Written Works
I regard writing as my ultimate challenge since I have to choose amongst hundreds of words to find the perfect expression. This can take minutes or hours, overcoming writer's block and putting myself in the reader's mind while there is an annoying temptation never to finish! In contrast, writing articles for magazines and newspapers was easy, but giving advice exclusively on love for MIL Magazine was a special challenge.
Here I Am Again
My grandmother, Luisella, vanished behind the Iron Curtain in 1947, and I grew up thinking she was dead. My father rather hoped that she was dead. Then suddenly here she was again. Luisella von Schönberg was fearless, an attribute inherited from her adventurous grandfather, Wolf Erich - a friend of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria. Wolf Erich had bought Conak, 8,000 hectares of wilderness in the Carpathian Mountains, sight unseen, in 1850. This spontaneous decision brought more tragedy than pleasure. Luisella loved Conak and her life there so much that she stubbornly resisted leaving it even when the Russians invaded, believing she was invincible. This decision led to her spending a decade behind the Iron Curtain, first as a servant living in a pigsty and then in a Gulag far from her beloved home.The unusually strong women in this story, ahead of their times, chose to live their lives as they wished and paid the price. Among them the famous Anna Constantia von Cosel, who was imprisoned for 49 years because of her love for Augustus the Strong, Ruler of Saxony and King of Poland. Historical events, wars, social etiquette, religion, prejudices, humour and lies are all part of the unique fabric woven from the lives in this fascinating and gripping family story.
DIE WELT IST MEINE HEIMAT
Expressing myself in my own language, DIE WELT IST MEINE HEIMAT is a book about my skiing career and how my life changed going from an amateur to professional skiier. In my writing, facts and figures are a must for me, forming the core of my stories. I could never write a book purely based on fantasies.
Christina von Ditfurth wurde 1943 in der Steiermark geboren. In der Bergwelt von Salzburg wuchs sie von Schnee umgeben auf. Als Siebzehnjährige wurde sie 1960 Mitglied der österreichischen Skinationalmannschaft. Sieben Jahre gehörte sie zur ersten Generation professioneller Spitzensportler. Im internationalen Skizirkus waren Drama und Spass der Alltag.
Als Insider zerpflükte sie das Rennläuferherz, plauderte über Schigeschichte und durchforschte die Psyche.
Mit Dreiundzwanzig zu alt für den Rennsport ging sie als Skilehrerin nach Australien und bereiste die Welt. So kam sie nach Japan, lernte Japanisch, und wurde Marketing Manager für Tyrolia Skibindungen. 1985 machte sie sich selbständig und begann eine bis heute andauernde Karriere mit Blickpunkt Japan. Ihre einmaligen Eriebnisse beschrieb sie mit viel Humor.
