Snow.
A castle.
"...and it looks like I'm the queen."
Okay, maybe not, but a girl can dream. No?
Hey, everyone!
Yes, I am still alive. Promise.
Honestly speaking, I've been dealing with a rough patch of Seasonal Affective Disorder, although I didn't want to believe it for quite sometime.
This post isn't a PSA about the subject, but if you've wondered where I've been, well now you know.
They say "The grass is greener...", but I firmly believe that it's more like "The sun is brighter...".
Seriously, I'm a wee bit over the winter season here in Bavaria. It's just dreary and dark and ugly.
Anyway, I've gotten out of my house since my last post, but hadn't felt up to writing about any of our little adventures until today. This post should've been up in early January!
In January, I was super sick, but I crawled out of my cave (more like my husband dragged me out of the house) and we visited Flossenburg after a fresh dusting of snow.
I don't regret it, even though I was feeling awful.
The fresh air and random sunshine was just what I needed. The following morning, I actually felt a lot better than I had in days. Maybe it was coincidence, but I'd like to believe it was because castles are a happy place for me.
We pulled up, parked at the base of the large hill, and began our trek up to the ruin. Though this castle ruin is only a 40 minute drive from us, the depth of the snow was just about triple the amount at our house!
We've visited this lovely castle ruin once before, but it was in September of 2014, and for obvious seasonal reasons there wasn't any snow at that time {that blog post is in my archives for Sept 2014}.
It couldn't have been a more beautiful day to see the place again, and believe me when I say that a different season can make a familiar place seem completely new!
We were the only folks on the hill, which was not unfathomable, but odd enough. It was really neato to be the first person of the day placing footprints in fresh, untouched snow. We couldn't adventure to the top of the ruin because the stairs were pretty darn slick, but the kids had fun running around at the base.
My son even took the time to bury himself in the snow. *The same child that absolutely, positively did not want to go, but had fun, anyway.
Before I knew it, I was at the ruin alone, wandering around with my camera.
My family had made it back to the car, unbeknownst to me.
I *almost* felt like the only person in the world, until I heard laughing in the distance. When I finally made my way down the steep and snowy trail, I found that my husband had pulled sleds out of the car, hence the laughter sounds. The family had picked a spot adjacent to the castle (on what I think is a farmer's crop, oops) and began their sled adventures!
The sun popped out just in time, and all was perfect.
A dose of castle and a spoonful of sunshine is just what I needed. Like I mentioned, I suddenly felt better the following day than I had in that past week, or so. Interesting.
For the folks out there, like myself, who are too 'blah' to head outside in the cold season, I strongly urge you to take advantage of any sunny winter days that come your way, if possible.
Here in Germany, specifically Bavaria, there are periods of time in the winter when the sun isn't seen for weeks; hiding behind cloud curtains and depressing the folks below. It does get old. Fast. Today is one of those days.
But looking back at these photos makes me feel a bit fuzzy on the inside, even if the weather is fugly this afternoon.
Crossing fingers that the weather will comply with our larger upcoming travel plans in March and April (I'm very excited for Spring Break's destination. Booked and ready to go, yay!).
Some of our day trip plans since our return from Scotland have been cancelled due to rain, snow, and/or road conditions, so we haven't been out and about as much as I hoped to be.
Hoping for a sunny Saturday this coming weekend, so that maybe I'll have something to write home about. We'll see.
Until next time, folks.
A castle.
"...and it looks like I'm the queen."
Okay, maybe not, but a girl can dream. No?
Hey, everyone!
Yes, I am still alive. Promise.
Honestly speaking, I've been dealing with a rough patch of Seasonal Affective Disorder, although I didn't want to believe it for quite sometime.
This post isn't a PSA about the subject, but if you've wondered where I've been, well now you know.
They say "The grass is greener...", but I firmly believe that it's more like "The sun is brighter...".
Seriously, I'm a wee bit over the winter season here in Bavaria. It's just dreary and dark and ugly.
Anyway, I've gotten out of my house since my last post, but hadn't felt up to writing about any of our little adventures until today. This post should've been up in early January!
In January, I was super sick, but I crawled out of my cave (more like my husband dragged me out of the house) and we visited Flossenburg after a fresh dusting of snow.
I don't regret it, even though I was feeling awful.
The fresh air and random sunshine was just what I needed. The following morning, I actually felt a lot better than I had in days. Maybe it was coincidence, but I'd like to believe it was because castles are a happy place for me.
We pulled up, parked at the base of the large hill, and began our trek up to the ruin. Though this castle ruin is only a 40 minute drive from us, the depth of the snow was just about triple the amount at our house!
We've visited this lovely castle ruin once before, but it was in September of 2014, and for obvious seasonal reasons there wasn't any snow at that time {that blog post is in my archives for Sept 2014}.
It couldn't have been a more beautiful day to see the place again, and believe me when I say that a different season can make a familiar place seem completely new!
We were the only folks on the hill, which was not unfathomable, but odd enough. It was really neato to be the first person of the day placing footprints in fresh, untouched snow. We couldn't adventure to the top of the ruin because the stairs were pretty darn slick, but the kids had fun running around at the base.
My son even took the time to bury himself in the snow. *The same child that absolutely, positively did not want to go, but had fun, anyway.
 |
| I think my husband dressed me. I honestly don't remember even bothering to brush my hair on this day. |
Before I knew it, I was at the ruin alone, wandering around with my camera.
My family had made it back to the car, unbeknownst to me.
I *almost* felt like the only person in the world, until I heard laughing in the distance. When I finally made my way down the steep and snowy trail, I found that my husband had pulled sleds out of the car, hence the laughter sounds. The family had picked a spot adjacent to the castle (on what I think is a farmer's crop, oops) and began their sled adventures!
The sun popped out just in time, and all was perfect.
 |
| We certainly left some tracks in the snow. Before we showed up, it was perfectly untouched. |
A dose of castle and a spoonful of sunshine is just what I needed. Like I mentioned, I suddenly felt better the following day than I had in that past week, or so. Interesting.
For the folks out there, like myself, who are too 'blah' to head outside in the cold season, I strongly urge you to take advantage of any sunny winter days that come your way, if possible.
Here in Germany, specifically Bavaria, there are periods of time in the winter when the sun isn't seen for weeks; hiding behind cloud curtains and depressing the folks below. It does get old. Fast. Today is one of those days.
But looking back at these photos makes me feel a bit fuzzy on the inside, even if the weather is fugly this afternoon.
Crossing fingers that the weather will comply with our larger upcoming travel plans in March and April (I'm very excited for Spring Break's destination. Booked and ready to go, yay!).
Some of our day trip plans since our return from Scotland have been cancelled due to rain, snow, and/or road conditions, so we haven't been out and about as much as I hoped to be.
Hoping for a sunny Saturday this coming weekend, so that maybe I'll have something to write home about. We'll see.
Until next time, folks.
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