Here I am again
My grandmother, Luisella, vanished behind the Iron Curtain in 1945, 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.
Where history and real people come to life
About Christina Ditfurth
I was born in 1943 in Austria into an impoverished aristocratic Family. Through political circumstances, we were refugees in our own country, having lost everything. My brother and I grew up thinking our paternal grandmother had died somewhere in Russia. We lived in a small village surrounded by high mountains covered in snow. Skiing came naturally to me, and I became a member of the Austrian National Ski Team (1961–1967), which opened a window to the world for me. In 1968, I retired from ski racing and came to Australia as a ski instructor for the winter months. Back in Austria, I started a marketing career in the ski business promoting Tyrolia ski bindings, now known under the famous brand name of HEAD.
Eventually, my job took me to Japan, where we increased the market share dramatically, earning me the AMF Chairman’s Business Award in 1983 – the highest award given to a woman. After 17 years with AMF and Head, I started my own business “Christina Consulting Japan” which provided me with a number of roles: a Lecturer for Asahi, Shimbun’s Culture Seminars, giving advice on Western Elegance for ladies at Takashimaya’s Members Salon, a “Poster Girl” for White PIA Takasu Ski Resort. During this time I published three books in Japanese (only) covering lifestyle, business, and marriage. For 4 years, I was a Special Correspondent for Shinano Mainichi during the Nagano Olympics in 1998, and had a monthly column in Ski Graphic and MIL, a Ladies Magazine.
In Australia, I was a consultant for Haymen Island, establishing the Japanese tourist business, I promoted diving in the Barrier Reef and skiing in the Snowy Mountains. Sometime later, I returned to Head Tyrolia as a senior advisor for Japan. I published: “Die Welt ist meine Heimat” (The World is my Home) in 2006, a book about my ski racing career. My passion for writing never left me: “Here I am again” is the extraordinary story about my grandmothers’ life, which I published in English and Japanese. Besides my love for skiing and writing, I have a never ending interest in Japan. I am married and my husband and I live in Sydney. We have no children.