Looking back at my vacation

I want to summarize my last 10 days, because it happened so much, that I myself can't believe it. Wasn't it just a short vacation?

It started on Friday the 12th June. We wanted to leave to Italy on Saturday morning, it's a two day road trip we love and enjoy. This time my mother would take care of the horses and she arrived on Friday at lunch time. My mother and I have a ritual we both love very much. Close to our hometown is a wool shop. From my point of view it is the most beautiful wool shop in the world. It is the factory outlet of the wool brand Opal. Every time she visits me, we go to this wool shop and we both get in a kind of 'wool ecstasy'. While walking through the shop and collecting the wool my mother said: 'It's your birthday present. Pick what ever you want.'


This bag is as high as my hip and it is the biggest output I ever carried out of this shop on one visit :-) I asked Alexander if I can take it with us on vacation, because I wanted to look at it again and again and again, but he refuse, which I definitively understand! By the way that's the way my mother and I shop, no cloth shopping, just wool shopping, but this intensely. While we were a few miles in distance of my hometown, something happened at home. Unbelievable!

Hail in June! Welcome to the Zollernalb.
It hailed like hell! Alexander was deeply shocked about this outburst from nature directly above our property. And really when we arrived and later when we drove to the ponies uphill, it was a small stripe with hail, around it was 'just' heavy rain. And it looked as if the center of this trouble was our property. Some plants looked terrible, and there will be no cherry's this year, but no bigger damage was done.

Whoever has been to the south of Italy and driven on the highway sees this as greening on the side of the highway.

Oleander at the edge of the highways in Italy

I even saw once how the trim it. With this big machines which trims ordinary bushes. In our garden the oleander has not really a chance to grow. It is a feast for the eyes, the different colours and the intensity of the colours.
We went the second time to Otranto because of the water. It is so clear and clean, again fest for the eyes and feast for all senses while swimming. We found an old Palazzo which is changed to a hotel. We have the biggest and nicest room, and we choose it because of the ceiling. It is also very high.



The impression when you enter the room, or when you lie on the bed is indescribable.
Otranto is a hilly little old town and I remember from last year that I saw one woman on an e-bike flying uphill on her bike. You know that I'm studious cycling uphill every morning to my ponies, and recently I talked with Alexander that it is maybe not the best for my knees, at least for the long haul. Also my big Mercedes G-Class is not happy to crawl the 2 kilometer uphill with his big big diesel engine, especially in winter. So we started to talk about e-bikes. I looked in the Internet for pictures to fall in love with one, but couldn't find even one I liked. In Otranto e-bikes where everywhere. Old and young where cycling in an elegant and easy way uphill. We looked for the brand and than we passed 'a kind' of a bike shop while going to the supermarket, and on Friday 19th we entered. I just had injured two toes on my right foot. We went swimming during a small storm and it was a little difficult to climb out of the ocean. I was out, but than came a big wave and my toes scraped over the rocks - Autsch!
In the bike shop we caught them with surprise, because they thought we want to rent, but we were looking for buying. So first I cycled a Mountain Bike, that a sporty version of a street bike, and than a street bike. I fall instantly in love with the mountain bike! And in no time Alexander had bought it: Kind of (ten) birthday present.


Wow, what a beauty! The colour is a deep green blue, like the ocean in Otranto. It will remind me for that forever.
Who has been to Italy knows the eating rules, or the eating times! Drives me crazy every time. Dinner is starting at 8.00, that is difficult for us, we are more the early types. I can't sleep when I eat to late, so that's the thing with eating in Italy. But we found a small restaurant which opens around 6.30 with dinner. The name is 'Tartufi & Funghi', the name is program.

Tagliatelle with funghi

Groaning and moaning while eating: Delicious. With a great red wine and the ocean 100 m away.

At this restaurant I met an old lady which impressed me very much:


This is a wild dog, which has a certain path through the city, and she gets fed at different places. She sat beside the guests, give no loud and waits for the 'stupid' tourists to feed her. She was great, I met her several times in the town on several places. Shops have water outside for her, and some of the shop owners even fed her a handfull of dog food. Yes, she is kind of fat, but cute. I didn't fed her, and she remembered me and ignored me after that.

Last day arrived and we started very early in the morning, because we want to do the trip in one piece.

Early Sunday morning in Otranto: Looking uphill

And we had a passenger on board, big smile in my face.


The journey was easy until we came to the Gotthardt tunnel. Before the tunnel we had to stand still around 90 minutes, and that made both of us kind of crumbly. We arrived late and it rained: 21st of June beginning of summer.
Monday and Tuesday were planed for settling in, and getting prepared. So I flew uphill on my new e-mountain bike, just great. But what I found was an ill Point again. I was not clear from the beginning, but after cleaning and picking them up from the meadow it was clear. He refused to eat and I was totally confused. I was pretty sure that is is not a colic, not laminitis, not ... or what?
I'm glad that I had the e-bike, so I cycled three times uphill to check on him. It was not really clear, no temperature, but definitely in some sort of pain.


In the evening I was not sure if he is just dying. And I did one really good thing. I separated him from the two Blonde's. Some hay, and some mash, and lets see. Up to this point I had two presumptions: First, a fight with Pepe and he got a kick to his head. Because he was something doing with his tongue and I saw it once by one of them after a fight and a kick to the head. And he had fresh biting wounds on his body. Also he seemed sometimes a little disoriented. Second: Boreliose boost, but without fever, there is nothing to do, but resting and peace. One thing made me hope: He was kind of aphasic, but showed interest in what I'm doing.
Next morning, this morning it was definitely an improvement, but slow. I brought them to the meadow and he started grassing. Happy me. I started cleaning and after that I started to collect some nettle for them, very healthy snack. I saw Point at the meadow looking at me, all seemed all right. 20 minutes later he was ling close to Moritz and grazing while ling. I was shocked. I took the two Blonde's and went slowly uphill to the exit. After a few minutes he stood up and cantered uphill. But it looked different, not the sporty Point, but after all he moved. I cancelled the idea of jogging, my toes weren't also not very happy with the idea, and we strolled uphill to the paddock, slowly slowly while eating from the wayside. I enjoyed looking at what they choose for eating and how the choose. Very relaxing.
Then I caught the little one and we did our first e-bike/Minishetty tour. It was really fun. We did 4 miles in 48 min. So I didn't teased him. Our max speed was 12 miles, and the average speed was 4,3 miles per hour. OK, for me and he also looked pleased.
Breakfast for the ponies: carrot pomace from our drinks and mineral food. Point stopped early and turned away to his new favorite hay net, which is the straw net. Some confusion in him, and I decided to separate them again. So he got his food and now and than he takes a bite, and he has his peace.
How will it go on? I already know that there will be a time, where I may have to separate the stallion from the two older guys. Is it now? They will be together in the meadow, but in the paddock and during sleep I would separate Pepe from Point and Moritz. The thought is in me some time, because I see the wounds from Point, not really bad once but continuous. Point is the boss, and Pepe wants to be the boss. I haven't decided yet, but I don't know for what I'm waiting for.
Decision's to be made ...
Last but not least: I knitted two pair of socks or finished two pair of socks during my vacation, and one hood. Here comes the socks ...
For Alexander in lilac and cotton.

And for me: I'm not sure if I like them. Crazy woman knitting socks which she don't like afterwards ...

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