For over fifty years, Thresl Handl has run the Harhamhof, high in the Austrian Alps, alone. Day in, day out, she works the farm and runs the guesthouse; the views are breath-taking, the work, relentless. In April she will be 99 years old, yet for her guests, she remains mistress of a timeless world. But not everyone likes how Thresl manages the Harhamhof. Thresl's determination to keep working denies her son, Hans, his chance to run the inn. A documentary about persistence, will power and the beauty and dignity of old age.—Louise East
'When you are old, you are not worth much anymore' For over fifty years, my grandmother Thresl has run the Harhamhof, high in the Austrian Alps, alone. Day in, day out, she works the farm and runs the guesthouse; the views are breath-taking, the work, relentless. In April she will be 99 years old, yet for her guests, she remains mistress of a timeless world. But not everyone likes how Thresl manages the Harhamhof. Thresl's determination to keep working denies her son, Hans, his chance to run the inn. A documentary about persistence, will power and the beauty and dignity of old age.—Louise East
"When you are old, you are not worth much anymore!"When my grandfather died in 1958, my grandmother Thresl took on the farm and inn at Harhamhof, high in the Austrian Alps. Day in, day out, Thresl worked the farm and ran the inn. Fifty years on, Thresl is 98 years old and still working. In summer, she enjoys life in Harham; in winter, it seems the snow will never end. Thresl mows the meadows around the inn with a scythe and stacks wood, log by log, for the winter. She waits on the guests at the inn; regulars stop by daily for a beer or two, a home-distilled schnapps or a plate of Thresls famous Kasnocken. Rest is of no interest to Thresl: Im glad to be busy. The day I stop work will be the day I die. Nothing would be worse for my grandmother than to be locked away in a nursing home because the younger generation have no time for her - a fate which unfolds for her 103 year-old sister Moidei. Thresls independence was hard-won; in the years after the untimely death of her husband, life was hard, the work unceasing. The inn was deep in debt, and the farm yielded just enough to get by with the two children, both put to work early to replace their father. Yet, subsequent offers of marriage were turned down: Im going to take orders from nobody. With the arrival of the main road, the fortunes of the inn transformed and things started looking up for Thresl. Yet not everyone likes how she runs the Harhamhof. Some say Thresl is too old-fashioned, not modern enough - and one of these critics is her son. Hans has been keen to take on the inn for decades; by contrast, her daughter Maresi is lovingly supportive. Thanks to the power of her will, my grandmother has placed herself above social conventions about how the elderly should be regarded. As she turns 99, Thresl remains mistress of a timeless world. Synopsis:The day I stop is the day I dieWith the death of her husband in 1958, my grandmother Thresl took on the running of the Harhamhof alone. Day in, day out she works the farm and runs the guesthouse. In April she will be 99 years old. While her son has been keen to take on the inn for decades, her daughter is loving and supportive. Thanks to the power of her will, my grandmother has placed herself above social conventions about how the elderly should be regarded. For her guests she remains mistress of a timeless world.
