The great Austrian writer Ingeborg Bachmann died in Rome but was buried in Klagenfurt, the city of her childhood. Only days later, Uwe Johnson made a pilgrimage to her grave site and to Klagenfurt itself, which Bachmann had always promised to show him. Johnson re-creates her presence by layering the cultural, physical, and historical landscape of the city - from its picturesque lake and totemic dragon to a personal visit from Hitler during Bachmann's childhood - with Bachmann's letters, interviews, and published writings. The result is a biographical montage that explores the vast forces behind a single extraordinary life. A Trip to Klagenfurt illuminates the writers' friendship as well as Johnson's entire generation.