The Spirit of Memories

Picture by Absconding Reality - More on https://www.rheagita.com/2018/10/porcelain-doll-makeup-tutorial.html

It was my last day in London, about flying home in the afternoon. I looked at a brochure in the hotel lobby and somehow my heart beat very quickly. I immediately rushed to the train, still got 5 hours remaining before the flight, felt so excitedly anxious knowing I had to make it before time.

I can not blink at the splendor of a building that has been home to the Royal family for centuries. It was built in the 11th century and has over 1000 rooms in the Baroque-Gothic style. There are many mysteries and history behind the building that used to be the favorite residence of Queen Victoria. It may be a popular destination for tourists to visit in England, but the sublime feeling when you stand before it will give you a surreal majestic experience. Here I was, Windsor Castle, United Kingdom.

There was a lot to explore around the castle from Queen Mary's dollhouse to Royal state apartments, also hundreds of original famous paintings. One of my favorite parts was seeing the semi-state rooms, where I could taste a little bit of Royal life since they were my childhood imagination. But it was more than a Disney fairy tale. Much has happened in this castle, from the golden age to the second world war, this place was once a refuge for the Royal family.

"Did you know that Windsor Castle of England is one of the most haunted castles in England?" I made a friend with a stranger while we were admiring a painting and she opened up an enticing topic. I stared at her with a pair of curious eyes as she continued.

"Some say to see Henry VIII wandering around the corridor, and also the ghost of his wife Anne Boleyn who died beheaded."

It gave me goosebumps to hear those stories, overwhelmed by how complicated the past was. I believe in the existence of those ghosts since this place is also home to hundreds of souls buried with diverse reasons for death.

The supernatural stories drove me to find answers I needed and dig more into real history. Along the way to the airport, the internet accompanied me discovering all the questions about the things that happened there. I had no idea the last five hours had made me a lot richer as I dove more into the characters, dark affairs, cruel executions, all of them played like a movie in my brain. Traveling plus history - a combo of a perfect journey for me. My curious spirit made a list of castles I would visit when I come back here. I wrote down everything to my travel journal as this precious present faded into a memorable past.



More of my London Stories you can watch on Youtube:
London Fashion Week with Meitu Part 1

London Fashion Week with Meitu part 2

https://www.rheagita.com/2016/09/fashion-week-in-london-with-meitu.html (Indonesian)


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This article was submitted to Writing Competition by NOMAD 2017.


Writing is a really big part of my life, I spent my childhood more on reading and writing stories rather than hide and seek. As I grew up I learned how to combine my other interests like beauty stuff and traveling into a blog that could inspire and hopefully be a blessing to people. I also learned English harder than my friends because I want to write better for my international readers. But I think passion would never be enough to help me be a further skilled writer. Professional coach - that's what I need to equip myself closer to my dream.

Those previous years were quite hard to convince everybody that writing actually could bring people far since in my country writing was not a popular concern compared to science and others. It wasn't common for kids to have such a future goal as a "writer", parents expect to hear "doctor" or "engineer" more. Once my friend told me that she read my blog and there was a story that changed the way she thinks about life. Since that day I promise myself to keep on writing.

Thankfully, my mother also supports me and it keeps me going for what I believed I worthy of.