A 1980s Selfie in Venice

In the summer of ‘82 while stationed in Germany, we drove to what was then Yugoslavia* for a vacation. Along the way, we stopped for lunch in Venice. That is what you do when you are young and in love. Not for the night. Not for a couple of days. Just lunch, because, why the hell not?

I suppose with the Olympics going on, I was thinking about our trips to Italy. We have visited Italy many times, both when stationed in Europe in the ‘80s, and since then. It is that first lunch I chuckle about.

 In ‘82, we decided to take a vacation with our friends Ric and Terri to Split, a town on the coast of Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia was Communist at the time, but was independent and not a part of the Soviet Empire. You could travel there easily, once you obtained a visa, which we did in July. In August, our grand adventure started. The four of us piled into the Saab and headed south.

We made our way through Germany and Austria, before arriving in the town of Bressanone in Northern Italy. Located in the Alps, it is only about an hour and a half from Cortina d’Ampezzo, one of the sites for the Olympics this year. In Bressanone, we linked up for the night with my West Point classmate, Jay Napoli, who was stationed there. Jay was a groomsman at our wedding and a good friend.

 The five of us went out to dinner and had a fun time. We drank our fair share of wine, and perhaps a grappa or two. Eventually, we made it to bed.

 The next day, feeling surprisingly good considering the previous night’s activities, we pressed on. From Bressanone to Split, it is over 450 miles, and we hoped to make decent time.

 While driving on the Autostrada, we saw signs for Venice. It was not a part of our original itinerary, but it was nearing lunchtime and we thought, “what the hell, let’s make a quick detour, see the canals, have lunch and move on.”  

 We parked near the city and walked in. There it was, canals and all. We quickly visited St Mark’s Square, and while there, bought several post cards. (You remember post cards, right? Prior to the internet and social media, it is what people sent to others to let them know where they were traveling or sightseeing.)

 

We eventually found a small cafe on one of the canals and ordered lunch and drinks. As we sat there, Cath said something like, “Max, let’s write the postcards now, and put them in the mail.”  I answer, “What?”  And she said, “I have the perfect words to write.”  She grabbed one of the postcards and wrote:

 

Dear xxx, 

Hope all is well. We are driving to the Adriatic Coast in Yugoslavia and stopped in Venice for lunch and a couple of drinks. What is new with you?

Love, Max and Cathy

It was perfect – the snail mail version of a selfie. “Here we are world, having lunch in Venice.”

 We probably wrote 15 cards. Family members of course, but also to several friends. 

 After mailing the cards, we walked back to the Saab and continued our drive. We made our way to the Italy/Yugo border crossing and eventually arrived in Split that evening. For the next five or six days, we enjoyed a relaxing time on the beach, while also eating new and different foods. The place where we stayed catered particularly to Germans, so there was familiarity as well. The vacation eventually ended and we drove back to Wurzburg and work.

 

It’s funny, I remember the fun we had in Split, but I distinctly remember our lunch in Venice, and the little joke of sending those cards back home. We worked long hours in the Army and were often deployed. When vacation time came? We travelled extensively across the continent and took advantage of our time there whenever we could. 

 Sending a selfie as a postcard? Well worth it, and hopefully the cards brought smiles to our friends back home.

Addendum:

• * After Tito’s death and several years of war, the former Yugoslavia became Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia, and Kosovo.