
31:03Now I'm going to meet him.
31:05And it's a bit of a shame because
31:07since Carsten bought
31:09a German U-boat, U 534,
31:11in 1993,
31:13I was a freshman student,
31:15so I thought, that man!
31:17All in!
31:19Sometimes it gives you a headache,
31:21but believing in things
31:23does it, even if it costs.
31:25In a nutshell.
31:27And then he has Janni with him.
31:29She is also quite excited about us.
31:31No, it sounds a bit ...
31:33No, no! Calm down, Carsten.
31:35It's not like that.
31:41And then a V8, of course.
31:43Yes, yes.
31:45It's a bit boring, but there's nothing
31:47that sounds like a V8.
31:49Hi!
31:51Is it Knus, or what?
31:53How nice to see you!
31:55Thank you very much!
31:57Hi Carsten!
31:59Hi!
32:01Good to meet you! Finally!
32:03Yes, I would say so.
32:05It's something of a trip you've been on, isn't it?
32:07Oh, now I'm tired.
32:09Five, six hours or something?
32:11Well, listen, you've had a long, long trip.
32:13Now we're going to have a long, long
32:15gin and tonic.
32:17Yes.
32:19Yes?
32:21Are you too tired or ...?
32:23No, no, no, we're fresh. We just need a little shower,
32:25then we're ready.
32:27You know, sit and relax and then we can go to bed.
32:29Yeah.
32:31Aren't you going to bed early?
32:33Are we talking about me, or what?
32:35I'm so boring, Janni.
32:37I've actually heard it from some strangers.
32:39I always go to bed early.
32:41Some in Jutland said,
32:43you don't get much out of a very early bed.
32:45My neighbor asked me once,
32:47where do you go in the evening?
32:49Do you drink? Do not you get a drink?
32:53I do not know what the award should get.
32:57If this comes along, my family will sit like this.
33:01Should not it be a bag? Then I can look a little gallant.
33:05It just does not fit you.
33:08Just calm down, Carsten. I'm just gallant. Nothing else.
33:12Carsten Reh became a billionaire when he sold the blue newspaper to American eBay.
33:17White and cocky. He was probably smarter than this.
33:20And it has gone up and down with the investments since.
33:23It looks like I'm going to a disco with a Majorca.
33:26He is a true adventurer.
33:28He fired 23 million kroner off to lift a Nazi submarine.
33:32And he owns, among other things, Reh Park in Ebeltoft and Carn Blixen Camp in Kenya.
33:37They are over there, the hippo.
33:38What?
33:39The hippo. They are just up my back.
33:41No.
33:42Carsten, this program is about Carn Blixen, Denmark's greatest author.
33:46Yes.
33:47What is your own relationship to Carn Blixen?
33:49A strong woman and a smart woman.
33:52And skilled. You can not take that away from her.
33:55She was.
33:56She was a woman with a lot of guts.
33:58No, but she had.
34:00Carn Blixen had guts.
34:02She must be incredibly kind.
34:04I am so fascinated by the whole story from the moment she came.
34:07And until she came home to Denmark and up to her death.
34:10I'm crazy about that story.
34:12But at the age of 17, she struggles to get this coffee farm running.
34:16And she gets, as we would say it in Rye,
34:18whip on whip, and she just keeps going.
34:21Yes.
34:22You have, and I do not want to get too close to you,
34:24you have also experienced some whips in your career.
34:27Ups and downs, yes.
34:28And yet you keep going and say,
34:30forward in the wind.
34:32Where do you get that strength from?
34:34It's probably some kind of gratitude for the life you have had.
34:40I know very well what a life of whips is.
34:43My sister was a spastic,
34:45and she was spiritually retarded by being taken with a plow.
34:50She was 43 during the war,
34:53where everything went a little heavy.
34:55And the life she had,
34:57I just think, you should be happy for what you have got.
35:01It has given me a different view of life,
35:03and of people, than most people have, I think.
35:07Apart from the fact that Carsten rents the land the camp is on,
35:10he also invests a lot of money in preserving the wildlife in Kenya,
35:14and supporting the local population with schools and education.
35:17Why is it important for you, Carsten,
35:19that there are workshops here at the camp,
35:21where women make pearls they can sell,
35:23where you are making a car workshop,
35:25where men can study to become mechanics,
35:27you have a cooking school.
35:28Why have you thrown yourself into that?
35:33I have a respect for people and the area,
35:35and I think it is a wrong role,
35:37that women are allowed to play down here.
35:40But also that they become self-sustaining economically,
35:43so it is not just that they are unpaid for life,
35:46but they actually make their own money,
35:48and can buy food.
35:49That they are happy for.
35:51And you can already see,
35:52that there are a few women, who say,
35:54they come here to learn,
35:56or go to Nairobi,
35:58and get a job as a cook,
36:00or whatever it may be.
36:02They show the family,
36:04that there is another way to do it.
36:06And now that I have Carsten by my side,
36:09I have to ask you about that submarine.
36:121993.
36:14Yes.
36:15When you lifted the submarine, U534,
36:17did you think there was gold in it,
36:19or what was the reason?
36:20I hoped.
36:21That is the best expression.
36:22You know,
36:23I got to know you for the first time,
36:25in the media,
36:26I just thought, what a man, right?
36:28But you have definitely experienced me many times.
36:30Did you also say that to me?
36:31No.
36:32King Charles.
36:33When we moved the submarine,
36:35to Liverpool,
36:37then Prince Charles came,
36:39and I talked to him for 15 minutes,
36:41or something like that,
36:42and he said at the end,
36:43you are a very strange man,
36:45he said.
36:46Something like that.
36:48It was neither too near,
36:50nor too far,
36:51but I thought,
36:52good enough,
36:53I was something of an original.
36:54But that means,
36:55that there have also been many,
36:56who have said,
36:57there must also be some of them.
36:58It was Churchill too,
37:00Absolutely.
37:02Thank you very much.
37:03It has been a great pleasure to meet you.
37:04Likewise.
37:05Great pleasure.
37:10My journey is coming to an end,
37:12and I understand to what extent,
37:14why Karen lost her heart to Africa,
37:17and why she in every way,
37:19tried to stay in the country.
37:21Karen Blixen,
37:22she fought for 17 years,
37:24like a lion,
37:25a lioness,
37:26to get both marriage,
37:28marriage,
37:29coffee farm,
37:30economy,
37:31health care,
37:32to hang together.
37:33But it did not succeed.
37:35Her beloved coffee farm,
37:37on the land I am sitting on right now,
37:39was broken to pieces.
37:42And her life's great love,
37:44Dennis Finch-Hatton,
37:46he was killed in his plane,
37:48the 14th of May 1931.
37:50That was probably the last tears,
37:52in her soul.
37:55I have been friends with Somali,
37:57Kikuyu,
37:58and Maasai.
37:59And I have floated over Ngong Hills,
38:01with my soul mate.
38:02I have loved,
38:03and I have felt loved.
38:04For me,
38:05it is not bad or sad,
38:07that I am now disappearing,
38:09with my world here.
38:11I wish to die here.
38:13Bury me at the foot of Ngong Hills.
38:16Yours, Karen.
38:21But even in the dark,
38:23even when it is the worst,
38:26and she can hardly experience more experiences,
38:29that is where you begin.
38:31And when Karen Blixen came home,
38:33in every way, to Denmark,
38:35that is where her authorship,
38:37for real,
38:38takes off.
38:39In the thirties,
38:40she gives seven fantastic stories,
38:42The African Farm,
38:43and later in the fifties,
38:45Babette's Guest Boat,
38:46my favorite story.
38:48So just like the bird Phoenix,
38:50out of the ashes,
38:52the most beautiful bird rises.
38:54Here you have to say,
38:56that Karen Blixen,
38:57she was,
38:58and is,
38:59the smallest bird.
39:03The African Farm,
39:05is translated into 60 different languages,
39:08and several of her books,
39:09have become films and series.
39:11According to the numbers you know,
39:13Karen Blixen is the greatest,
39:15Danish international author,
39:17in recent times,
39:19and also the most translated.
39:21Yes, Karen Blixen,
39:23is just the greatest.
39:53© transcript Emily Beynon
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