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engine and to pull out and turn a lever which feathered the prop. We were then a glider and swooped and turned around above the alpine glacial valleys. That has just got to be the most beautiful place in the world to glide. 4 big valleys run together and their streams make a lake. The town of Zell (on the lake-Zee) is very picturesque too and the whole setting was great. Wish I could have stayed longer and flown more but I could not afford either more time or more money. It was $30 an hour as it was but I had to be able to say that I'd flown in Austria.

That afternoon I drove over the Gross Glockener which is one of the highest and prettiest Alpine passes. It was steep and cold and beautiful but the Mercedes went over it with great ease. Two more days driving brought me to Vienna. I had a map showing the Autobahn I was coming in on and the street my hotel was on and it didn't look like much of a prob- lem to get from one to the other but was I ever wrong! Streets are narrow or one way, or dead end and twisty and the street signs were not always to be found. I stopped about 5 times behind a taxi or truck and took my map up to them asking while pointing to the map "Wo ist hier am die landcarte? (Where is "here" on the map) They would show me and I would indicate where I wanted to go and they would very kindly point me in the right direction and I'd start off again, but within about 10 blocks I was lost again. However, I finally made it.

Next day, after much telephoning to all the Mercedes agents in the book, I found one that would keep the car in storage for me and drove down there and left it. They were to give it its 1st checkup after 800 miles and keep it for me for 6 weeks till I returned from my Middle East trip. That settled, I left the car and returned to the hotel by way of the National Museum and a lot of interesting walking thru the backways and by ways of old Vienna which is a very interesting city.

So, on Thurs. Sept. 20 I went to the airport and got aboard the same flight from Frankfurt to Beirut that the rest of the tour group was on. This was accomplished after a panicky few minutes when I got off of the bus from the downtown terminal at the airport only to find that my bag was not aboard the bus. About 15 minutes later it arrived on the next bus and I hurried aboard not forgetting my preliminary visit to the Damenzimmer prior to the frisking. On board I met our guide who as luck had it was the same one who had led us around the Eastern European countries in 1971. He is very nice and very capable- and so began the big adventure.

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