Hands Down, Hannover

The night we got to Hannover Thomas first drove us to where he and Achim used to live, the same place Marc had visited so many years ago.

Marc's heart was leaping with joy, I could tell. He was so excited to be in a place where there were so many great memories of great friends. Marc and Thomas began to reminisce as Thomas took us on a short tour through Hannover before going to his apartment.

Thomas gave up his room to Marc and I. It was awesome. It was it's own little suite upstairs with great views.

I have no photos of Thomas' apartment... not sure why... well, I lied, I do have one...

I have no idea why this one is the only one can find...

This is from Marc's phone... you can guess where he is sitting for this shot...

Great shower!

Anyway...

That night we were able to talk with the kids, Marc's parents, my parents and my brother Daniel in Illinois! It was so exciting to talk to the kids and see that they are doing well, but it was really surprising to talk to my parents in Illinois! My mom never travels. So her being in Illinois was a bit of a shock. My brother was being put in as a counselor in the Bishopric so my parents wanted to be there for that special occasion.

Our kids were so happy while we  were gone that it made it easier for me to have fun on my time away.

Sister was taking pictures...

I think Lindsey and Ken were having fun too!

So it was good to go to sleep that night knowing all was well.

In the morning we woke up and were on our way to Thomas' work. He had to get some things done and we wanted to see where he works so we decided to go with him and then walk around while he was working.

Before going to his work, we made a little stop to visit Thomas' father in his elderly care home. I pause to tell you about this because it was a sweet and spiritual experience for me.

Thomas is an only child so the care of his father falls on his shoulders.

His father, Heinz, has Alzheimers. Thomas was a bit hesitant to have us see his dad as it is just a sad situation. He doesn't speak and he can't see well.

I have never done well in rest home-type situations.

It always scared me, until I had a special experience with me Grandpa Fred, and now I see them as a more sacred place... hard to explain, but, I hope in telling my experience with Heinz that it will make more sense.

As we entered the room where Thomas' father and a roommate were staying there was a certain pang of fear I felt at the very beginning... I look back now and just realize it was sadness for what our friend, Thomas was facing in his life with his father being so ill.

Heinz's roommate gave me a chuckle when he realized when I spoke that there was a female in the room, he tried to sit up and say hello... what a flirt... tee hee!

Then I looked over to see Thomas talking with his father who was calling out in what sounds like a cry of pain, but maybe he's just singing with the angels who keep him company.

I say this because as I watched Thomas being so tender with his father you could feel the love they have for each other and you could feel the strong spirit of heaven in the room. It was then that I was reminded that we, here on earth, are truly not alone in our suffering. Angels guard and protect us and give us peace in our toughest times here on earth.

I felt and instant connection to Heinz and wanted to say hello to him and let him know Marc and I cared and hoped that he could feel us there and know that his son has friends who care for him.

Heinz, looked blankly unless his son was stroking his head or talking to him.

I got up the nerve to talk to him and when I did, Heinz looked at me! I was so surprised as he hadn't seem to really show much sign of realizing that Marc and I were there.

When he looked at me I wanted to talk to him and bear my testimony to him of what I know about life after this. I wanted to give him comfort... but, somehow, when our spirits connected in that moment, I knew that he already knew this and was just being comforted until his time came. I still wanted to reach out to him but I don't speak German, and he doesn't understand English.

Then it came to me, I could sing him a song. Everyone understands music. Music transcends languages, but I didn't know what song to sing. I kept thinking of Primary songs but I didn't want to make Thomas uncomfortable so I tried to think of some other sweet simple song to sing... then I remembered my Grandpa Willy used to sing a German song to me and the other grandkids all the time and for some reason it came to me in that moment.

So I apologized to Heinz for not being able to speak to him in German, but that I could sing a song to him in German, "Mein hüt est hat drei ecken, drei ecken hast mein hüt..." I could only remember a few lines but, it is My hat, it has 3 corners, 3 corners has my hat... and it goes on.

Heinz's face lit up as he looked at me and Thomas was surprised that I knew such an old song.

We were only there for about 10 minutes, but it was one of the most touching 10 minutes of my life. I appreciate that Thomas allowed Marc and I to share a moment with his father because, hands down, this is what made Hannover one of my favorite cities we visited.

After meeting Heinz, we were able to go to Thomas' work and meet a few of his employees, Mario and Basta. They were a hoot and a half.

We met and talked for a moment and then Marc and I left to go on our walk to the Royal Gardens of Hannover. Just the walk there was beautiful. Tree-lined paths and beautiful green everywhere. Not to mention, the view of my hubby wasn't too bad either (wink).

Then we got to the gardens and I went camera crazy! It was amazing in there!

When we got back to the office I was still camera crazy so I wanted to take a couple work shots:

They look serious at work, but don't let that fool you... they are cray-cray! Hee hee! They really are a lot of fun!

I told Thomas to get his "boss" on...

 Start off hard and end with a smile... 

And that, my friends, is all I have time to blog about today.

I actually have to go make dinner... can you believe that? 

Me, a wife and mother, has to go make dinner...

Tee hee!

Tomorrow I shall blog and make dinner at the same time!

...

Just kidding!

I'm really not in the mood to do that again...

The Hannover Caterpillar

This tiny, little guy was working awfully hard to get somewhere.

I wonder how long it took him to get up onto the bench just to inch along the top.

I guess just about anyone will make a climb for a great view...

I don't have time to write about our first full day in Hannover, but I wanted to at least show you one of the first pictures I took when we first got there...

Sometimes I feel like this little caterpillar.

The point is that we keep going.

The Castle in the Clouds

First off, before I start writing my real post, I have to show you a picture Marc snuck of me on the drive to this special castle. I apparently missed all kinds of other castles and a great drive on the Autobaun that involved a Ferrari and a Sport Utility Vehicle... hey, it was a long drive...

 OK, now that we've had a good laugh...

moving on...

A castle in the clouds seems so fairytale-like, so imaginary, almost like Disney...

After seeing the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany on a rainy day I can totally understand why Walt Disney patterned his castle after this one, specifically the Sleeping Beauty Castle. (Have you seen the movie Maleficent? This photo seems to fit the storyline exactly...)

I felt like I was in a fairytale as I walked through the mist and the rain to see the towering turrets and gilded gates.

Because of the rain and mist, I felt like it was more when Belle finds the beast's castle when she is looking for her father or, as mentioned above Maleficent, none-the-less, I still loved it.

It was wet.

Really wet.

I couldn't use my camera too much because of the rain.

I loved it anyway!

I'm not sure that everyone loved it because some were not prepared for the trek in the rain. There were many tourists in sandals, shorts and tank tops... we were prepared and had our rain jackets, and were wearing good shoes and pants. I was a little taken back when I saw a few young, overly-plump ladies pouring themselves into the translucent "one size fits al"l rain ponchos they sold at all the shops there. Trust me, you must be desperate to stay a little dry if you're willing to wrap yourself in plastic wrap and stride up the hill to a castle... Can we say, "not fun."

Anyway it was a little bit of a walk to get to the castle, but it was fun and we had plenty of time to talk, laugh and giggle about the plastic-wrapped passersby. I know I shouldn't laugh, but no one should look like they are wrapped in plastic wrap... it's just ... ... ... anyway...

We were actually grateful that this was the first time during our entire vacation that it had rained. We did most of our driving that day, so it wasn't too bad to spend a couple of hours in the rain.

Once we got up to the castle, this was one place I definitely noticed the tourists. I couldn't get a shot without some one in there it seemed.

Ya, Marc's just so cool, he didn't need his hood on...

This picture holds some memories... not just because of Marc and the castle, but, because of that couple on the bottom right... the looks on their faces should have told me they were going to be a hoot! Here, I'll point them out to you.

OK, so here they are. The man was the photographer and the lady was the model... for their tourist shot.
Thomas, Marc and I watched on in giggling amazement as the woman tried to get into a position that, we think, may have been so that the castle and her were in a good view... not too sure... but she did this back-bend-stance-lean-thing that can only be described through a picture. I didn't dare take one of her, but we laughed quite a bit, for quite a while. Thomas kept joking about it, so when Marc said to pose for a picture, he took the photo stance we had previously witnessed...

I don't even think he quite got it, but it makes us laugh every time we see it.

Here's a few pictures I got that look a little more "normal."

Some views from the castle grounds:

We took a few pictures inside the castle gates but did not go inside because of our time restraints.

See those rain ponchos in the picture, front and center? Ya, those don't look good when they are too tight and on bodies that are wearing tanks and shorts... just sayin'... again.

Sometimes taking panoramic photos on your phone don't turn out the best...

... and of course, the selfie! Tradition it was!
...Thomas, you look a bit worried in this one...

Yes, I look a little oversized... I will tell you though, that I had my camera under my jacket most of the time.

Oh, here I am again... 

just FYI

After being inside the gates for a bit we came back out to get some final pics before our descent to the car.

Marc and I tried a selfie and it didn't turn out the way we wanted:

So we asked Thomas to take a picture:

Surprise!

OK, really Thomas take the picture:

Thanks.

There was another castle just across the way, we didn't go to it, so I just took some pictures from below.

After taking these pictures of the other castle you could see on the way down, Marc turned and noticed we had a great view of the Neuschwanstein from the bottom of the path. I didn't have a tripod, but they still turned out decent.

At the bottom I took some shots of the beautiful draft horses because I knew that Brother would love to see them.

 When we started going out of the parking lot we noticed a great view of the castle. I was so excited! I didn't think we'd get a good shot of the most of it because of our access, but these were pretty cool! I really wanted to take a picture of this castle to hang one up in Brother's room, he LOVES Sleeping Beauty, loves castles, and loves his mom's photography (smile).

 

Just to show you how grateful I am that I brought my camera on our trip, this is a zoomed-in shot from Marc's iPhone...

I recorded a little clip in the car after our tour at the castle, I hope it will make you laugh:

As far as my real castle in the clouds, my home in Utah, I need to really keep it in focus and remember it is my home where I raise my family and find refuse. Sometimes, as I look at these photos from months ago I start to see my home in the way the last picture looks... a little fuzzy, distorted and undesirable.

Real life, sometimes, is not a fairytale. It is hard and as the saying goes, "When it rains, it pours."

The day we walked to the Neuschwanstein castle it was pouring, but I had a great attitude because I knew what my goal was in the end.

The castle.

One of the most beautiful castles in the world, one of the most toured and desired and a place that inspired someone to make a place as close to it as possible in a whole other land.

It pours down a lot in Our Life.

I still deal with depression.

I still have children with mental impairments accompanied by Autistic characteristics—Fragile X Syndrome.

Sometimes I'm caught in the rain storm of Our Life without a rain jacket and good shoes.

Sometimes, I'm the ill-prepared one. The one in sandals when the water is running high. The one in shorts and a tank top when the winds begin to blow the rain sideways into my face.

But, I can't give up.

I just have to find that plastic wrap poncho, squeeze it on and face the rain head on, whether I look good or not!

I just hope that we all remember that our "castles" are worth the work. I just hope my castle in the clouds is waiting for me when I have lived a good life to the fullest and can say, "I may not look my best today, but I walked head on through the storms of life with my head held high."

Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes by Sister Marjorie Pay Hinckley: 

I found this image at http://runwithglitter.blogspot.com/2011_04_01_archive.html