Читать книгу 155 - Hubertus Godeysen - Страница 8

"Rise and shine! It’s an amazing day." Matthäus and Tobi are the first ones up, as always, while the rest are hardly stirring.

It’s just after seven in the morning. Less than six hours ago, the five high-school graduates were still at the kick-off party for the snowboard opening at Kaprun Castle. Thanks to the "ultimate opening package" they bought for 790 schillings, there’s a lot for them to take advantage of this weekend—the lift pass for Saturday and Sunday with all the events on the glacier, like the "Endless Winter Snowboard Test" with more than a thousand of the latest snowboard models, the fun park, a speed-measurement course, jump contest or pipe contest. For these passionate snowboarders from Vienna, it’s an exceptional experience.

This is their first trip together without parental supervision. All five grew up in the same area, the Währing and Döbling districts at the northwestern end of Vienna. Their enthusiasm for snowboarding isn’t the only thing that brings them together. They’re a group of five best friends who took their final exams—the Austrian Matura—early last summer and are ready to begin a new phase in life.

Matthäus Stieldorf, born on July 31, 1982, once wanted to join the Pioneer Corps of the Austrian Armed Forces. An extremely strong and athletic young man, he was looking for physical and technical challenges there. However, his nearsightedness put an end to those plans. Matthäus pivoted to an application for community service, more precisely, Holocaust Memorial Service in Milan or New York. In secondary school, he had spent half a year as an exchange student in North Dakota, where he overcame linguistic and cultural barriers. He felt drawn to faraway places again. But the Ministry of the Interior was skeptical. The fact that a young man would first voluntarily apply for a year in the Armed Forces and then refuse armed service on grounds of conscience was met with suspicion. So he enrolled in law school at the Juridicum in Vienna. He’s following in the footsteps of his father, a highly regarded Vienna business lawyer. His goal is to take over his father’s firm, even though Dad advises against it: "You really want to do that to yourself?" he asks.

Matthäus’ mother Karin is an architect at TU Wien, the Vienna University of Technology. She had put her career aside in order to raise Matti, as his parents call him, and his sister. The Stieldorfs wanted their children to have a good start in life, in a caring family environment. The Theresianum, a Viennese private school steeped in tradition with an emphasis on manners, poise, and an international outlook, put the finishing touches on Matthäus. He got top grades on his final exams without being labelled a nerd. He’s seen as being consistent in everything he does. He knows how to combine confidence with a laid-back attitude. Despite his physical strength, he’s the conflict-avoidant type, deliberately calm and composed, always eager to settle things peacefully. The power he’s gained from martial-arts training in taekwondo and capoeira is something he never brings into play.

Matthäus Stieldorf in Greece, summer 2000

He was on skis at the tender age of three, which is unusual for a child in the flatlands and hills of eastern Austria. But his parents were from the Tyrol. Skiing trips back home, near Innsbruck or on the Arlberg, were always included in their vacation plans. They also took short excursions to Hochkar in Lower Austria, not far from Vienna. And so the city boy quickly became a good skier. As a young Gymnasium student, Matthäus joined a tour group on the Arlberg and was immediately placed in group 1 with the best. Not long afterwards, he hung up his skis. Now snowboarding is his favorite hobby.

On the skiing vacations their families take together, the boys are now getting their kicks off the beaten track. They’ll make any climb, no matter how long, for a chance to slide down on fresh, untouched "powder." This is where they find true freedom, especially if they can put on a show by making a spectacular jump from the half pipe like the snowboarders they admire.

The five friends have never been on the glacier in Kaprun. They set off Friday afternoon. Franz’s parents have lent them a roomy van that fits all their snowboards and luggage for the weekend and should give them a safe ride on the Autobahn. Matthäus packs his things at his parents’ house in the Sievering neighborhood of Vienna. His father is spending the day with the Lions Club at a wine-tasting in southern Styria. His mother is at a workshop at the university all day. They talk on the phone that afternoon because Matthäus can’t find his ski pants. He also throws his first-semester law textbooks into his bags for the weekend in Kaprun.

"Come on," says Matthäus to the motionless Daniel, tearing the blankets off him, "Look out the window, not a cloud in the sky."

"For real?" croaks Daniel.

"For real!" Matthäus replies.

"Sun and powder, let’s do this!" says Tobi happily.

In less than five seconds, Daniel, Stefan, and Franz are sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Let’s go!" shouts Franz, giving a last big stretch before jumping to his feet. "The glacier’s waiting for us." Squinting, he puts his head out the window. The sun is still low in the sky behind the Imbachhorn, but the peak of the Kitzsteinhorn is already gleaming.