Other Animals on the Hungarian Horse farm

The horse farm in Hungary had an array of other animals which were just too cute not to include. So here we go:

Sheep- these were my all time favorite. The horns are so exuberant, but I really loved the toothy smile on the white one in the back. You may have to enlarge it to see - but it's worth the effort it takes to push the button.



But what kind of sheep are they?? Read on:---



Now you know more than most people about Racka Sheep. Furthermore, you know it in 2 languages. Afterthought---- When they have babies, do you have a "Racka Lamb?"



Got a kid who wants a pony for Christmas? Don't we all?

Well, here you go. ....and they're sooooo snuggley!!

Just tell the man at Customs that it's a service animal.





ONWARD TO PIGS!

I've never been a great devotee (other than on the table), but these fellas were incredibly personable- and talk about hair (bristles), these piggies are really set for winter (either that or the Fuller Brush factory.









































"...Blacks and Bays,
Dapples and greys,
All the pretty little horses"
































Oxen were gentle, bland, and in all ways lovely.

There was also a school at the farm. Remember what fun kids used to have before tort lawyers and OSHA got involved?

Good-bye horse farm!
We had a wonderful afternoon!

And the Pastries and Plum Brandy you served us were top notch too!!!

The Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Hungarian Horsemen

WOW!!

Some of the horses on the hillside are Lipasaners. They are always black when they are born, and they do not turn white until they are 7 or 8 years old. Occasionally one will remain black. Stables which raise them,
always keep one black one for good luck.



























Welcome to my gracious home. It's not exactly the palatial digs at the Spanish Riding School, but it suffices.












Target practice from a moving horse. He never missed.

Think about it. Archery is a 2 handed act. The horse is directed with the knees only. Click on the picture to enlarge. There are NO reins in his hands while he is riding past targets and shooting.

And his horse did everything he asked of him

Now, if a Magyar horseman were out in the woods and he spotted an enemy, he would have to lay low. ONE BIG PROBLEM. Unless his horse could lay low too, he would not be hidden. Hence, wise horsemen taught their horses to do this. This is quite a vulnerable and unnatural position for a horse to be in. The rider must have skill and patience, and the horse must have an incredible amount of trust.

And NOW for the realio trulio


HEARTSTOPPER!!!

Imagine controling these 5 horses which are in no way hitched together other than the 5 sets of reins in your hands. You have one foot on the back of one horse and the other foot on the another one. Their gaits are not at all matched. Then you just take off at breakneck speed. Now, Try to look casual!

Hungarian Horsemen --- WOW!!

I'm Back!

I've been gone a long time, but now I'm back home with pictures to bore you for hours and hours. After Miss Mousie's (The adorable Grandchild) visit, life became a long grey grind, while we worked like crazy to get everything done so that we could launch ourselves to Europe for a boat tour via rivers and canals across Europe.

First up: Budapest- home of fiery paprika , lovely architecture, crazy horsemen, gypsy musicians, plum Brandy and great beer. Now THAT'S culture!! With the Commies gone, what's not to like?!? Of course, when I took this picture, I'd been up for 2 1/2 days and was completely enraptured by just being there.


Some things never change-
We get to our boat on the beautiful blue Danube (which, most of the time is just river colored). Ah tranquility! I can just hear the strains of a Strauss waltz..... But what's this?!?!...... Amplified rock music?... Some DJ on a bull horn yammering away in Magyar?... Everybody cheering? The words were unfamiliar, but the scene replays like "Groundhog Day". We're at the finishline of the Budapest Marathon! I know they follow me around the country (and I them); but I had no idea they followed me around the world! Karma. Just can't escape it. Don't try, You'll just make the gods mad!







The marathon eventually ended and we were left alone in the lounge of the Viking Pride, looking at the Chain Bridge, heretofore only known to us on postcards. This is exciting! We were also to find it is a very restful way to travel. You unpack and settle in for 2 weeks, you don't have to worry about repacking the next day. You can wash out your socks and underwear and hang them in your room and not worry about when they will get dry. You can just lie there and watch life float by like an international Huck Finn.




Here we are blissfully docked beneath the Chain Bridge in Pest, looking across to the much older city of Buda

Today-- food, drink and sleep.

Tomorrow--ADVENTURE!!





On the plaza which celebrates Hungarian history. These statues represent the 7 tribes which came together to form the Hungarian nation. They were short strong implacable people who rode like the wind.


























St. Stephen -not the same St. Stephen in western Christianity. This one was an early king of Hungary (maybe even the first one) who was also granted sainthood by Rome. It is one of the most popular names ever in Hungary. Many many things are St. Stephens.





For instance:-------



























St Stephens (of course) Church in Buda















































This entry is getting too unwieldy to move pictures around. So farewell to the lovely Buda and Pest on the Danube. We'll come back again any time at all! Next up Horesmen and Gypsy Musicians.