This is a common time for us Americans to share what we're thankful for.  I am no different.

My husband, because he keeps me sane.

My horse, because he knows my heart.


The best bitches, because when all else fails in your life, you still have to feed the dogs.  I hope this never makes sense to anyone else.

My equestrian friends, because every single one has come out to support me when I need it the most.

Big G.  Just wait.

My job, because it pays my bills and feeds my ego and gives me something to feel elitest about.  This is important.  I know a shit ton more than I did a year ago and the knowledge only increases.

It was a slow day.

The shittens, because affection doesn't necessarily have to be sought to be appreciated.


Wine, because it makes me think of Europe and the days are too long.

Harry Potter. Because Harry Potter. 

My SUV.

Zugspitze, the highest point in Germany, which you can't even see.

Butterfly.

Weiner.

Trolly coming up.

A little pit stop somewhere between Zugspitze and Munich, known only to me as "Monk's Beer", because, literally, beer brewed by monks.  Thank you, devoted men.

Ponies everywhere.

Our first official German pretzel.

That's not how it works, is it?

Whoops.

So I've been perusing Craig's List, English Tack Trader and eBay recently for brown dressage saddles.  Haphazardly looking for a unicorn: ostentatious blocks, pretty, MW, good condition, and cheap.  And brown.

And then I found it.

Not gonna complain, but it sells closer to $4.5k new, with the two-tone leather.  Will be selling the carrier, if anyone is interested in black and pink.

I showed the ad to D and he wondered briefly why the guy was selling it so cheap.  Me, too!  I sent an email to the guy, regardless, and he didn't respond.  So I texted him.  Because I'm persistent.  And mildly obnoxious.  I knew I'd like this saddle because I rode OR's mare in the exact same thing.

The guy and I had a great chat about why he was selling it and he gave me a ton of photos of every angle that I asked about, verified the size of the gullet and the seat, and I talked it over with D.  Because, whoopsie, the saddle was about four hours away.

Yeah, the irons are Korsteel composite.

D was sold on the idea of a road trip after the guy offered to meet us almost half-way.

So Saturday, D and I drove to Columbia and ate dinner at an amazing Mexican restaurant that I'd found on Yelp and then wandered across the street to meet the Guy With the Saddle (because that's how he introduced himself on the phone before telling me his name) at a CVS.  He was concerned about adequate light for me to see the saddle.

He was blown away by his Molcajete.

I checked everything over, removed the bit from the bridle he was selling with the saddle (his wife wanted to keep it) (she's a trainer out of Charleston, small world) (he said she'd come give me lessons, if I wanted, for a price), tugged on the billets (replaced a year and a half ago at a reputable Aiken saddlery), checked the tree for any give, squished all the squishables, poked all the pokeables, and put the saddle in D's arms.  Ours now!

It was probably one of the best exchanges that I've ever had with a man over fifty.  He'd had another man with him, for safety, I suppose.  But, you know how when you're the only woman in the group, even if you're one of the primary parties, the men will still rather talk to each other?  Like going to a car dealership and having them talk to your husband when you're making the purchase.  This guy didn't do that.  He politely acknowledged D, but his focus remained on me and on my questions and opinions.  He was just respectful and I appreciated that.

I did find out why he was selling so cheap:  a) his Hanovarian mare was recently retired and b) he wants to get into road cycling, so we talked about bikes for a little bit.  Like, he immediately used the money to purchase a Trek on Monday.

So here's my silver-lining to our semi-retirement, Seidenschnabel.  It's Buckbeak's German name.  His barn name is Wither Wings, which is Buckbeak's name after Sirius dies and he gets returned to Hogwarts.  Given the giant blocks on this thing, I felt pretty proud of myself for the names.  #nevertoomuchharry

Back to our regularly scheduled program.  After this, two more Europe posts:  the top of Germany/Austria, and Munich.

So, when last we left off, we'd left Aoife in Luxembourg and taken a bus to Frankfurt.

In Frankfurt, we'd arranged a car rental.  Autobahn, you know.  The plan was for a little Audi hatchback and D had spent a lot of time looking at the various cars before picking that one.  So when we checked in for our rental, they gave us a German SUV instead. Ein Opel Mokka.

Since D doesn't drive a manual with any frequency, it fell to me to drive.  We were already a wee bit stressed out and those first few miles of driving a foreign car in a foreign country weren't exactly the most enjoyable.  (Sidenote:  stressed Beka is a ginormous bitch.  File that away somewhere.)  D had already programmed our GPS for the German maps and added all our stops.

After getting the car, we almost immediately pulled over and parked.  Got a nice breakfast in Frankfurt before wandering the marketplace and a clock shop.  Frankfurt was a beautiful little city and I'm so glad that I made it a priority, because I was born there.  We didn't live in Frankfurt, I think we lived in Wiesbaden, but I was an emergency cesarean and Frankfurt had the closest military hospital.  Mom likes to tell stories about how it was under attack at the time.  Anyways, it was important to me and I'm glad we did it.

Saw a dude legitimately sweeping the sidewalk with this broom.

Horse butt.

No idea.

This cuckoo was out of our budget.  By a lot.

We picked up the magical little SUV (going to import one!) and started our drive to a castle outside of Frankfurt, Schloß Johannisburg in Aschaffenburg.  It's weird to think that I went there as a kid, but we totally did.

While we were there, they were celebrating and had a little festival going on.  Tried some local Apple wine, Apfelweine.

I'm just gonna retire here, thanks.

The river Main.

Castor and Pollux, twin sons of Jupiter, leading ponies?

 After Aschaffenburg, we drove to Füssen.  At this point, I'm feeling pretty damn awesome about driving in Germany.  I wish, wish, wish we drove like that here.  We checked into a little hotel and ate dinner in the restaurant.  I had my first Radler, which is another thing I wish we did.  They mix soda with beer and it's freaking delicious, without getting you quite as shit-faced.


The point of going to Füssen was to go to another castle, Schloß Neuschwanstein.  I'm not into history, but this castle was amazing.  Unfortunately, photos aren't allowed inside.  I can tell you that swans are a big fucking deal to Ludwig II and that this castle is the famous "fairy tale" castle.  He designed it with theater in mind and it showed all over the place.  Also, it had flushing toilets.

It was about a thirty minute walk up this hill and some people would take the carriages instead. Ponies had little studs on the back parts of their shoes.