Saturday I had a make-up lesson with my first instructor, Andi. I got to ride Bentley who was a wonderful trail for our trail ride. This was my first trail ride at the stables, and my first trail ride in English. We got to see some beautiful pasture behind the stables and some massive apple trees- there are 4 horse farms within walking distance and a horse of every color in the pastures. Often we would trot up the hills and walk down the hills. There was a novice rider in our group, who had riden western years ago- reminds me of when I started- holding a rain in each hand was such a foriegn idea, but it feels so comfortable now. My english lessons have taught me much about the subtle art of riding and should come in handy when I ride bareback- my favorite and ultimate goal.

Today we purchased our train tickets to Germany- we have twin passes for 6 24 hour periods. That should be just right for our schedule. The twin passes are a really inexpensive way for two people to travel together on trains throughout Germany. I am really excited to get a ride on the German rail- the system seems so smooth- like the bus system here in Madison. We also each got van Guilder bus tickets to take us from Madison to Chicago (where our planes leave from). Now we just need some hotel reservations and we will be all set!