36 Years Ago

36 Years Ago, Vienna 1971—A Student Journal

Day 349: Swimming at Wannsee

Day 349 — Swimming at Wannsee
16-Jul-1972 (Sun.)

Berlin loves modern architecture
Today is a day of relaxation and getting sun burnt on the Wannsee. Swimming, nudity, architecture, it’s all part of today’s discussion. I don’t have any pictures of the Wannsee or of nudity.
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Day 348: Boating on the Wannsee

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

Berlin avenues
A mildly simple day—a lecture and a boat ride with a girl. What? Berlin can have a boat ride? Yes, it’s Lake Wannsee. I find a new travel blog that I like.
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Day 298: First Fantasy in class

Day 298 — First Fantasy in class
26-May-1972 (Freitag–Fri.)

A big day—I play my composition,
Fantasy on Broken Glass, for the electronic music class and Prof. C. It is also a day of coincidences with Berlin, Vienna, and Fantasy.

At night, in my inflated state of ego, I hit the discotek attempting to meet some girls. Strikeout. Ha!
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Day 244: Easter Sunday; tourists

Day 244 — Easter Sunday; tourists
02-April-1972 (Sonntag–Sun.)

It’s Easter Sunday and I am playing tourist guide—meeting tourists at mass where the Vienna Boys’ Choir performs and then taking them on a walking tour. A German girl attracts my attention.
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Day 221: Disco at the Voom-Voom

Day 221 — Disco at the Voom-Voom
10-March-1972 (Freitag–Fri.)

No, no. It’s not “zoom-zoom-zoom,” the Volkswagen commercial in 2008 and 2009, it’s Voom-Voom the 1972 Viennese disktotek and I visit it once again, hoping to meet a nice girl.
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Day 191: Life at Wickenburggasse; letters from Anjali

Day 191 — Life at Wickenburggasse; letters from Anjali
09-February-1972 (Mittwoch–Wed.)

Anjali collage 1971
Just a few memories on life at home in my Wickenburggasse room. After a normal school day, I reminisce about my letters with Anjali. I come to the realization that I was probably in need of a girlfriend.
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Day 173: Brother Mike; skiing Kitzbühel

Day 173 — Brother Mike; skiing Kitzbühel
22-January-1972 (Samstag–Sat.)

My brother Mike comes to Austria for the first time. We spend a great day skiing in Kitzbühel. Except for going down a slope that has been iced down for an upcoming downhill race.
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Day 168: A Lulu of a day

Day 168 — A Lulu of a day
17-January-1972 (Montag–Mon.)

It’s a
Lulu of a day. I had two good lessons. It’s a day at the dentist. It’s Lulu at the opera. And, I learn a life-lesson from a young blind boy.
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Day 159: St. Anton—Ingrid? Innsbruck—Elisabeth?

Day 159 — St. Anton—Ingrid? Innsbruck—Elisabeth?
08-January-1972 (Samstag—Sat.)

Leaving the Tirolian Alps
So who is Ingrid? I love that name. Why didn’t I marry her? Well, she was one of the English girls I danced with last night. So, I leave Ingrid in St. Anton; make plans to meet her in England in the summer; take the train to Innsbruck; have dinner with Elisabeth; make plans to meet her during Easter. I’m either incredibly suave, handsome, and debonair, with all the pretty women, or I’m extremely naïve, don’t get it, and can’t figure out what is going on.

I think that, even today, I’m still incredibly naïve (with women). And I still can’t figure them out. Everything’s normal. Happy

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Day 158: Beautiful Zurs

Day 158 — Beautiful Zurs
07-January-1972 (Freitag—Fri.)

Snow filled valleys
I hit the Tirolian slopes of Zurs which offers good snow, beautiful views, and long runs. I reflect on what I like about St. Anton.

At night, Mr. Don Juan hits the dance floor.
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Day 005: Coffee and call girls

Day 5 — Coffee and call girls
07-August-1971 (Sat.)

Journal Aug 7
Ok, ok! I'm focusing on bra-less girls. I'm young, I'm 22, I'm male. And I still am not sure on how to spell bra-less. [Repeating theme.] Certainly, I'm trying to build up readership for this blog by shamelessly suggesting sexual innuendoes. All of these reflections are probably in my contemporary mind and of less importance those many years ago. Hmmm, I am writing about it a lot. So, I take it back.

Sex sells, they say. Oh boy, does it! [towards the end of the post]

Watch me sit on a bench next to a pretty girl and practice my knock-em-dead-pick-up-German-language skills. As Mastercard says, "priceless."

Did I tell you that I am really enjoying this project? I am. As I type and read the transcript, I'm smiling and going back to those days. It really is a blast. I'm not certain if it's that interesting to the rest of the world. But, heck...I'm going on.

Enjoy.
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Day 004: To the dorms, to the discotek

Day 4 — To the dorms, to the discotek
06-August-1971 (Fri.)

As a young male, I am becoming infatuated with the beauty of Vienna and the bra-less girls in the Voom-Voom discotek. I finally leave the hotel and enter the student hostel (dorms) where I will spend the summer while attending a German language course.

Voom-Voom!
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