 Seeking Clues to Arnold’s Childhood Dreams!
Come Along The Ultimate Tour to Thal!
Reported By: Kathryn Fogg
Thursday, November 12, 2009
While discussing an upcoming trip to Germany, my husband Charles suggested we go to Austria as well. Austria!! As a huge fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger movies and our California Governator, Austria meant one thing: the roots of the Austrian Oak. Yes, we must see Austria! I could hardly wait to tell my son, Randy Jennings of TheArnoldFans, that I would be visiting Arnold’s boyhood home in the village of Thal. I hoped to find clues to the incredible dreams of “Li’l Arnie” that gave him his relentless drive toward success.
The visit to Thal (the “h” is not pronounced) came near the end of our three-week, whirlwind tour of Bavaria and Austria. Finally, the evening arrived when Charles and I reached our hotel in Graz, which contains the suburb of Thal. Graz is the second-largest city in Austria and home to six universities – but more importantly for Arnold fans, Graz is the city where Arnold once trained to become Mr. Universe. Near our hotel, passengers emerged haphazardly from speedy trams onto crowded, narrow streets.
I could hardly sleep that night, both from excitement over my prospective adventure and nervousness over the possibility of annoying the current resident of the house in my quest for information. However, when I awoke on that beautiful morning on October 17, 2009, I felt full of Arnold energy.
As my husband drove around the hills separating Graz from Thal, the noisiness of the large city fell away behind us and we entered the quiet farm community of Thal. Arnold’s village looked much like the gorgeous Austrian countryside seen in The Sound of Music, filmed in Salzburg about a three-hour drive away. Fortunately, little has changed in Arnoldland since he lived there.
Onward we drove toward 145 Thal-Linak, looking for Arnold’s yellow house. We drove uphill on a country road, rounded a corner, and were greeted by a magnificent sight: a large, yellow, Austrian-style farmhouse perched mightily on the hilltop. It had a steeply slanted roof to deflect snow, red tiling, a chimney, hedges, an arched front door, a brown gate, and lace curtains in the windows. Arnold lived in this house from the time he was born in 1947 until he was 18.
Around the corner, we saw a round, ancient tower topped with a red cone roof, indicating where Arnold used to play hide-and-seek among castle ruins. Arnold and his brother Meinard once shared an upstairs bedroom in the yellow house and could look down upon the deteriorating castle from the two windows on the front upper left.
Charles parked the car, and we began taking photos and videos as fast as we could in case someone would come along and tell us to scram. I had read in Frommer’s Austria that “hundreds upon hundreds” of visitors flock to the village to see Arnold’s house.
Walking downhill on the road alongside Arnold’s house, I looked back up past the royal pines and thought the yellow house looked even more imposing. When I headed toward the old castle, a raven flew out of a tower, just as one would expect in an Arnold movie!
Next, I faced away from the front of Arnold’s house to survey the landscape he had viewed as a boy from his upstairs bedroom window. To the right were the old castle and a farmhouse with piles of cut logs. To the left were apple trees and red-and-white cottages. Straight ahead were horse pastures and rolling hills covered with pine trees. Two red spires among the pines indicated another castle. Cool breezes carried the scent of pines and the sounds of twittering birds. The only thing that this feast for the senses lacked was the sight of Bambi and Thumper scampering in the meadow, and if we had waited long enough, I believe we would have seen them too. Charles looked around and wondered, “Why would Arnold ever want to leave such a place?”
Although the setting for Arnold’s childhood looked idyllic, biographies on Arnold Schwarzenegger reveal that the world inside the big, yellow house was far from ideal. Arnold’s father was a strict disciplinarian who gave Arnold excruciating assignments and chores and sized him up against his older, bullying brother. Money was also a problem in the household, and food could be scarce. Besides, Arnold lived there during a time of food rationing in his country. The household had few amenities: no indoor plumbing, no central heating, no carpeting, no phone, no refrigerator, no television. As a child, Arnold was often sickly, and Thal had no doctor. Arnold wanted a life much better than this, and he became determined to work extremely hard to make his dreams come true.
Charles and I were about to leave the area when a car suddenly pulled up. Could this possibly be Frau Anderwalt, the current owner of the house? I had many questions, but I didn’t want to impose upon her – so I asked Charles to do it! He asked in German if she was Frau Anderwalt, and she smiled and said yes. He explained that my son was President of the world’s largest Arnold fan site. I was pleased and extremely relieved that she was friendly and willing to speak with us. Although she said her English was not very good, she communicated very well.
“This house is several centuries old,” said Frau Anderwalt as I grabbed my pen to take notes for TheArnoldFans. “The house has been through a few changes, but it has retained its character since Arnold lived here. An Austrian nobleman used to own the house.”
Frau Anderwalt told me that she had just moved out of the house and was now living in Graz. We had been very lucky to come upon her just as she was dropping by. She explained, “A company named Arnold’s Life bought the house and will turn it into a museum. It’s scheduled to open in June or July of 2010.”
We asked about Arnold’s life there. “Arnold’s family lived on the second floor of the house. His father Gustav was the police chief in Thal.” Arnold’s mother Aurelia was a housewife who was devoted to her family. Arnold remained close to her all his life.
I asked Frau Anderwalt if Arnold ever came to visit her. “Yes,” she answered with a big smile. “He was here recently. Arnold has school friends here in Thal, and he likes to visit them. His mother used to visit me too until she died in 1998.”
“What is Arnold like?” I had to ask.
“He is very friendly,” she answered, which came as no surprise. “Everyone loves Arnold. He makes everybody happy.”
Charles asked about the orange house decorated with deer antlers that was attached to the yellow house. Frau Anderwalt explained, “The orange house was a part of the yellow house for a long time. It used to be a stable for horses. It was converted into a home and is a separate residence now.”
I asked about Arnold’s long bicycle trips to the gym. Frau Anderwalt said she was amazed that he used to ride his bike to and from the gym nearly every day to train in Graz. Arnold rode his bike eight miles each way in addition to working out. His father tried to limit his son’s trips to the gym, but that did not stop him. Arnold told his family and friends that he would become Mr. Universe and move to America and become a movie star. As everyone in the world now knows, when Arnold decides to do something, no one can stop him.
Charles asked Frau Anderwalt about the nearby castle ruins. She said that the 13th-century castle was called Schloss Unterthal and wrote the name down on my notepad. She also pointed to the castle in the distance and said, “The faraway castle, Schloss Oberthal, is complete. It has been restored and is now owned by two men. It’s private only.”
I asked Frau Anderwalt where I could find Arnold’s childhood school. “See the building with a red roof with windows in it across the field?” she asked, pointing northward. “That’s Arnold’s schoolhouse. After he moved to America, he earned a degree in Business.” Arnold received his B.A. in Business and International Economics from the University of Wisconsin–Superior.
Next to the school, we could see the steeple of the church that Arnold’s family had attended. “Arnold’s church has been restored,” said Frau Anderwalt. “Close by is an Arnold Schwarzenegger museum with pictures and collections and a movie about his life.” An Arnold museum! I couldn’t wait to see it. I thanked Frau Anderwalt again and again, and Charles and I headed down the winding country road.
That day, Charles and I visited Arnold’s church, school, gym, favorite lake and other puzzle pieces of Arnold’s life. When I was standing in front of the yellow house, I wondered how much the view from his upstairs bedroom window played a role in the enormous success he would someday achieve in bodybuilding, acting, business and politics. Imagine the thoughts of the ambitious dreamer, dealing with problems of poverty and a bullying father and brother, as he looked out his window over a countryside that included castles and a fairytale setting. The visions of royalty before him could have played a part in Arnold’s extraordinary dreams. But as we all know, Arnold did much more than dream. Through enormous drive and determination, Arnold would one day become royalty himself.
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Kathryn Fogg
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