THE INTERLOCHEN ARTS ACADEMY IN MICHIGAN AND THE CITY OF SALZBURG, AUSTRIA were bonded for many years with an exciting exchange program. When our daughter Marica was attending the IAA, she was chosen to represent the Music Composition Division in the exchange and went to Salzburg for the three-week program. The Interlochen students were hosted by the City School of the Arts, an outstanding high school for gifted students of the various arts' disciplines.
The organizer of the entire exchange, Waltraut, graciously and generously included us (we drove up from Umbria for a few days in Salzburg to see Marica who otherwise was away in Michigan the entire school year) in many of the field trips, concerts, city sightseeing tours, and day trips of great interest. This was in 1985. Ever since, we have exchanged many visits in Italy and Austria, hosted Waltraut's adult children and their spouses, kept in touch sharing life's milestones, pains and delights.
We spent an unforgettable week in Waltraut's beautiful villa in Badgastein, she and Gunter came to our home for Easter vacations and fall getaways.
Our friendship was renewed again in August when Waltraut and her husband Gunter came to stay at our Genius Loci Country Inn. What an immense joy to share our "finished product" with them and to see their delight and enjoyment. Even after 22 years of a distant friendship, we picked up as if we had been been together uninterruptedly all this time. As so often strikes me, certain affinities with certain people are incredibly strong and hold up against all odds.
