(L-R) Marilyn Schutz ’68, Maryann Schulten ’68, Mimi Morgan Brodsky ’68 at their 50th reunion
An Unexpected Experience In 1967, four LEC juniors were in different study centers overseas for spring semester abroad. At the end of their term of study they had the choice of several tours to take through different European cities before reuniting to take the ship home. Marilyn Schutz ’68, Maryann Schulten ’68, Mimi Morgan Brodsky ’68 and Dee Nield Langevin ’68 found themselves on the same tour to Budapest. Shulten shares the details of their adventurous experience below: Budapest 1967: It seemed like a good idea at the time. There’s a reason that old saw is still in vogue. At age 20 it did seem like a good idea—a splendid idea! An exciting adventure! Not very long after the adventure began, it became clear that this was not such a good idea. We were traveling on our individual tours after leaving our respective European study centers and my group was in Vienna at the time. I don’t remember whose idea it was, but I’m quite certain it had to be that of my still very dear friend, Marilyn Schutz, or mine. Why the other two more
sensible, innocent bystander friends decided to throw their lot in with ours is a puzzlement. After the Lipizzaner Stallions and the Opera House, we decided that we had seen enough of Vienna and were off in search of an adventure. We looked at a map and decided that we could take a day trip to Prague or Budapest. Budapest was only an inch or so away on the map. Close and doable! So we took a streetcar to the edge of Vienna and hitchhiked to the border. We secured 24-hour visas and crossed the two miles of “No man’s Land.” We then caught a ride into Budapest with a salesman and found a place to have lunch. Goulash was the only thing we could decipher from the menu with any degree of familiarity. Dressed in our colorful Villager skirts and sweaters, we noticed that we drew the attention of all the onlookers who were dully and somberly dressed in grey or black. Before exploring any further, we thought it prudent to secure our transportation back to Vienna, in order to meet up with our group before we were missed that night. We thought we could get a train from Budapest to Vienna
