36 Years Ago

36 Years Ago, Vienna 1971—A Student Journal

Day 348: Boating on the Wannsee

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Vienna 1971—A Student Journal
A year of music, study, travel, sightseeing & friends.



Day 348 — Boating on the Wannsee
15-Jul-1972 (Sat.)


TRANSCRIPT

Berlin avenues
Berlin avenues

BERLIN

In the morning, had breakfast. The hausfrau is so nice I can’t believe it. Because I’m a student without much money, she gives me breakfast without charging me. Fantastic breakfast (eggs, coffee, marmalade, homemade buns). So I had to pay her something. We finally agreed to 1 DM (for a 3.50 DM breakfast).

Met a girl at breakfast. From Frankfurt. So-so. Friendly and alone. So, I said let’s do something tonight. And so now, we’re going to take a night boat-ride (it’s going to be expensive, lucky she’s paying for herself). Friendly, but I seem to be on a different wavelength. Perhaps too proper.

Computer lecture. Not bad. Herr Brünn (from Illinois) really knows his stuff. His music, I seem to like also.

Boat ride at night, with dancing on the Wannsee. Almost missed the boat. Perhaps I should have. All right, but wasn’t the greatest. Prices high. Band (old music) wasn’t good, plays rock like polkas. Too many old people. But the ride was nice. Danced and still had a good time. Still wrong wavelength but we are still doing all right. Perhaps it’s attitude.

All I know is that it wasn’t like the boat ride with Anjali. Mainly because Anjali wasn’t there. Also the band was better.


REFLECTIONS

Pension. Once again my hausfrau at the pension is being very kind. I try to come back with a little money. There is a new pensioner at the house, a girl. I ask her out.

Lost notes. Although I was very lucky to keep and find my 1971 journal, photos, and a few assorted items, all of which are allowing me to create this blog, I was unlucky to lose (or discard) my many other notes, concert programs, and paper materials that would have nicely supplemented this journal. I did save all of my programs from this year—from the sightseeing info, operas, concerts, and this week’s avant-garde concerts. I’m certain I wrote notes in the margins. I remember even taking one of those large “concert” posters that were wrapped around telephone poles showing all the programs and venues for the summer. Unfortunately over the years, all of these items were lost.

IF I had imagined my blogging about this year in 1971–1972, I would still have those items. Oh, well.

Why am I mentioning this? Because, I never wrote down the name of the pension in my journal. I certainly had some printed information with their name on it. That’s why I can’t write about this wonderful experience in the pension.

Computer music lecture. As part of my ticket purchase, I am attending lectures almost every day. The University of Illinois was also big in electronic and computer music at the time. Remember, that at the time, computer music was something only a few university composers were using and pioneering. I took one computer music course at Ohio State many years later, using a program to tell the computer exactly what to play (the math for the sine tones) and it was hard. Very hard. I think I got the dumb mainframe to play a few collections of notes—but it wasn’t music. I don’t know composer Brünn. I remember John Chowning and Milton Babbitt in the computer music arena.

Apparently, I didn’t attend any concerts today.

Romance on the Wansee? You wonder how an enclosed city like West Berlin would manage to have a boat ride, but they did. It was on Lake Wannsee. Attempting to recreate my love affair with Anjali, I ask my pension-mate out for a ride. Nothing. You know how they say, “you can tell when someone is right,” well, it’s true. I can remember feeling excited by Anjali but I don’t remember what this girl looks like. Oh, well—my favorite, that’s life expression.

Jonathan’s travel blog. Looking for info on Lake Wannsee, I run into a new travel blog (from 2005) that describes a trip through Europe. I am starting to read it and I like it. This travel blog by Jonathan Baker is more helpful for tourist information, giving more detail on the sights than my blog, which is mostly about me complaining (kidding). For some reason, this is the first travel blog I’ve seen. I like it. Check it out—he has some amazing photo albums from his travels of the world. Nice.

Here are some more Berlin photos:

Beautiful Berlin
Beautiful Berlin
15_Slides_008
Park grounds near Schloss Charlottenburg
Park grounds near Schloss Carlottenburg


John

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