Emigrants from Graz

Canadian emigrant

Heinrich proudly shows the camera a photo of his younger self in the army.

(Bild: Jauschowetz Christian)

Broad smile and Canada cap: Ferdinand Heinrich is hard to miss in the Graz Opera Café. The Styrian emigrant has traveled from Canada to Austria for the World Ski Championships in Saalbach. He talks to the "Krone" about his life and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"I don't think I would go to Canada again today. I would find out much earlier what I really want," says Ferdinand Heinrich thoughtfully. The 79-year-old from Graz emigrated almost 60 years ago. Since then, he has lived a life in Montreal that many admire.

Once around the world
Heinrich is a true globetrotter: he has already traveled to six out of seven continents, with the eighth soon to follow. "I'm planning a trip to Antarctica for my 80th birthday next year. I'm still missing that," says the sprightly pensioner.

When he came to North America in 1967, he trained as a pilot. "At the beginning of the 1970s, however, there was no need for pilots. That's why I went into business administration," he recalls. He then worked for various airlines and later for tour operators. This work allowed him to turn his passion into a career: "Travel was always important to me."

Ferdinand Heinrich at the World Ski Championships in Saalbach.

(Bild: Pail Sepp)

From Graz to Montreal 
Heinrich spent his childhood days in Graz. He looks back with a laugh: "Arnold Schwarzenegger was in a class one year below me at the same secondary school." However, the paths of the two gentlemen were soon to cross again. After his apprenticeship, Heinrich completed his basic military service with the Austrian army in a barracks in Graz, where Arnold Schwarzenegger was also involved.

Does Schwarzenegger still remember his partner from back then? "I don't know if Arnold would still know me. But when I think back or talk about it, I can laugh about it," says the 79-year-old.

"I just wanted to get away"
After his military service, Heinrich didn't really know what to do with himself: "They wanted me to extend my service and stay on. But I just wanted to get away." Family connections took him to Canada, where his aunt welcomed him. One visit turned into a few months, a year, a lifetime. "I said to my parents that I would stay in Canada until they came to visit me," he recalls. And until then, Heinrich not only found a job, but also love in a foreign country. 

"I was always homesick. It took 20 years for that to get better." For his now divorced ex-wife, however, coming to Austria was unimaginable. They raised three sons together: "My wife only spoke French with the children, I only spoke German. As a family, we spoke to each other in English." When asked how many languages he speaks, Heinrich laughs: "It always depends on how much I've had to drink."

Traveling keeps me alive. I learn so much, it keeps me young.

Auswanderer Ferdinand Heinrich 

During the conversation, he fishes out his wallet and places a business card on the table: "I can tell a funny story." The card from a Canadian tour operator, which looks like a luggage tag, does not bear the name Ferdinand Heinrich, but Fred Heinrich. "When I started working in Canada, my name was always too long. I shortened it to Ferd Heinrich. People thought I had misspelled it and so I became Fred. Today, everyone in Montreal knows me as Fred," says the emigrant.

Austria first, but then Canada
Heinrich is currently on a visit home to Austria. He was attracted by the World Ski Championships in Saalbach: "I was a volunteer at the World Championships. That was such a wonderful experience." Heinrich was on duty wherever he was needed. Whether he was serving in the media center or helping with the accreditation of journalists, he was fully committed to the cause.

The emigrant shows a picture from a trip to Tahiti.

(Bild: Jauschowetz Christian)

His personal highlight was, of course, the gold medals won by the Austrians: "Those were the best moments." Whether he was cheering on the Austrian athletes or the Canadians was out of the question for him: "Austria always comes first, but I could be happy for two nations."

However, the World Ski Championships were not only important for Heinrich from a sporting perspective: "Austria is the most beautiful country on earth. The fact that these great pictures from Saalbach were broadcast all over the world is simply amazing," says the retiree happily. 

"Age is just a number"
Heinrich won't be bored any time soon: "I still work for a tour operator and accompany tour groups on boat trips two or three times a year. I also work two days a week as a bartender in the VIP lounge at Montreal Airport. I just can't sit at home." And that at almost 80 years old. His secret? "Traveling keeps me alive. I learn so much, it keeps me young," he reveals in conversation. 

He answers the question of whether he wants to come back to Austria very quickly: "If I came back, I wouldn't fit in 100 percent here. Just like I don't fit in 100 percent over there either. I don't think we all fit in 100 percent anywhere." He then pulls out his cell phone and looks for a picture of Tahiti; he has already been to this island in the South Pacific over 20 times. "But next time we'll meet there," he laughs, leaning back and looking out of the window with satisfaction.