It's nice to read you all again here in the forum. And at the same time it's very strange, now that we have met. Even seeing Romy in her natural environment, so to speak, was adding many pieces to the ones I already knew from her visit to Vienna.
It is difficult to sum up the feelings and experiences from the meeting, but what Anna and I both felt very strongly was the distinctive cut when we got into our car and drove off for Vienna again on Sunday.
Leaving behind Romy's hidden grove of horse peacefulness and child playfulness by climbing into a vehicle of metal and technology couldn't have been a bigger contrast. Driving felt strange and out of place.
The weekend itself was wonderfully refreshing and I was able to relive so many childhood things that it felt like a summer holiday camp for me as well. Climbing trees, running through the forest with the horses, barbecue and sitting at the fire - it was the most enjoyable mix!
Anna and I were so priviledged in that we could accompany the children on a night walk through the streets of Dresden on our first evening. I really enjoyed that. I was not yet very much tuned in with any of the horses and was only barely able to encourage Titum to trot with me. But still, seeing the children walking so confidently through the night traffic, climbing stairs and having fun - that was a rare treat!
It felt like a big family herd on the move, with no other purpose than moving and seeing what interesting things might present themselves on the way. That was actually the thing I enjoyed the most over the whole weekend and it continued the next days with more walks through the magnificent playground which is the Dresdener Heide - a huge forest basically at the doorstep of Romy's winter pasture.
The best for me was that we could let Pia run free among us!
She would usually be in the vanguard, leading our motley crew, or if she was not, she would race there after a short while. That was when I developed a taste for racing with the lovely little pony queen
While it was great fun running with Pia, I also enjoyed walking with Titum a lot. He is similar to Mucki in some aspects. Mainly in that he is calm and a bit reserved most of the time and not so easily motivated. Motivation needed to come from a logical source, or out of a logical movement. He was a strict teacher, but a very sensitive one at that...
I very much liked his way of standing with us at the fire later in the evening. Not right in the middle of us, like Summy would do
, but always at the side, in a good distance, but all so appreciating the company at the same time.
There remain so many things that I could write about, like the fantastic company of Azhar and Nora and the other children for example, the lovely talks with forum members finally face to face. But what really stuck with me and still flows so warm even here at work, is the feeling of experiencing all those things together. It was definitely a herd-like experience all together, which cannot easily be reproduced if not in the special setting that Romy has created at her place. Thank you Romy for letting us be part of that!
And of course thanks Anat, Barbara and Kim for a lot of inspiring talks around the fire!
I have taken a lot of nice pictures and movies, which I will make into a video review, hopefully today in the evening...