The Hills Are Alive--And More!

        In my journal titled “Dreams Can Come True,” I talked about the influence of my grandmother.  My grandmother loved to travel and went on some wonderful European excursions.  She had a niece who was an airline stewardess (back in the glory days of air travel) and together they traveled the world.  There is even one story of them almost missing a connection to an overseas flight in New York, but because Sally worked for the airlines, they held the plane at the end of the runway and drove Sally and my grandmother out to the waiting 707 jet in a van. It would never happen today!

        She also loved “The Sound of Music,” and I’m sure when Nana visited Salzburg not long after the movie was produced, she must have thought she died and went to heaven.  When we were planning this trip, I knew I would feel her presence in Salzburg and especially during our “Sound of Music” tour.  But little did I know how powerful her presence would appear. 

        I still remember different things from Nana’s house.  I inherited her marble clock that still chimes every hour.  Nana had a reproduction of a popular painting in her bedroom.  It was a Madonna and Child—which is strange considering she was an old-school Baptist. It is a painting by the Italian artist, Roberto Ferruzzi, named “The Madonnina” or commonly called, “The Madonna of the Streets.”  (She may have purchased this painting on one of her trips to Italy.) 

        I don’t know what happened to this painting, but I vividly remember it in her bedroom.  It would be the painting she would see first thing every morning and the last thing she would see at night. 

        The only way to describe Salzburg, Austria is beautiful—simply beautiful.  Everything about this city is beautiful.  We arrived in this beautiful city by train on Wednesday.  I had intended to write down the name and address of our hotel, but only had the name Bloberger Hof.  I assumed a taxi driver would know where it was located. 

        When we got into the taxi the driver asked me if I had an address.  I did not and he did not know where it was located.  He put it in his GPS and then said, “Oh, this is a small hotel and it is in a lovely place close to the mountains.”

        We checked into the Bloberger Hof and when we opened the door to our room we immediately walked out to the balcony with the flower baskets in this idyllic Austrian house.  There were majestic mountains in front of us.   From our balcony we have a fantastic view of the mountains—still with some snow—and a distant view of the snowcapped Alps.  We marveled at the scene before us!  These hills are truly alive!  I felt my grandmother’s presence and thought, “no wonder she loved Salzburg!”

        Then I walked back into our wonderful suite and looked at a beautiful painting on the wall.  I stopped.  I did a double-take.  I could not believe what I was seeing!   It was a copy of Roberto Ferruzzi’s “Madonnia;” the same painting that my grandmother had in her bedroom.

        I called Joyce and had her look at the painting.  I told her about that same painting being in my grandmother’s bedroom.  We both stood and stared, not knowing what to say.

        Then, for some reason, I looked at the date—May 22, 2019.  And it hit me—it was on May 22, 36 years ago, that Nana died.  She died in her sleep.  Perhaps the last thing she saw before turning out the light was this painting!

        She will always be with me.