From the U. S. to Vienna, Austria

The Johann Straus Boot, permanently docked in the Little Danube in Vienna. Concerts are held onboard — it’s basically a nightclub. (Sorry about the terrible photo quality. I was a teenager photographing in the 1980s… through the window of a tour bus… in rain… and this is a photo of an old photo.)

During spring break 1988, I went with other students and parents and my German teacher to four German-speaking countries: Austria, West Germany, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. The following is part of a series of travel journal excerpts.

Keep in mind: a teenager wrote this. I’m not the same person and don’t have the same writing style.

Enormous old buildings in the rain, Vienna

March 27, 1988

I’m in a foreign country. I’m in Europe. I’m in a different hemisphere. I’m in Austria. Well, golly gee. Was I actually at home yesterday morning?

At Chicago, we stayed at O’Hare International Airport for a couple of hours. It seems the flight was delayed for an hour. We wandered the airport, stood in line for a lengthy time, and generally became bored. However, I had a book by L. M. Montgomery (part of the Anne of Green Gables series), never mind the distractions of so many people. Kelly and I sat on the floor near the gate and listened to different languages spoken at the airport. We heard Spanish, English (of course, in American form), and German.

The Germans were of particular interest, since they were what Kelly described as “two very nice-looking German gentlemen.”…