So I mentioned in a previous post that I have been going to a lot of birthday parties recently and meeting a lot of the extended family. It has been a pleasure to meet everyone and I have felt such a warm welcome into the family. They have all been so curious about me and my life and how I ended up moving to Switzerland at the age of 16. I explained to them how I love travelling and learning all sorts of new things. Somewhere along the line horseback riding came up and it caught the attention of my host cousin who is taking care of some horses and often goes out riding. She invited me to go out riding with her sometime. A week later I reached out to see if I could meet her for a ride and she sent me directions to this place not too far away from my house. As I biked through big beautiful fields I could see this huge building in the distance. As I got closer I realized that it was a castle. Like a real castle and that is where the directions were leading me.
When I arrived I hopped off my bike and walked around a little confused until she came out to greet me! My eyes wide, she giggled and said it wasn't her place she was just taking care of the horses at some mans summer home. I thought to myself... This man has a castle as a summer home ?? Anyways, we went on a trail ride through a beautiful forest. She invited me to come back whenever and she told me that soon she will be leaving on a backpacking trip through Asia. She asked if I would be interested to come back on a weekly basis to help ride the horses to keep them fit while she was away. I could go and explore the trails or exercise them out in the ring behind the castle's barn. She explained that the groundskeeper would feed them and bathe them but I was welcome to help out as I wish. So now my Thursdays afternoons are reserved for the horses.