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

Now for That

So, way back on April 26th, when we were still on our Europe Vacation, we were able to go to Meran, Italy!

I got to go to Italy!

Italy!

We made a day trip out there so we could say we went to Italy on our trip.

Thomas really did try to fit everything in for us that we asked for, what a great travel guide. If you need one, he's really expensive, but does a great job (wink). I'm just glad we're friends...

Anyway, we left Igls, Austria early to avoid traffic on the way to Meran, Italy.

We were cruising along just fine until we came to a complete stop on the highway... a packed highway... with no way to get out of the traffic.

I don't know how long the wait was, but it was actually kind of fun... really.

People were just getting out of their cars and walking on the highway. The road was blocked on both sides. There had a been a car fire so they stopped all traffic. We actually had some pretty great views of the mountain while we waited. I finally joined the others and got out of the car... I felt so rebellious... tee hee! Marc and Thomas made it feel more so, because they were hesitant to get out with me. So, we did what tourists do when they are stuck on the highway in another country...

We took pictures!

Don't worry, we were still in the car when the ambulance, firetruck and emergency response flew by.

After our long and entertaining wait we were off for more driving. I kept dozing off so I missed all the castles that were in each little valley going through the canyon so Marc took a picture of a couple of them for me. I saw did see them all on the way back home and seriously, they were amazing. I guess kingdoms really had to be every few miles, it was amazing! Castles everywhere!

Marc and Thomas finally got to the point where they would stoically say, "Oh, look, another castle." It was hilarious how often they actually said it, because there really were so many castles I lost count.

 When we got to Meran I was so excited to take photos of all the beauty I saw! It was also really awesome because there was a festival going on, which meant local food vendors, local musicians, and locals everywhere! Oh, and there was even a flee market! I loved Meran, Italy!

I wish I would have got a picture of the treat Thomas bought for us to share, it kind of reminded me of an apple turnover like my mom makes. It was good and it was fun to have bought it from the local street vendor.

We walked around to see the sights, enjoy the local crowds, browse the shops, eat some real Italian gelato and peruse the flee market.

Spring was definitely in Italy!

This picture makes me laugh because it looks like Marc has an antenna growing out the top of his head... it's a lamp post.

I post this photo for 3 reasons:
1) Marc took it  
2) he was taking pictures of my backside all day long so I thought I should post at least one for commemoration  
 and 3) this is the only one that didn't look like an elephant in boots...

P.S. I don't know who I am giving the dirty look to.

I'm telling you! I loved the cobblestone streets we continued to see in Europe. They just have so much character and style!

This picture makes me laugh because this dog was HUGE! I mean HUGE! So I asked to get my picture with him. I knelt down because he was above my head when he was standing... then the owner made him "sit" for the picture...

...

So much for the comparison...

Marc usually tried to stay a ways from me so I didn't embarrass him too much, so I would make sure to call his name and tell him to pose for a picture every once in a while so that he couldn't get away with it for too long...

I just think things are pretty

I went looking for toys to bring home for the kids in this cute, little Pinocchio shop.
I had to get a shot of Marc standing next to their mascot.

I loved how every country we were in, the streets in between the shops, were packed with tables and chairs full of people socializing and eating outside. It was nostalgic for sure.

 I just love bridges... especially when they have either Marc or flowers next to them (smile).

This is one of my favorite shots from that day. This is the one I took just as we were heading back to the car to get our swimsuits.

Ya, one of the reasons we came to Meran, was not only was it close to Igls but it has a natural hot spring fed pool.

We had so much fun there! I was just glad everyone had a swimsuit on...

Hey, I've heard things about Europe...

Besides, it was bad enough when we saw an over-confident Italian in his speedo. Trust me, there is nothing funnier than a real Italian, who looks like a real Italian walking around in a swimsuit that doesn't quite fit who thinks he's strutting his stuff for the ladies. Marc, Thomas and I had a good laugh... I would shudder, then laugh, shudder, then laugh, and so on.

It was a family place so I was glad to have not been exposed to too much exposure.

Marc got a picture just before we left the pools.

After swimming we went and got dinner at the local Italian Cafe and had some great Italian pasta and great conversation. We mostly joked some more about the Italian guy in the cute little swimsuit. He has no idea how famous he is...

After dinner and one more gelato we were on our way back to Igls.

Marc was so excited when from the road we could see the Dolemite Mountains. I never even knew what the Dolemites were until that moment. He was so happy and was trying to take pictures from the back seat. I was in the front so I tried to get some shots for him with my phone...

Then I remembered I have a cool camera with a cool lens and Marc handed it forward to me and I got some better shots through my window:

Then I just started taking pictures of everything from my passenger window.

On the way back we had to stop for gas and when Thomas came back out from paying for gas he had a little surprise for me, it was a Kinder Egg! What is a Kinder Egg... oh, we have a love/hate relationship. They are so cool! They are chocolate eggs with surprises inside. But, Sister loves to watch the endless YouTube videos that all these people put on of them opening Kinder Eggs and seeing what surprise is inside.

This was one thing I just had to try for myself and had to bring back for Sister. That was actually her only request was for me to bring home a bunch of Kinder eggs for her.

Thomas made me so happy and I recorded me opening it so I could show it to Sister. I snapped a couple scenes from the video so you could see what it looks like and the toy car that was inside.

I had to set it on my legs so I had a free hand to open it with. Marc eventually ended up filming for me.

I know it doesn't look like much of a car but I was trying to make it look like it was driving on the road... you know, trying to be that cool mom...

We got back to the hotel at 8:30 but it was still light and we wanted to walk along the path that Thomas had run on the morning before, so I took my camera and got some fun shots of Igls.
The cherry blossoms were in full bloom.

The favorite picture of the night was an impromptu goofy picture that made us all laugh. A lot.

But the thing is, there was no train to make it look really funny, so...

I added one, for full effect!

Now that's funny!

I didn't take anymore funny ones, but I love what I did get.

This one's my favorite of the night. Just a simple wooden gate going to someone's secret garden

We walked until it was almost too dark and then we went back to the hotel and talked and had soda's and ice-cream and some funny conversation and just fun.

On the way home that evening Marc had plucked me a branch of white lilacs because he knows they're one of my favorite flowers. I took a picture of them, but I can't find it anywhere. The cool thing is that I kept it pressed in my Europe journal.

Yep, we still have a little romance left.