Barbara Geier: Meet the 100-year-old icon Rita Lord

Ladies and gentlemen, dear readers, today I’ll give you Rita Lord. 100 years old and fit as a fiddle. I met Rita recently on social media in a video clip of a regional German TV channel – and am deeply impressed. With her infectious enthusiasm for all things sport and an active life she puts many of us ‘young ones’ to shame.

Rita, who lives in Bernkastel-Kues on the river Moselle, has been loving sports all her life and has tried anything from ice skating and tennis to gymnastics, swimming, and skiing. The latter is a special favourite of the mother of four and grandmother of five who was still taking to the slopes in the Austrian Zillertal valley at the age of 90. Did I already mention that I’m impressed? And if it wasn’t for her children who have put a stop to her downhill adventures, she’d still be on her skis by her own admission.

With or without skiing, the weekly sports programme of Rita, who turned 100 this January, is more than busy as it is; gym session, gymnastics class, swimming, and playing bridge as a mental exercise. Daily walks along the river are also on the agenda. Best of all, Rita doesn’t have to overcome her inner Schweinehund, as we call it in German, that prevents so many of us from getting off our backsides because the internal resistance is stronger. Not so Rita. If she wants to do it, she just does it. And anyway, “discipline in old age is everything.” You’re so right, Rita, and not just in old age…

Not surprisingly, this sportive lady has no time for sedate Seniorennachmittage – afternoon meetings for senior citizens – where, in her words, people just sit around, drinking coffee and not doing anything. Rita is rather out and about, even if a wheeled walking frame has recently come into her life due to her weakening thigh muscles. But Rita wouldn’t be Rita if she didn’t take that in her stride and with a sense of humour too, calling the device her new MG, after she stopped driving her MG Midget convertible (of course, she didn’t have a normal car!) last year.

If you’re curious about Rita now or just need a dose of enthusiasm and joy of life in these less than enthusiasm-inducing times, do a little google. The German media, not surprisingly, have lapped up this positive news story and there’s plenty of Rita-material online. Right, time to go out for a walk now, I guess!

Barbara Geier is a London-based freelance writer, translator and communications consultant. She is also the face behind www.germanyiswunderbar.com, a German travel and tourism guide and blog that was set up together with UK travel writer Andrew Eames in 2010.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Discover Germany, Switzerland & Austria.