Do you ever wonder about the origins of things in your life? This is especially interesting to ponder in the middle of the night when you can’t sleep. For example, I love passion fruit (thanks Chuao Chocolatier). Whenever I’m in nature and near shady trees, I look for ferns (thanks to my daughter). And the precise way I fold my towels, well I owe that to my first job in retail (no thanks to Filene’s).
So how did my fascination for cemeteries and angel statues start? It dates back to a Norway cruise in 2016. It was the olden days when cruising wasn’t hazardous to your health. We had finished a land excursion and were waiting for a shuttle bus back to the ship. One of the passengers said it wasn’t too far to the ship and he was walking. We followed him.
The trip took us through a cemetery. I noticed the guy had a professional camera and was taking lots of photos of tombstones. My first thought was how weird, but I was also curious. When I asked him why, he explained that cemeteries can reveal a lot about a culture and how they honored their deceased citizens.
With that new perspective, I became hooked and started reading the tombstones. Some were so old, the writing had worn away. Pictured below is one example.
I didn’t find any angels at this first cemetery, but as you know I have found many of them locally and make visiting cemeteries a must do when I travel.
I am thankful for all my Val’s Road readers and wish you a healthy 2022. Hope we can travel again safely very soon and learn new perspectives.
