I really needed to have some fun today, so Bill decided we’d visit the Förderverein Fasanerie, which is a lovely animal park in a wooded area near downtown Wiesbaden.  This park reminds me a lot of the Wildpark Pforzheim in the Stuttgart area, only you don’t have to pay for parking.  Entry is free, unless you want to pay two euros for animal feed.  The park isn’t quite as large as the one in Pforzheim, but it’s a good size and you will definitely get your exercise strolling around the gentle hills.

Here are some photos I got from today.  We saw all kinds of animals, from goats to wildcats, with plenty of bears, deer, and wolves in between.

Right at the entrance…

Plenty of fun learning activities for children…

A very insistent goat who wanted all the food.

I used to catch these in my yard in Virginia.

A tunnel where all of the nocturnal creatures live.

A fox.  I had to zoom in for him.

Wolves… we did see one who appeared to be on a mission.

Bears.

This bear was very chilled out.  The water hole was full of golden fish.

I really enjoyed the deer.  They were very friendly and hungry.

I miss these views.

Bison.

 A wildcat… 

Nutria

Storks!

Pigs…

Raccoon!

So many majestic deer with antlers!  They were very tame and hungry for food.

I loved the nutria.  They were so busy looking.

This poor dude kept getting edged out of handouts by the female.  I guess that’s just how it goes.

He posed for me anyway.

We had to go back to the goats and unload our food.  We still had a lot left.  I wish I’d given more to the deer.

A lot of people brought picnic lunches and we heard one group singing “Happy Birthday” in English. We decided to stop by the Biergarten for a snack, where a very kind waitress  took care of us.

Bill had pommes with ketchup.  They were better than usual… nice and hot.

I went with Spundekäs and a pretzel, a treat I only recently discovered.  It comes from Mainz and it’s delicious… a nice rich quark cheese spread with paprika and garlic.  I had forgotten how good this is…  I don’t usually do cheese, but this is an exception.  I’m definitely a fan.  

For the children…. actually, there is a very nice playground for kids at this park.

I had never seen one of these before…

A swing for people in wheelchairs!  I didn’t see anyone in a wheelchair today, but how cool is it that they have a special swing for them?

I’m not sure what to make of this… looks like some kind of naked creature who needs to pee.

Hessian lion…

 I really needed a fun day today, and I got it.  After we were finished at the Tierpark, we bought some fresh cherries from an adorable old lady selling fruit out of the back of her car.  She threw in a few plums for us after letting us try her cherries (perfectly ripe and very sweet).  I got to ride in the new car, too.  I’d say today was a resounding success. 

Tonight we’re going to try a new restaurant, which I’ll probably review tomorrow.