Well, my daughter Ali and I have returned from our excellent adventure.  I'll share the highlights.

We arrived in Budapest, via Frankfurt, early Thursday morning and were whisked to our amazing hotel, the most beautiful I have ever seen.  It is a Four Seasons property and is housed in the former Gresham Palace.  The service was the finest I've ever experienced and the restaurants were outstanding.  We did not find Budapest as hospitable.

While the city reeks of antiquity and there were many historic places of great beauty to visit, the experience in Hungary left us somewhat cold.  The people, while polite, were dour and we felt like outsiders the entire visit.  The high point was horseback riding in the countryside.  Our horses were typical stable horses, of the Hungarian variety however, but they were lively when asked to do a little more than amble through meadows snatching mouthfuls of grass.  The scenery, of course, was breathtaking.  We were in the foothills of the Carpathian mountains, and galloped through fields of wildflowers shoulder-high to our horses.  We even had a brisk canter through the woods on a winding path infrequently dappled with sunlight. 

We left Budapest on Sunday, when we were summarily dumped by our taxi driver on a corner near the train station.  We managed to get our four large and unwieldy bags into the station, but then were stopped cold.  The only two signs in English were Entrance and Exit, which were the only two things Ali and I could figure out by ourselves.  No one spoke any English except the Information lady who knew how to say "I don't know" quite well.  So we wandered about the busy, crowded, filthy train station, beset by beggars, unable to locate a train that said "Prague".  Finally, we were rescued by a station worker we dubbed the Cabbage Man (the obvious mainstay of his diet was odiferously evident) who loaded us onto the correct train.  He then proceeded to put our two biggest, heaviest bags on the highest shelf.  While we were appropriately impressed with his muscles, we spent the next seven and a half hours wondering how were were going to get the bags down during a stop that would probably not be more than two minutes long.

All during this time we were assailed with odors from the dining car: cabbage, garlic, onions, and sunflower oil, which everything is cooked in.  Braving the smells, we attended lunch.  The menu was quite impressive with about forty items listed.  What was available, however, was goulash, more goulash, and a chicken dish which turned out to be unidentifiable as poultry of any kind.  Still hungry, we returned to our grubby little seats and prayed we wouldn't have to use the WC.

Although I chose the train so Ali and I could have a taste of the scenery between Budapest and Prague, the countryside was unremarkable and the towns we passed through bleak reminders of the Communist era.  Cell block style apartment buildings and heavy industrial sites were relieved only by the everpresent and colorful graffiti that coated every single public surface.  But as we got farther north and finally entered the south of the Czech Republic, things started looking up.  Charming, traditional villages were more in evidence, and the landscape became gorgeous.  The closest I can come to describing it is a cross between northern Wisconsin and Tuscany.  Stunning.

At the end of our journey, we got off the train in Prague in under the allotted two minutes with the help of a nice young man to whom I had to promise my daughter's hand in marriage.  hehe.

As disappointed as we were in Budapest, we were delighted with Prague.  It is a gorgeous city, its architecture ancient and breathtaking.  It's people are upbeat and by in large friendly, and there is an undercurrent of vibrancy.  Ali and I safely roamed the streets at night eating in outdoor cafes and attending classical concerts available almost every evening in every local church.  We attended art exhibitions in cool, labyrinthine cellars and shopped for Czech glass products and silks.

As in Hungary, however, the highlight was our horseback outing.  This time the horses were magnificent, great white beasts with flowing manes and tails and a fondness for a good run.  Again, we galloped through forest, this time of towering trees and intermittent patches of sunlit glades sporting summer's last wild blooms.  We trotted through meadows of knee-high grass and rode past pastures of grazing horses, donkeys, and long-haired, shaggy ponies.  We saw teams of impressive and well-fed draft horses pulling wagons and plows, and ended our equine day making friends with the yearlings in the biggest, most impressive barn I have ever seen.  It was vast, the ceiling at least thirty feet high with open beams.  Clean fragrant straw came up to our knees while dozens of larks darted about the rafters.  It was hard to say good-bye to the end of the day.

We left the Czech Republic reluctantly, and with a firm promise to return.

Watch for exciting pictures to come!  We had a fabulous horse show.  Although the start was a little shaky.

The hotel we stay in--and that almost everyone else stays in--is horrible.  Just horrible.  But year after year we go back because it's right on the show grounds and takes pets.  So off we went with our two traveling cats, JD and Cleveland, and our parrot Mina.  I grumbled the whole way to Louisville because I REALLY hate staying at this place.  James and Ali continued to reassure me everything would be all right.  Then we arrived and Ali, the animals and I went up to our room with the bellman.  He opened the door ...

Have you ever seen the movie Animal House?  Seen a frat house after an orgy?  That's the sight we were greeted with.  Cigarette butts all over, beer bottles, dirty pillows, smelly sneakers ...

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH

After maid service and two cans of Lysol, we moved in and got down to business.  The first part of the week we rode in our qualifying classes.  This is the toughest show with the best horses and riders, so it was hard.  James failed to quality Humdinger (see horse page), and I got such a low ribbon with my Hackney pony Heiress I decided not to show back in the championship.  I managed to get fourth with High Roller, my miracle horse; Ali won her qualifier with I'm Good To Good; she won her qualifier with Seize the Moment; she was fourth with Tigerlee. 

In the championships, High Roller (Rocky) gave his all for me.  If you haven't read about our horses yet, he's the one who broke his hip.  I was told to euthanize him because he would never recover.  But he has the biggest, bravest heart of any horse I have ever known.  He made it through the injury, and he made it through the hardest, biggest class I've ever ridden in.  One of the judges later told our trainer his performance was "phenomenal".  We won the Reserve World Championship.  Needless to say, when they called my number I burst into tears.  Later, he was so tired he lay down in his stall.  I went in and sat beside him and he put his head in my lap and went to sleep.  And people wonder why we love horses so much ...

Ali was a superstar, as usual.  She won a unanimous victory with my road pony Seize the Moment.  She got a nice ribbon with I'm Good To Go, but the big story was Tigerlee.  This is a very difficult horse we recently purchased for her.  Most people thought she would never be able to ride him, much less show him.  But show him she did.  To the World Grand Championship!  I will post pictures as soon as we return from our mother/daughter trip to Europe.

That's right, we're off again.  This afternoon we board a plane for Frankfurt, then on to Budapest and, later, Prague.  We're going to see the sights, of course, which I'll report on our return.  And--what else?--go horseback riding! 

OK, here we go again.  I am such a loser.  I lost the little piece of paper telling how to post.  I almost tore my hair out trying to figure it out myself.  Then I found my little piece of paper so I still have some hair.

My apologies to those whose comments went unanswered.  I was technically/mentally unable to do so.

Anyway, we are off to Louisville for the World Championship Horse Show.  This is our most intense and gruelling ten days of the year.  First of all, you have to imagine the size and scope of the event.  Over two thousand horses and about four people to go with every horse.  Then add in the vendors.  You can buy ANYTHING at this horse show.  It becomes a small city.  Then add in the stress.  Everything has to be perfect.  Tack, harness, buggies, clothing, not to mention the animals themselves.  The frosting on the cake, of course, is the performance.  You and your horse must be perfect together, no mistakes, the effort of your life.  And there are three judges in the ring at all times so if you do make a mistake, someone is bound to catch it.

The pictures of some of our horses competing this year are up on the site.  I will return with tales of the war ... er ... horse show.