It may seem metaphysical, but if you make your way up to the Bodnerhof in Arriach, you are entering a different time zone. Here, the hands are set to "nature". What the wristwatch shows is of secondary importance; instead, the focus is on the original. And that is exactly what guests are looking for, find and can hardly put into words themselves. "One family has been visiting us for many years. Every time they leave, they can't promise us whether they'll be back. And yet they still come back every year," reports Christa Hintermann. Because, as they say themselves, they sense a feeling that they can't feel anywhere else. They can only find it here. They can only experience it here. Words that make Christa feel humble and grateful.
The heart of the country
She herself grew up on a mountain farm. Even as a child, she was out and about with guest children from morning to night in search of adventures that only children can discover. Her school years took her to Vienna, but even then it was clear: "I always preferred going home to going out." The museums, the theaters, the city life - all of this was impressive for Christa, but ultimately not her destiny. Nevertheless, she wouldn't want to miss the time: "It's only through the interplay of different worlds that you realize where you belong by broadening your horizons."
Her place became the Bodnerhof. At the age of 21, she married her husband Gerhard, and around 20 years ago she followed in her parents' footsteps and started renting out rooms. The original idea of building a room for direct marketing led to the first vacation apartment. It eventually became three, which are occupied by a wide variety of nationalities. "Our guests come from New Zealand, Abu Dhabi, America and Germany, and their lives are as different as their nations." In addition to families and married couples, there are also single people who are searching for meaning and want to find a new direction. "Their everyday lives often lack a counterbalance, a balance. Here with us, they regain distance, feel grounded, can distinguish between the important and the unimportant and live more consciously."
"When you work with nature, you get a power that you didn't have before. Time is relative. It depends more on the weather, the seasons, the position of the sun."
A healing process for many an adult, an adventure for the youngest guests that begins anew every day. "The children are allowed to accompany us everywhere on the farm. In the barn with the cows and pigs or out in the fields to harvest the hay. When you consider that many people think you just have to go to the store and buy the food you want without thinking about how much work goes into it, then you quickly realize how valuable it is for the children to see all this live on site and not just learn from books." Learning to understand that apples may not look flawless without chemical treatments, but they do contain valuable ingredients. And that out here, nature sets the time, not the wristwatch. Christa has learned to appreciate and love this way of calculating time: "When you work with nature, you get a power that you didn't have before. Time is relative. It depends more on the weather, the seasons, the position of the sun."
"Only through the interplay of different worlds can you recognize where you belong by broadening your horizons."
A place of longing for nature lovers
Sentiments shared by the regular guests. "A guest once said to me: Christa, I was born in the wrong place. He came to us for the first time as a child and ran riot to such an extent that there wasn't a single clean item of clothing left when he left. Just being allowed to be a child is a feeling that has become alien to many in the cities. This boy is now 23 years old and visits the farm every year." Stories like this leave their mark and confirm that Christa is on the right track. Because what you enjoy doing, you do well.
Sabine Ertl
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