Postcard Exchange

Germany

Postcard courtesy Inge Möller-Rizo
Text by Michelle Mock

In 1968 the American dollar was very strong compared to European currency and American wages were significantly higher than European wages. A middle class American family seemed quite wealthy by European standards. My family had been living in Spain for 3 years and my parents decided to purchase a Mercedes, an unaffordale luxury for them in the United States.

When they rolled into El Escorial, with their new Mercedes, they might as well have been driving a limousine. In a town where those who could afford to own a car drove vehicles like the SEAT 600 (FIAT) or the Citroën "dos caballos", the Mercedes 280 SL looked like it belonged to Royalty! It was the talk of the town... much to my embarrassment.

When I returned to El Escorial (37 years later), and reconnected with my old friends, they asked about that car: “Do your parents still own the Mercedes?” Well, actually… that car does still remain in the family. My younger brother owned it for a time and now it belongs to my youngest sister.