A Little Something to Get Your Heart Pumping

I have a short post for tomorrow, and on Thursday I’m writing about our trip to Schloss Neuschwanstein, a.k.a the Disney Princess castle. This isn’t my photo, but I have some pretty great shots queued up nonetheless. I can’t say my photos can compare, but it’s quite the photogenic castle… It’s hard to take a bad picture of it! Anyways… Enough with the warmup– we’re moving onto some cardio.

Guess who doesn’t need to exercise today? You! Why? Because I brought you on a run with me. 🙂

Every morning I watch the sun rise over some of the most crazy-beautiful land I’ve ever seen. This particular morning, I took a run to a local dam while snapping pics every step of the way. I wanted you all to be able to experience the non-touristy areas, so I brought you on a trip literally over the river and through the woods. I even saw VERY drunk grandmotherly woman as well. If a wolf had come after me, I would have been legitimately creeped out. Anyways…

Time to cue the music.For the full experience, just click play.

This jam kept me moving during the run… Now we’re seeing and hearing everything together.

About a mile in, I pass a greenhouse basically in the middle of nowhere, with flowers and gorgeous landscaping everywhere. I’m not sure how they are successful with the lack of traffic passing by, but I don’t question it. I simply attempt to catch a little spray from the sprinklers as I hurry by.

To the left of the road, you can barely see this azure pond through clearings in the brush. {Did that sound like I searched the Thesaurus for synonyms of blue? I really do just love the word “azure”.}

After the pond, the road ends, and I veer off onto a gravel road. I run alongside corn fields for awhile {which aren’t horribly interesting to photograph, I might add}. Next, I come to a trail lined with trees. I LOVE trails lined with trees. Especially when they open up to this:

Lakes! It reminds me of the boundary waters up north in Minnesota. I get to run along the water for a mile or two in order to reach the dam.

Right before the dam, this sign is posted. I always attempt to read it as I run towards it, but I’m guessing it’s telling me to stop.

I didn’t. Would you? I spun around a bit, reveling in the the view, and headed back.

On the way back, I passed a pair of swans with their babies. SWANS! For real? Told you this was a fairy tale…

Although this photo isn’t terribly interesting, it made me a bit nostalgic for home. Hay is usually my business in the summer months. Literally.

I ran down the flag-lined road into Bogenhofen, tummy rumbling.

The solution: Muesli and Pretty Little Liars. {Yes, I was late for class}.

I hope you had a grand ‘ole time on our run! I attempted to take photos on my iPhone as I ran along, but most times ended up stopping or at least slowing down. Even though it took way longer than usual, it was probably one of the best runs I’ve gone on. I’ve run past the same pond many times… how was it possible that I just now noticed it’s a swans’ dwelling?! Guess that’s what happens when you slow down and really let enjoyment happen. A life can be composed of millions of grand moments, but you’ll miss them all if you keep sprinting onward. I hope that by slowing down to capture all the small {and large} things around me, I can find greater joy and contentment every day.

Tchüss!