Thomas Rapatz

Globetrotter back home

Practice makes perfect: Thomas Rapatz is now playing the piano and trumpet again.(Bild: Evelyn Hronek)

The "Krone" visited Brigadier Thomas Rapatz in his old, new home. 

At the age of 65, Brigadier Thomas Rapatz, who lived abroad for 18 years, is entering a new phase of his life. "Griffen was always my home; we are slowly coming back here," says Rapatz. The "Kärntner Krone" visited the off-duty brigadier in his home in Wölfnitzbachtal, where he lives with his wife Rosalia and cuddly tiger Trixie.

44 years in the service of the armed forces

And while Rapatz settles back into his old home, the 65-year-old looks back on his career in the Austrian Armed Forces. After all, the Carinthian served in the Austrian armed forces for 44 years. "The many impressions and everything I saw have left their mark. You never forget these images."

The mushroom goulash that was served in the exclusion zone of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant also remains in his memory: "We got over the shock with a little vodka."

Commitment to safety

Brigadier Thomas Rapatz was commander of the SFOR unit in Sarajevo, military attaché in Bosnia, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. He was head of the command department at the National Defense Academy in Vienna and most recently defence attaché in Turkey and Azerbaijan.

For his commitment to security, Griffner was awarded the state's badge of honor by Governor Peter Kaiser.

But even after his retirement, Rapatz remains loyal to the army. The brigadier will continue to teach at the military academy in Wiener Neustadt.

Return to an old passion

During his breaks from teaching, Rapatz returned to his old hobby: music. The piano in the Griffner Haus has been tuned and the trumpet taken out of its case. "I've been practicing again for a few weeks. Unfortunately, I've hardly had any time for music in the past 20 years," says the former district bandmaster of Völkermarkt. The former military man even wants to form a brass band, because "even at a more mature age, you have to stay active".

But the recipient of the Carinthian State Medal of Honor will not miss out on traveling either: "We want to go to the North Cape, admire the Northern Lights and meet up with old friends again - and of course explore our homeland."