Innsbruck, [Beginning of July], 1969
Impressions of Europe
Shortly after our return, my wife and I took a round trip tour by car to Munich and Vienna. We could not help being shocked. First, we were dismayed by the paltriness we encountered at every turn. People looked careworn and neglected. Generally speaking, despite the supposed prosperity in Europe, the inadequacies can be seen everywhere. Traffic strikes one as being like Gulliver in Lilliput. The bicycle is still a much used means of transportation. As all sorts of small vehicles are mixing with cars, trucks and horse-drawn carriages, the traffic situation is very confusing. The Autobahn exits at the periphery of the big cities. Without connecting express lanes, motorists have to maneuver their way to the center. Since multistory or underground garages are rarely available, it takes some ingenuity to find a place to park. What has been standing in Europe for centuries was built solidly to endure. But by contrast, the modern technical constructions make a rickety tin like impression. They are by design too small and overstrained. A large-scale city planning is still missing.
The Emigration
There is a big difference whether one comes back from a visit to the United States or with the declared intention to emigrate. Inadvertently, a wall of separation goes up even among relatives and close friends. There is an incomprehensible shaking of heads asking how anybody could leave such a beautiful place to go to America? Here are already the roots of a growing misunderstanding between Europe and America. Anybody who contemplates to emigrate to America would be well advised to be prepared how to cope with this reality.
Innsbruck, July 21, 1969
Apollo 11 - Landing on the Moon
Yesterday, Sunday, July 20, at about 21:00 hrs. MEZ (Central European Time) or 4:17 p.m. EDT, the lunar module “Eagle” touched down in a perfect soft landing on the surface of the moon. Six hours later, Neil Armstrong, as the first human being, set foot on the moon. His first steps were cautious, but soon safe and of playful lightness. Descending from the module, Edwin Aldrin, Jr., soon followed, while Michael Collins in the spacecraft Apollo 11 orbited the moon. Armstrong and Aldrin offered a spectacle without equal to the people back on earth, who watched them on the television screens.
Although the American landing on the moon had already been accepted as a fact for months, the real occurrence brought forth an unusual psychological effect. It was one of the most exciting moments of the century. When Neil Armstrong set his foot on the surface of the moon, the entire human race identified itself with him. There was a feeling of belonging together, of solidarity, as it has not up to now been experienced. It bridged over the East West conflict and spread across all continents. There was jubilation in the streets, a whirl of enthusiasm carried by the pride of achievement. A kind of optimism was spreading which saw mankind at the beginning of a new age. Obviously, the age of space flights has begun that opens unimagined possibilities.
The American space program has without a doubt won the race to the moon. It brings with it an enormous gain of prestige for the United States. Mankind as a whole feels to be part of this NASA project. But the lunar landing has also demonstrated that only a highly advanced industrial country could provide the financial means and carry out the technological-scientific organization of such an enterprise. In a gigantic organizational effort hundreds of thousands of scientists and engineers together with the support staff have cooperated in the Apollo program over the years. Thereby, the promise of John F. Kennedy - to land a man on the moon before this decade is out - could be kept.
July 24, 1969
Splashdown in the Pacific
At 17:51 hrs. MEZ [12:51 p.m. EDT] the space capsule Apollo 11 splashed down in the Pacific near Hawaii. Following their historic flight to the moon, the three astronauts -Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins - were heaved from the ocean and brought by helicopter on deck of the carrier Hornet where President Nixon welcomed them back. After landing, the astronauts had to remain in quarantine to make sure that they would not bring unknown bacteria from the moon to earth.
[A series of additional lunar landings were carried out by the flights of Apollo 12-17. At the beginning of December 1972 NASA completed its manned landings on the moon with Apollo 17.]
Innsbruck, [End of July], 1969
Government Crisis in Italy
The political insecurity and lacking stability in Europe has always a surprise in store. It can spoil the pleasure of a summer vacation. In the intense July heat, the government of Italy that had resigned tried desperately to form a minority cabinet. It has finally succeeded. During the government crisis waiters as well as the entire hotel personnel started a protest strike. Vacationing tourists were mostly affected by it.