And THEN......

Within a few days of graduation, the Girl and I hopped aboard yet another plane and headed back across the pond.  I had asked her last year what she'd like for a graduation gift, and she had only one request - to visit Salzburg, Austria and do the Sound of Music tour.  It's been her favorite movie since she was a toddler - a "happy place movie" she never tires of watching.  Amazingly, God saw fit to station us here in Europe at this season of life, so making the Girl's dream a reality was actually do-able. 


Because Sir is such a servant-hearted guy, he picked us up at Frankfurt, hauled us and our luggage home (in Volveeta, who is turning out to be my new favorite thing in the world, as old and saggy-seated as she is!), and then turned around and delivered us to the train station a day or so later.  Five hours on the train, five minutes of figuring out how to get out of the train station, and five minutes to check into the sweet little Ramada City Centre....and we were off to explore!  I cannot remember the last time I walked so much.  Before we knew it we had wandered all the way through the city, down to the Alstadt (old town).  On the way, we literally stumbled upon Mirabell Gardens.  Those of you who know my Girl know that she could have been British, the way she fights showing emotion of any sort.  But jumping on the Do-Re-Mi steps, skipping through the arches, splashing in the fountains, doing the cheesy bus tour to Mondsee, taking a carriage ride, and even scaling the mountain to find Nonnberg Abbey.....it was enough to bring out sheer delight even in Miss I Never Cry. 

I don't think I'll ever forget a moment of those three days.  We climb'd ev'ry mountain, fortunately did not have to ford any streams, and loved every inch of Salzburg.  By the end of the trip, we were cutting through shortcut alleys and hopping city buses like we'd been doing it all our lives.  The highlight for me was taking an elevator halfway up the sheer steep cliff and then following a path for quite a couple of steep kilometers to the quiet, ancient, crumbling, gorgeous Nonnberg Abbey.  We hardly saw another human being along the pathway.  We were able to go right in the gates, even inside the chapel, and admired the cool, polished stone floors, the beautiful aged wood pews, and the stately altar.  As we stood there in awe, we noticed a stepladder perched up on the altar, and a tiny little nun standing way up on the table cleaning the huge old candelabra.  Her back was to us, her habit and headpiece swishing gently as she worked silently.  She never turned around.  We were afraid to make a sound for fear we'd startle her and she'd come tumbling down from her perch.  Look closely and you'll see her in one of the photos below.

All too soon, we were back on the train, back in Heidelberg, and, within days, my Girl was back on her flight to America.   I can't begin to tell you how sad I am to be without her again, so instead I'll share the "happy place" photos and enjoy the memories again with you!