Why don't you post some photos from the 1970s?

Mr. Irene asked me that question a few days ago.

So here you go, Mr. Irene. But these snapshots may not be what you had in mind.

In 1971, my Parents took me on a European vacation. The original plan was to go to Norway. My Parents had just seen Song of Norway—the movie about the life of Edvard Grieg starring Florence Henderson—and they thought a tour of the fjords might be fun.

Everyone had the same idea that season, so my Parents scratched the Scandinavian itinerary. Instead, they decided to structure a trip around my Parents' fluency in German and my favorite movie, The Sound of Music. We spent the month of July traveling through Austria, Germany, Switzerland. At the end of the vacation, we realized there was no place as beautiful as Glacier National Park, and we returned there for our vacation the following year.

What do I remember most about the European trip? Four things.

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(1) Air travel is glamorous:

Vienna, Austria, July 1971. Mom and I get our "sea legs" upon landing. The trip from O'Hare to Vienna was my first flight. We flew on a 747 "Jumbo Jet."

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(2) I ate my way through Europe. I gained about twenty pounds in four weeks:

Hungarian border, July 1971. I dive into some rye and goulash at a cheesy place that was part of our tour along the border.

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(3) We dressed up whenever we left the hotel. Mom and I sewed a number of polyester dresses that would travel well, free of wrinkles:

Salzburg, Austria, July 1971. I stand with Mom at a spot made famous by Julie Andrews and the "von Trapp children."

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(4) I got altitude sickness—badly—during the two-hour train ride straight up to the Jungfrau. When we reached the summit, I needed oxygen:

Jungfraujoch, July 1971. Mom and I hang out of the train that took me to a bad place.