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When Mr. Nanuk returned we huried to get our horsedrawn caravan ready to start. The first day on the coach is more like a prolog as it is only 10 kilometers long. But thanks to Mermaiden and Jack's little escape we had lost alot of time.

Mr. Nanuk isn't too familiar with horses. He really tried hard, but you could hear that he felt a little bit stupid talking to an animal. I tried to explain him that Rose needs to know that there is still somebody paying attention to what she is doing while pulling the caravan.

The first five kilometers were quite easy. Our route lead across fields and through a forest. Eventually we met with Mrs. Hugin and Mrs. Nanuk who had taken another route from the town where the Haflingers Mermaiden and Jack had been caught. From there the women would ride ahead of us, checking the road like scouts.

The owner of the farm where we stayed for the first night was a wonderful old lady somewhere between the age of 70 an 80. She's living all alone in that big old house - and you can see the three barns that once formed a farmyard with the house slowly rack and ruin. This area of Germany offers no jobs and no perspective. Most young people move away and only the old remain. It seems like time has stopped ticking here. On the one hand it's wonderful to see the empty roads, the old villages with their old brick houses. On the other hand decay is present everywhere.

To be continued...