Benita Fuchs

Notes from Across the Pond: a Young Woman's European Odyssey in the 1950's Benita Fuchs

Starting out as a teenage college student in 1953,the author takes us on a journey of discovery in Europe over a period of seven years. We move from the highlands of Scotland to Moscow's Kremlin at the height of the Cold War. Coming soon after the end of World War II, this was an era when few Americans traveled overseas. Cruise ships plied the Atlantic, or "the pond," and airport security was unheard of. The author describes her travels in eighteen countries; how she met her husband while both were studying under a Fulbright Grant in Italy and her experiences living in England as an exchange teacher. Her adventures led to romances, royal garden parties, a papal audience, czarist palaces, bullfights, encounters with Nazis and communists and some scary moments. The historical background of the period and the tensions of the Cold War are vividly described and explained for everyone to be able to comprehend and enjoy.