Saturday, July 7, 2007

The day I saw Karen Blixen

I had ridden my bike to the movie theatre in the center of Copenhagen to look at the display pictures of the American movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
I must have been in my early teens and taken by the charms of Miss Monroe and in those days we still had movie palaces, in fact I think this particular cinema was named " The Palace ".
So there I was checking out the photos when I turned and saw, crossing the street, the aristocratic and wonderful writer, Karen Blixen.
Already in those days I was a voracious reader and had read many of her books and loved them, absolutely loved them, a feeling that has not dimmed in all these years.
There she was.
And to this day I can remember it as if I had taken a photo; she was rail thin and holding on to the arm of her secretary Clara Svendsen. She had on a black suit and a black hat with a large brim and, for a wonderful effect, a red fox collar around her neck. She looked at me and her pupils were so large that her enormous eyes appeared black.
I was awe struck, I was about to die. She looked at me, and to this day I swear
she looked at me and smiled.
That was the day I saw Karen Blixen and I will never forget.

2 comments:

Louise said...

Det er så dejligt at høre og læse om dine minder - de er så levende og fulde af stemning.
Palads er stadig den største biograf i KBH med mere end 30 sale, en "cafe" en stor slikbutik mm. Nu er bygningen malet i rigtig mange stærke farver og skiller sig ekstra meget ud i bybilledet.
Så vidt jeg ved er Palads en gammel banegårdsbygning.
Sjovt - det var også den biograf jeg gik i i mine teenageår.

Louise said...

Jeg fandten hjemmeside du vil finde interessant.
www.arkitekturbilleder.dk
Der kan du bl.a. søge på palads bio.
(hvis du altså vil have spoleret dit eget billede af Palads - ligesom man ikke tager Bornholmerfærgen i Køge HI-HI)