Robbie Appenzeller

Angst Robbie Appenzeller

Angst tells the story of disturbing experiences that challenged me in many ways. In the summer of 1979 I traveled to Europe with two quests. First, to find my sister Lucy, who left the US with her group The Great Salt Lake Mime Troupe in 1975. Her letters said she was in Italy performing avant garde dance. Second, as an Appenzeller, I was curious about the village my ancestors must have come from called Appenzell in Switzerland. My adventure took a surrealistic turn in my second week when I found myself at an unbelievable dinner with the head of the Communist Party of Italy Enrico Berlinguer witnessing how these political people interact. It got more bizarre the next day after meeting an Appenzeller in St Gallen, Switzerland, who asked the frightening question, "Do you know what Angst means in English?", and demonstrated by pointing a loaded gun at my head. I spent the rest of the night crazed and fighting for my life. My adventure ended in Geneva mingling with the super rich dancing with a beautiful woman called Kung Fu. Following these three transformational days I traveled through Europe on trains haunted by these events hoping to find a woman to share my experience, but the only one who showed a mutual interest was a beautiful Spanish Blond who turned out to be a he not a she. Instead where ever I turned I was introduced to the gay culture of Europe. Despite finding my sister and her friends, my journey was a crazy adventure with many events that taught me the meaning of Angst