Tag Archives: free admission

Uncategorized

Strasbourg’s annual wine extravaganza! Part two

Now that I’ve described the hotel, on with the rest of the trip. I was actually kind of dreading trying to find dinner on Friday night. I used to wait tables, so I know what dining out on Valentine’s Day can be like, both for wait staff and patrons. We were unable to make dinner reservations anywhere special, so I had a feeling dinner would be spectacularly un-special. And that’s what ultimately came to pass…

But before dinner, we were keen to visit the The Historic Wine Cellar at Strasbourg Hospices. My German friend, Susanne, told me about this historic wine cave, which was created in the year 1395. The cellar was used for storing wine, but it was also used for storing other perishables like grain. Today, visitors can visit the caves free of charge and pick up a bottle or two of wine. Very old wines are stored there now, including three historic barrels dating from 1472, 1519, and 1525. The barrel from 1472 even still has 350 liters of wine from 1472 in it– the oldest in the world aged in a barrel. It’s only been served three times in five centuries:

  • In 1576 to Zurich, when the Swiss proved that they could come quickly to help their friends in Strasbourg.
  • in 1718 for the reconstruction of the main building ravaged by a fire two years prior.
  • in November 1944 to General Philippe Leclerc de Hautecloque, liberator of the city of Strasbourg.

In 1994, the wine was tested by local oenologists who determined that even though the wine is over 500 years old, it’s still wine, and in fact, has “a very beautiful bright, very amber color, a powerful nose, very fine, of a very great complexity, aromas reminiscent of “Vanilla, honey, wax, camphor, fine spices, hazelnut and fruit liquor …” I wonder how much longer they’re going to age it and what made them decide to keep that particular wine for so long!

Bill and I took a taxi to visit the museum, because Bill thought maybe we’d be tasting some wine there. Alas, wine tastings are only done for special events. However, we did enjoy some beer after our visit to the cave. Here are some photos of the museum.

  • We passed the Russian consulate.
  • The cab driver dropped us here. It took a few minutes to find the cave.
  • Goethe was here…
  • Here’s the place, on the other side of the big gate.
  • This was on southern side of the cave. Only 50 meters remain…
  • of what used to be an underground passageway all over Strasbourg.
  • Many huge barrels…
  • The wine from 1472 is behind bars.
  • 500 years old!
  • Le Magnum!
  • Impressive wine press.
  • Guest book!
  • This tower was picturesque, but smelled of pee… despite France’s lovely tradition of providing free public toilets.

We really enjoyed our visit to see the historic wines. If we had driven to the museum, we probably would have picked up a few bottles of their current wines, too. Maybe if we go back to Strasbourg, we’ll stop in again. Incidentally, the cave is closed on Sundays and public holidays. If you visit, you can either read the signs, as we did, or get a headset, which will provide more information and stories about the history of the wine cave and its relation to the historic hospital complex. It doesn’t take long to see this attraction. We were there maybe a half hour, and that was because we were reading everything, taking pictures, and going slowly. It’s still pretty cool to visit there, though.

After our visit to the museum/cave, we decided to find ourselves some beer in town. We didn’t have to walk far before we reached our first destination, a bar called La Taverne des Serruriers/ La Schloss Brasserie. More on that in the next post.

Standard
Uncategorized

Wiesbaden’s fabulous Fasanerie…

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.

Standard
Uncategorized

Our Rolling Stones weekend in Stuttgart… part two

On Saturday morning, we had a leisurely breakfast in Wald Hotel’s restaurant.  They serve a pretty good buffet, with breads, fruits, vegetables, eggs, bacon, sausage, grilled tomatoes, grilled mushrooms, and fried potatoes, among other things.  They will also cook eggs to order.  When we arrived at the buffet, the wait staff was very busy.  It took awhile before we could score a carafe of coffee.  My husband is usually a very mild mannered guy, but I could tell he was getting impatient for his morning caffeine shot.  I, for one, was more impressed by the Kessler Sekt that was made available.

While we were eating breakfast, I took note of all the people joining us.  Quite a few of them were obviously planning to attend the concert last night.  In fact, as we were out and about in downtown Stuttgart yesterday, I saw many people sporting t-shirts from previous concerts.  I had already read the information about the event that was emailed to me indicating that they were expecting 40,000 people at last night’s show.  As I mentioned in my previous post, I don’t go to a lot of concerts.  This was the first one I’ve ever been to with that many people.

After breakfast, we walked to the nearby train station and traveled to Charlottenplatz, where we knew we’d find something going on.  Sure enough, the city was alive with people yesterday, many of whom were there for the Children and Youth Festival.  We walked through the festival and I was very surprised by how many activities and exhibits they had.  Many groups had come to advertise their clubs.  I saw people from a fencing club, a dance club, and various sports groups.  I also saw a cooking school for kids as well as an impressive display by Porsche.  Below are some pictures from the festival.

The festival was scattered from the Schlossplatz to Charlottenplatz.  I was surprised by how many exhibits there were.

They had plenty of activities for kids to actively try, like this football exhibit.

Lacrosse.

Dance club.  You know the dresses were a draw.

 

We wandered out of the festival for a short time as we made our way toward the Schlossplatz.

They had set up a red carpet for a documentary festival that went on all weekend.

 

There were buskers everywhere, including this guy who was gamely singing Rolling Stones songs.  Bill dropped a couple of euros with him because he was genuinely entertaining and giving his performance a lot of go!

The Schlossplatz.  This was where we saw Van Morrison in 2016.  I can’t help but marvel at the people whose job it is to set up and take down bleachers and stages.  It seems like a huge undertaking.

 

A cooking school for kids.  I enjoyed the guy dressed like a chef who was working the crowd.  He wore chess board patterned pants and spoke enthusiastically into his microphone, inviting kids to participate.

Porsche was also onhand, with their own driving school for kids!

It was very safety oriented!

I snapped this photo just as we were about to cross the street.  Parts of Stuttgart are truly lovely.  I also noticed the church had its tower open earlier in the day.  We didn’t get around to climbing it.

The hour was getting closer to lunchtime, but we were still pretty full from breakfast.  We were about to head over to Karlsplatz, the square where the Hamburger Fischmarkt usually takes place every July, but ended up stopping by the Landesmuseum Wurttemberg.  We’ve passed it many times, but never bothered to visit.  Yesterday, we noticed entry to the permanent exhibits was free of charge, so we decided to stop.

There is also a children’s exhibit that I think does require an admissions fee.  Since we don’t have kids, we didn’t visit that part of the museum.  However, I am a big kid myself, so I probably would have liked it.  As it was, the Landesmuseum impressed me by being very extensive and including explanations in English.  It’s also kid friendly, with quite a few activities designed to engage children.

This is what you see as you enter the courtyard where the museum’s entrance is.

Information on the signs.

When we got our free tickets, the receptionist noticed how big my purse was, so she asked me to put it in one of the lockers situated in the lobby.  Large bags and some other items are not allowed in the museum, so if you have a big bag or a backpack, you will be expected to lock it up.  You use a one or two euro coin to lock the locker, and when you return the key, you get your coin back.

If you wanted to, you could spend a couple of hours in the Landesmuseum.  It’s surprisingly large.  In fact, we only explored the second floor.  On the first floor, there’s a permanent clock exhibit.  I took note of all of the history of Baden-Wurttemberg, particularly among Neanderthals.  Thanks to 23 and Me, I recently found out that I have a lot of Neanderthal genetic variants.  That explains a lot.  Neanderthals came from the Neander Valley here in Germany and many of their remains were found in Baden-Wurttemberg.

Besides information about Neanderthals, the Landesmuseum includes many paintings, artifacts, and precious jewels.  They’ve designed the exhibits to allow visitors to get a lot out of the experience.  For instance, a few exhibits had cleverly designed magnifying glasses that allowed visitors to see the detail of some of the precious artifacts being displayed.  In another part of the museum, there was a really interesting exhibit about religion.  They even had a hilarious oil lamp in the shape of a man with a very large phallus.  I wish I’d had my camera with me for that one.

After we explored the museum, it was time to hunt for lunch.  As I mentioned previously, Stuttgart was loaded with people yesterday.  A lot of restaurants were at capacity, especially outdoors.

We headed toward Karlsplatz, where a flea market was going on.  Lots of people were selling everything from military relics to carpets.  A Turkish food stand was open and putting off heavenly aromas.  A rockabilly band was playing live music.  The atmosphere was very festive.  Below are pictures of what was being sold.  

This band was pretty great.  I got a few video snippets of them playing.  

We probably should have stuck around to see if they were selling CDs.

The lure of beer was too strong and drove me away from this scene.

This seemed promising, but turned out to be a disappointment, since there were only tables able in full sunlight.  

Things were looking more promising as we approached the Markthalle, where we discovered a shady spot at the Marktstüble, a restaurant that is not open on Sundays.

The menu offered typical Schwabish delights like maultausen, schnitzel, and other porky delights.

But what I was after came in a mas krug…

Prost!  I’m glad we got the krugs because our poor waiter was pretty busy.  People were desperately seeking lunch outside in yesterday’s glorious weather.

And then, these buskers showed up and accompanied our lunch with their perky brand of accordion music.  I probably enjoyed them more than I should have.  They had game!

The guy in the orange shirt and his companion stayed at our hotel and took the same train into downtown.  All day, we ran into people from our hotel or folks who had been in the museum with us. It was kind of funny.  On the way back from the concert, we saw a guy who’d had breakfast at the same time we did.  He was distinctive because of his hat.

Bill had cold pork roast with potato salad and a green salad.  It was very good!  In fact, if we eat there again during the summer, I may order that myself.

I went with a green salad with shrimp.  I don’t usually go for salads, but I wanted something that wouldn’t be too heavy.  This fit the bill nicely.  It filled me up without making me bloat.

Below are some more photos from the Children and Youth Festival, which we passed through to get back to the train station.  It was time to go back to the hotel and get ready for our big concert!

Standard
Sundays

Der Schönbuchturm in Herrenberg!

Last weekend, Herrenberg opened Der Schönbuchturm, its long awaited new tower that overlooks the forested areas surrounding the city.  I considered visiting the tower last weekend, but since it was the first day, I figured it might be better to wait a week.  I’m glad we waited.  We had perfect weather this afternoon to see the brand new tower– a miracle of German engineering.  Bill pointed out the tower as we drove down the hill from Jettingen.  I’m surprised I hadn’t noticed it before.  It sticks up from the trees in the distant hills overlooking Herrenberg.

First view of the tower.

Der Schönbuchturm, which reaches a height of 35 meters, is located across from the Schönbuch Naturpark, right next to the Naturfreundehaus am Schönbuch, a self-serve restaurant and Biergarten.  We parked there at about 3:00pm.  There was a fairly decent sized crowd there, but it wasn’t too obnoxious.  We easily found a parking spot and then began the 400 meter mostly uphill hike up to the tower.  I was pretty breathless by the time we reached the new engineering marvel.  Some people were biking up and there were plenty of places for people to lock their bikes.  It costs nothing to visit the tower, which is open until 7:00pm nightly.

At the start of the trail, there’s a sign welcoming visitors and a place to lock bikes.

The trail to the tower is covered in gravel made of small stones.  Part of the trail consists of steps.  I noticed a steep bike trail to the side of the steps, but I don’t think that would be suitable terrain for a stroller or a wheelchair.

A bit closer… I stopped to catch my breath after the short uphill hike.  As you can see, you can stop at two vantage points on the way to the top level.

 

Some interesting stats.  The trail to the tower also has little information points like this one.  Since my German blows, I mostly ignored them.

There are two stairways.  Seems like one should be designated as the “up” stairway and the other as the “down” stairway.  However, both stairways are open to either direction.  Consequently, you may have to stop to let someone pass in the other direction.

These pictures are from the first vantage point.  To be honest, as sturdy as I know the tower is, I was feeling slightly anxious with each new level.  The tower has been designed so that there’s little to obstruct your view.  It can be a bit unnerving.

Wire fencing and “handrails” rather than solid metal…

The above pics are from the top vantage point.

On the way down… phew.  The tower wobbled a bit with the breeze.  It reminded me a little of our visit to Highline 179 in Austria.  I’m not sure I’d want to climb the tower during bad weather!  Today, it was kind of a thrill.  

I think I like this view the best!  

Our visit to the tower only took about a half hour.  It occurred to me as we were enjoying the views that last weekend, we climbed a 35 meter tower that was originally built in the 12th century.  Today, we climbed a 35 meter tower that has only been open for a week!  And both activities were completely free of charge with no one hanging around to enforce the rules!  Gosh, I love Germany!

Last week’s climb was just as high as today’s climb, but today’s was less painful.  Instead of a tight spiral staircase, there’s a much gentler climb.  I noticed a lot of children climbing up, including one adorable little girl with intense blue eyes crawling on her hands and knees!  As nervous as the climb made me, I have to admit the view at the top is breathtaking.  You can see for miles.

Although we could have gone to the Naturfreundehaus for a snack, Bill and I decided to visit La Piazza Gelataria for ice cream.  The outside seating was full of people who had the same idea we did.  I will note that the Naturfreundhaus, while no frills and self-serve, also has a little playground for kids!

The church bells played a hymn we used at our wedding in 2002… “Now Thank We All Our God.”

Bill had a Waldbeere Becher (wild berry cup).  It was strawberry and vanilla ice cream with blueberries, strawberries, currents, and cherries, along with lots of whipped cream.

I had an After Eight Becher, made with After Eight mints.  My mom used to love those things!  It had chocolate ice cream, mint ice cream, mint sauce, and chocolate “streusel”.  We also shared San Pellegrino.  Our total bill was just over 16 euros.  Today was “cheap”!  I don’t think I’ll need dinner, either.

For the first time, I noticed the really cool looking balcony on this building, along with its terrace on the roof.

Fun scene in Herrenberg.  Little kids were enjoying the fountain.  I couldn’t help but muse about how pleasant life in Germany is… for me, anyway.  It’s so nice to be able to sit in a square that looks like it’s out of a fairytale and eat ice cream while children play in the fountain.  

One last shot before we went home.  

I’m pretty happy with how today turned out, especially given how it started off.  Next month, we’re going to Ireland to see Paul Simon in concert.  I bought tickets for the show in February and put them in my usual safe keeping spot.  Somehow in the past four months, the tickets got lost.  This morning, we spent about an hour trying to call Ticketmaster in Ireland to get duplicates made.  For awhile, it looked like we weren’t going to get through to a human being and I was getting pretty pissy.  But we were finally successful.  A lovely Irish lass helped us out and for a six euro fee, I hope to have duplicate concert tickets in my hands for next month’s concert… the second of four we’re planning to attend this year.

Standard
Sundays

Thanks to Ruine Mandelberg, our Sunday wasn’t ruined!

This morning, Bill called my attention to a swollen cut on my dog, Zane’s, face.  He and our other dog, Arran, had a fight last night.  After Bill broke them up, he thought both dogs were okay.  Neither appeared to have a scratch.  In fact, Zane had actually come out the victor, having scored a rare rawhide treat that Arran had momentarily let out of his sight.  We were marveling at that, since Zane is not really a fighter and tends to be the less aggressive of our dogs.  But then this morning, there was that swollen place on his face.

Zane enjoyed the freshly mowed grass yesterday, before he and Arran had their little spat.  He’s going to be ten in November and both he and Arran have had cancerous mast cell tumors that have had to be surgically removed.  But they’re still plugging along and at each other.  

Bill and I don’t have kids together, so we tend to be neurotic about our dogs.  Because puncture wounds can get infected quickly, Bill decided to take Zane to the on duty vet, a gruff guy in Herrenberg named Dr. Katz.  Dr. Katz took a look at Zane, said he was fine, and told Bill to keep the spot clean.  Then he said goodbye without even bothering to charge Bill for the visit.

Since Zane seemed to be okay, Bill and I decided to go out to lunch in Nagold.  Afterwards, we had plans to visit Ruine Mandelberg, another one of my highway finds during our many recent trips to the Black Forest.  I had noticed the sign for it as we passed the turnoff for the little hamlet of Bösingen, a true one horse district if I’ve ever seen one.  I had looked up Ruine Mandelberg on the Internet and I wasn’t sure if it was something that would excite me, but since it’s pretty close to where we live, we decided today was the day to see it.

We started in Nagold, where parking is free on Sundays and you never know what’s going to happen. Lunch was at Provenciale, a little Italian restaurant near the main square.  We had eaten there before, but it had been awhile.  For some reason, this restaurant does not get good reviews on Trip Advisor.  I don’t know why.  Our experiences there have been good.  In fact, today we both enjoyed our pasta dishes.  I especially liked mine.

We enjoyed malty hefeweizens.  Sometimes, when I drink one of these, I taste Ovaltine.  That sounds strange until you realize that beer is malty and so is Ovaltine.  Bill had to move as the sun did.


Bill enjoyed cheese filled tortellini with spinach, ham, and gorgonzola cheese sauce.  He said it was delicious, even if he preferred yesterday’s mushroom extravaganza more.  Personally, I preferred his choice for today, if only because it didn’t smell of fungus!  Sigh– if I only liked mushrooms, my life would be so much easier!


I went with the very safe Tagliatelli Salmone, made with cream sauce and very tender, delicious pieces of salmon.  I loved it.  What can I say?  I like comfort food.  It shows… especially on my ass.  

 

This particular restaurant also specializes in ice cream and we saw plenty of people enjoying fancy Italian/German style ice cream treats today.  I think many people were substituting ice cream for lunch!  Our bill came to 27 euros, which Bill rounded up to 30.  Before we left, we caught the Albanian cultural/dance club Shota marching by.  My German friend says they were performing at Kinderfest today.  I caught a short video clip of them parading by.  I’ll have to see if I can upload it to YouTube.

After lunch, we got back on B28 and headed for Ruine Mandelberg.  We drove through tiny Bösingen, which has an interesting looking antique shop, a gasthaus, a church, and lots of pretty scenery.  There’s a road where cars are not supposed to go unless they are going to the ruins.  There’s a small parking area near a park/picnic area.  It’s free to park there and, as you can see below, there’s playground equipment for kids.

A map of the sights in the area.  If you wanted to, you could take a nice hike here.  There are lots of trails.

It looked like a group was having a picnic today.

 

We parked the car and started walking.  It was about 1.5 kilometers to the ruins themselves, though there were a couple of other trails and roads that made Bill nervous we weren’t going the right way.  

 

But then we rounded a corner and easily found the ruins, which date from the 12th century.  Actually, according to Wikipedia, the 11th century ruins predeceased what is there now.  The first time the castle was mentioned in documents was in 1287.  The castle burned down during the peasant revolts in 1525 and was never rebuilt.

A sign offering a brief history… in German, naturally!

The community of Pflazgrafenweiler purchased the property in 1970 and renovated what was left of the ruins.  In 1975, they renovated the keep, which is 35 meters high and offers nice views of the surrounding countryside.  Below are some pictures I took during our visit.


First glance of the tower.  A family of four was at the top when we first arrived.  They met us at the bottom as I was wondering whether or not I really wanted to climb up the extremely tight spiral staircases.  The parents were encouraging us in German, telling us it wasn’t unlike climbing the church spires in Ulm!

 

The first steps seem narrow…

 

And the tower seems high…  You do get two opportunities to pause on the way up and down.

 

But those steps are extremely narrow.  You must hold on to the railing and the center or risk falling.  Bill got dizzy going up the tight spiral.

 

But then you reach the top…  Thank GOD!  It’s very well fortified, so there’s no need to worry about falling.  Unfortunately, some people left trash up there.

 

At the top of the keep, we were rewarded with some very beautiful views.  Below are some pictures from the top of the tower.


This isn’t a great shot, mainly because the barrier prevented me from getting more of the grounds in the picture.  You can see the cistern on the left, which is unfortunately full of trash.

A couple of closer pictures of the cistern from the ground.

After a few minutes, we decided to climb back down.  Going down was less strenuous, but a bit scarier.  You can see how far down it is as you climb down.  I am very cautious about climbing, so I tend to go slowly.  The last thing I need is to faceplant in a tower.  When we got to the outside steps, I realized that might have been the best spot for picture taking, especially within the ruins.  Here is a 360 tour of the ruins.

Directions for other areas of interest.  I was too sweaty and dirty to hike more.

 

One last look at the tower.

Bill gazes at the view.

A cave?

With a friendly ghost?

Bars on the window…  wonder what for!

Auf wiedersehen, Ruine Mandelberg!

I couldn’t resist taking pictures of this pretty church we passed going in and out of the little hamlet.

I think these ruins are worth seeing if you’re interested in old castle ruins dating from the 12th century.  It might also make an okay stop on the way to Freudenstadt or some of the other attractions in the Black Forest.  It doesn’t take long to see the ruins, but if you wanted to hike longer, you certainly could, and the area is pretty and offers good picnic/play opportunities.  I’m glad we stopped by.  I was also considering visiting Herrenberg’s new Schönbuchturm, but figured it would be crowded, since it just opened yesterday.  Maybe we’ll do that next week!

Standard
Sundays

Heavenly hiking at the Allerheiligen Wasserfälle

Still chasing waterfalls in the Black Forest!

On May 19th of this year, Bill and I paid a visit to the lovely Burgbach Wasserfall in Bad Rippoldsau.  On that day, we had made tentative plans to also visit the Allerheiligen Wasserfälle (All Saints Waterfalls), which I found out about when I read this guy’s blog about waterfalls in Europe.  His post about the Allerheiligen falls led me to believe they weren’t anything special.  I was also thinking they were closer to Bad Rippoldsau than they are.  We couldn’t visit the All Saints falls on May 19th because while we were eating lunch, the sky opened up with rain.  Having now been to the Allerheiligen Wasserfälle, I’m pretty glad we chose to visit them on a different day.  The visit was a lot more intense than I was expecting.

We left the house at a few minutes past noon and made the trip to the Black Forest National Park.  The falls are located just north of the village of Oppenau.  As usual, we enjoyed a lovely ride through the Black Forest, past Freudenstadt and Kniebis.  The only thing that made it a little stressful were the many bikers sharing the road with us.  The Black Forest is very beautiful, and it attracts motorcycle enthusiasts in droves.  They can be rather aggressive in their need for speed.  More on that later.

A lot of people had the same idea we did.  We arrived at the falls at about 1:00pm and the first parking lots we encountered were pretty full.  We parked on the street, where there are a number of spots available.  Here’s another hint.  Keep going past those first lots and you will eventually find the main entrance to the waterfalls.  There is also a large, free parking lot there.  On the other hand, if you want to eat before you hike, parking at the first lots will get you close to the very good gasthaus there.

A lovely view of the mountains, meadow, and a war memorial honoring men who died during World War I.

Besides the majestic waterfalls, Allerheiligen is also the site of a ruined monastery, the foundation of which originated in 1192.  Evidently, the site of the monastery was determined by a donkey, which threw off a sack of money in the area.  A wooden chapel was built, and by 1657, it became an abbey.  The Allerheiligen Kloster was at the height of its power during the 18th century, but in 1802,  Margrave Karl Friedrich of Baden began a course of secularization.  He dissolved the abbey and took all of its possessions.  The monastery was already damaged by several large fires between 1405 and 1555.  In 1804, there was another fire caused by a bolt of lightning.  It wasn’t until the end of the 19th century, when people started to tour the Black Forest, that anyone thought to preserve what was left of the ruins.  So many years later, they are still very interesting and kind of majestic in their starkness.

We encountered the ruins first, as they were at the end of the trail we took from our roadside parking spot.  Below are some pictures.

Now you see Bill…

Now you don’t.

This creek eventually turns into the waterfalls…

A more modern church on the hillside.  We didn’t investigate it because frankly, after walking up and down the falls, we were exhausted!

If you like photography, this is a beautiful place to be.  There’s a lot of interesting scenery.

 

The gaststätte is conveniently located next to the ruins.  Bill and I arrived just in time to snag a table. The hardworking staff was busy the whole time we were there and no table stayed empty for long.  We sat down next to two tables consisting of two couples with kids.  I’m pretty sure the husband of one couple was German.  Everyone else was very obviously American and spoke loudly enough for everyone to know from where they came.  It made me chuckle.

A very slender and extremely friendly lady took our order.  She spoke some English and was relentlessly chipper.  I admired how much she seemed to enjoy her work.  She was all smiles.  I used to wait tables myself and I can promise that I struggled to smile a lot when I was doing that work.  It was truly a pleasure to be served by her, though.  Not only that, but the food at the restaurant was surprisingly good.

Bill peruses the menu, which was passed to us by a nice guy at the next table.

Bill settled on Schweinebraten, which was served with brown gravy and a mound of delicious mashed potatoes.

I had fresh trout, topped with toasted almonds and served with mashed potatoes.  Those potatoes were off the chain!  They were very buttery and delicious!  It was such a treat!  I don’t remember ever being served mashed potatoes at a German restaurant before, but these would have made my mother proud.  We both enjoyed Weizen beers.

 

The food at the gaststätte is typically German.  They do have vegetarian selections and both a children’s menu and a menu for seniors.  We were pretty full after lunch, but I had to try the Black Forest cake.  All told, we spent 46 euros.

We shared a piece.  It was delicious.  Definitely not what you’d find at Busch Gardens in Virginia.  I used to decorate the fake Black Forest Cakes there. 

As we were about to leave, a group of bikers sat at the table next to ours.  It was good that we were leaving, since they pulled out their cigarettes and clearly intended to foul the air with smoke.  Sorry… I don’t mind smokers unless I am forced to sit next to them, especially when I’m eating.  But we were on our way to the falls by the time they lit up, so it was all good.  

Another shot of the ruins.

They were still busy when we left… and when we came back an hour later.  This restaurant only runs until 6:30pm, but it appears they work all day.  We thought it was well worth the trip.

There is a public restroom.  It’s not the cleanest and the doors have locks on them that require 20 euro cents to open.  I didn’t have to pay, though, because I got one that was left open by someone else.

A small museum with three rooms in it.  If you can read German, you can learn more about the history of the Allerheiligen monastery.

A fountain.

As you walk toward the falls, you encounter a fork.  If you go straight, you will go straight to the waterfalls.  If you bear left, you climb a gentle hill to the war memorial I mentioned earlier and pictured below.

You can unlatch the gate and look at the memorial close up.  We chose not to, which in retrospect was a wise decision.  We had many steps in our future.

You’re not supposed to wade or swim in the creek.  However, we saw plenty of people ignoring these ubiquitous signs.  We even saw one group that were actually wearing bathing suits and in the water.  Not saying you should do it, but I will say that there was no one policing.

The walk to the waterfalls is pleasant, easy, and flat.  You don’t know what’s coming…

 At the beginning of this post, I mentioned that we parked at the first parking area we encountered.  I think that was a mistake, even though I wanted to have lunch before we started our hike.  If you start at the top of the falls, you will get tired going down.  Then you will have to turn around and hike back up.  The hike up is a lot more strenuous than the hike down is.  There are seven levels, most of which aren’t steep drops.  However, at the bottom of the system, there are two big falls with many steps to climb up and down.  Keep that in mind if you visit.  Also… do not come to the falls with a stroller or a wheelchair.  This is a moderately difficult walk and requires participants to be able bodied or carried.

Below are photos from the walk down the falls.  It was fairly busy today, so a lot of people were taking pictures.  I think I did a pretty good job of not including most of them in my shots!  It took us about an hour to hike down and back, with another hour or so for a leisurely lunch.  If you have a lot of energy, you could combine this activity with another one.

One of the steep staircases to climb.

And a look at just how far down the mountain you are…

At the end of the falls, as we were approaching the main entrance.

Piles of rocks left by other visitors.

A map of the area.  If you wanted to, you could do a lot of heavy duty hiking here.

This is a picture of the main entrance– seems most people use it.

We turned around and started walking back.  This is a sign warning against winter visits, when the falls are closed.  I would imagine it would be dangerous to walk along the falls when it’s very icy.

A chair?  I sure could have used one.

Another long trip up the stairs!  Good thing I have a strong heart!

Although it didn’t take long to visit the Allerheiligen Wasserfälle, it was a challenging walk for Bill and me.  I was alternately panting, sweating, and thanking God I’m still able to do these kinds of activities.  I thought of my mom as I was climbing the steps.  She’s turning 80 in August and can no longer walk like she used to.  She would not have been able to enjoy the beautiful waterfalls here.  On the other hand, we did see a number of very fit seniors visiting this natural wonder.  So I will keep hauling my ass up the hills and taking pictures.  Even if I sometimes grouse at the hard physical work, crowds, and stinging nettle plants, I am never sorry I do these day trips.  I always come away better off for having made the effort to visit.

I was tempted to hike up and down this very short but steep shortcut.  But then I remembered being stung by plants yesterday and decided not to cheat.

One last shot…

 Now… earlier in this post, I mentioned the bikers and how they were creating a bit of a hazard on the road to the waterfalls.  Those of you who ride motorcycles should pay close attention.  Bill and I got in the car and started heading home.  My cell phone had absolutely no signal in the area.  While this was initially a nuisance for an Internet addict like me, it actually became what might have been a matter of life or death.

As we were driving along the road between where we parked and where the main entrance to the falls are, we passed a young woman dressed in biker garb.  I noticed that she looked very distraught.  She waved at us to slow down.  As we approached a sharp bend, I could see why she was waving.  There was a small group of bikers on the side of the road, next to the treelined cliff.  A young man stood in the middle of the road and flagged us down.  He motioned for us to lower the window and asked us if we had a “handy” (cell phone).  Bill and I were confused as to what was going on, but the look on his face told us something bad had just happened.  Clearly, he was hoping I had a signal so he could call for help.

I noticed the groups’ bikes were parked nearby and a couple of the men were looking over the edge of the mountain.  I can’t be sure, but it appeared that a very serious accident had just occurred.  Bill and I surmised that perhaps a member of their group had been unable to negotiate the turn and went over.  I don’t know this for sure, though… only that the people in that group appeared to be very upset.  It looked like whatever had happened had only just happened.  Hopefully, whoever came after us was more helpful than we were and no one was either hurt or killed.  But that’s sure the way it looked.

So if you ride a motorcycle, please slow down and be careful, especially on the very curvy mountain roads at high altitudes.  We saw an awful lot of people taking stupid chances today, even if we hadn’t run into this distressed looking group.

Edited to add:  Here’s a news report about the accident.  Our impressions were correct.  Looks like he survived.

Oppenau (ots) – On the county road 5370 between Allerheiligen and Oppenau came on Sunday afternoon at 16:25 clock a 47-year-old motorcyclist alone involved in a right turn to fall. The driver of a group of four slipped over the road after the fall and threw first against a tree on the left lane side and in the sequence down a slope. The man was seriously injured about 50 meters below the road to lie down, his admitted in France two-wheelers crashed about 80 meters in depth. The casualty was hospitalized in a hospital. During the extensive recovery, the county road was closed for about 2 hours. The damage to the bike is around 12,000 euros.

Minutes after we passed the guys on the side of the road, we passed the main entrance.  If we had parked there, we probably would have missed the whole drama.

It was a really beautiful day to visit the waterfalls.  And… I was thanking God we did it in June instead of late July or August!  I was still radiating heat when we got to the car.  By the way… it doesn’t cost anything to visit these falls.  Frankly, I thought they were gorgeous.  Triberg may have Germany’s highest falls, but I think Allerheiligen’s falls are much prettier.  In fact, I also liked them better than the falls at Bad Urach.  If you like waterfalls, I definitely recommend a trip to the Allerheiligen Wasserfälle.

Below are just a few photos I took on the way home.  The route took us a different way than we’d ever been before.  Oppenau looks like a really nice town.  I may have to explore there next.

Standard
Uncategorized

Beautiful Burgbach Wasserfall, and lunch at the Klösterle Hof!

A few weeks ago, after Bill and I visited Glaswaldsee in Bad Rippoldsau, I read up on what else was in the area.  I learned that the tiny spa town, also home to the wolf and bear park, is also where there are splendid waterfalls and hiking trails.  In fact, Bad Rippoldsau is not only beautiful, but one could spend a whole weekend busy with things to do in nature.  And if it’s too rainy, there are spas to visit in nearby Bad Peterstal-Griesbach and a glass blowing factory in nearby Wolfach.  Once again, I am reminded of why I really like where we live, for Unterjettingen is just on the edge of the Black Forest, where there are plenty of cool things to do.

Today, while everybody else was watching Prince Harry and Meghan Markle getting married, I had tentative plans to visit two waterfalls.  We only made it to one, the Burgbach Wasserfall, which is very close to both Glaswaldsee and the wolf and bear park.  After reading up on the official info, which is in the first link in this paragraph, I read a more personal account of visiting the waterfall.  A very helpful guy who lives in The Netherlands wrote up his experience hiking around the falls.

Bill was a little worried there would be rain today, but we had perfect weather, at least while we were actually hiking.  There is a large, free parking lot on the side of the road, where there is a map showing where the falls are.  The waterfall can be accessed by two trails.  One is .8km, but a bit steep.  The longer one is about twice as long, but a bit more gradual.  We took the short hike to the falls and the longer trail back.  I think that’s the better way to do it, especially if you’re in crappy physical shape like I am.  The .8km trail is a bit steeper, but it’s shorter.  You still have to walk up hills on the longer trail.  The hills aren’t as intense, but they take longer to climb.  I do recommend taking the longer trail back, because it’s a very beautiful walk.  In fact, we even saw a family with their young boy riding his bike and the mom pushing a stroller.  That’s pretty hard core!

Below are some photos from today’s hike to the waterfall.  Afterwards, we had a marvelous lunch, on which I will report after the photos!

The helpful map.  There is also a picnic table near this map, though we also saw people eating lunch by the falls.  Bear in mind that it’s a wild area, so there are no trash cans or other facilities at the falls.  There are also no admissions fees!

 

The first glimpse of the creek…

 

We’re in the right place.  We took the road in the photo.  We could have also turned right onto another road which allows a longer hike to the falls.  The longer way appears to be easier, but it’s kind of deceptive.  The hills aren’t quite as steep, but they last longer.

The area is full of beautiful wildflowers.  I don’t think I quite did them justice with my camera.

 

Helpful signs show you where to go.

Peaceful creek…

 

In the distance, I spotted what appeared to be a burg on the mountain.  To get to the waterfall on the shortest route, you pass through a neighborhood.  It appeared that they had a trout farm there, though I can’t swear to it.

 

 

I stopped on the trail to take a photo.  There are some beautiful views.

 

Our first glimpse of the falls.  There were a few other people there and some who had braved a walk up to the burg we spotted on the way into the woods.

 

Near the base of the falls.

I think it was worth the trip… the falls are very photogenic and not too hard to get to, even if you’re not in great shape.

After a quick pit stop, Bill and I headed back down the long way.  

 

Der Burgbachfelsen…

Glad I had a zoom lens.

This is what the road looked like most of the way down.  However, we made the mistake of going all the way back to the highway.  I would not advise doing that, especially if you have children or are in any way mobility challenged.  There isn’t much of a walkway by the road and it gets very busy with scary bikers and speeding cars.  There is another, well-marked trail on the gravel road before you get to where the traffic is.  That’s probably the one you’d want to take, rather than trying to walk by the highway.  However, because we didn’t take that trail ourselves, I can’t swear to the accuracy of my advice.

Stop and enjoy the views!

 
That’s a wrap!

This was on the walk back, which was pretty scary due to no sidewalk or trail.  However, I did get a few shots of the wildflowers. 

The restaurant where we had lunch was at a hotel called the Klösterle Hof, which is the site of an old monastery.  Bill and I had noticed it the first time we visited the area, but didn’t happen to be there at a time when it was open.  Today, we had no problem getting a table, even though there was a wedding going on at the huge church next door.  There are a couple of other restaurants near this hotel, but I had read about the hotel restaurant and noticed the stellar reviews.  Having eaten there today, I can add my own stellar review.  We really enjoyed our lunch, even though we got caught by a rainstorm.

We sat outside at first, along with a large group of bikers and another couple.

A very kind waitress, who appeared to be working alone, brought us wine and water.  I loved the little wine barrel pitchers the wines came in.  I had a riesling and Bill had a gray burgundy.  Both were local and very good.  The riesling tasted of limes, while the gray burgundy had a honey essence.

We ordered our food and waited a bit, but the sky began to darken right after the church bells stopped ringing for the wedding.  Our waitress kindly opened a previously closed dining room for us, since all of the inside tables were taken.

It was very quaint and comfortable. 

Bill ordered the fresh trout, which probably came from a very local source.  It was grilled with lemon and served with a green salad and parsleyed potatoes.

I had Seeteufel medallions (a dense white fish– kind of like catfish without the dirt flavor) with white asparagus and Hollandaise sauce… as well as the aforementioned potatoes.

This sauce was the real deal.  No blender cheats with this one!

And a nice table full of digestives, of which we did not partake.  Our bill was about 62 euros and well worth the expense.  I felt great after lunch– not too stuffed and like I’d eaten really high quality food.

 

While we were eating, a group of gentlemen from the wedding showed up.  If I had to guess, I’d say they might have been part of a band.  They came in, had a round of beer, and headed to the church.  We saw them all waiting on the front stoop as we drove past on the way home.

The outside of the restaurant and hotel as it was pouring rain.  There was no rain once we got over the mountain toward Freudenstadt.  Had it not rained, we might have tried to visit the other waterfall I read about.  As it is, we’ll save that one for another day.  I would love to go back to the restaurant and try the Black Forest ham, which I noticed the lady sitting next to us having.  It smelled wonderful.

A trippy photo I took as we drove through the misty mountains.  I love visiting the Bad Rippoldsau area.  It feels like a mini vacation.

 Below are a few more photos of Burgbach Wasserfall I took with my digital camera.  I’m really glad we visited.  The falls are beautiful and, at least today, not nearly as crowded as some of the other waterfalls we’ve visited.  I would highly recommend a trip there, especially if you’re looking for something different and cheap to do.

Standard
Uncategorized

Gasping my guts out on the way to Glaswaldsee…

Today was another beautiful day here in southern Germany.  Despite that, I gave some serious thought to staying in and being lazy.  Fortunately, Bill decided he wanted to go out and see something new.  It wasn’t too hard to convince me, since the sun was out and the temperatures were so agreeable.  Plus, there was a place I had in mind to see.

Last month, Bill and I visited the Bärenpark, which I had discovered on our February trip to the Dorotheenhütte (glass blowing factory) in Wolfach.  As we were leaving the bear park, I noticed a sign for a place called Glaswaldsee.  My rudimentary German skills told me that Glaswaldsee translates to glass forest lake.  That sounded interesting to me, so I did an Internet search and learned that the Glaswaldsee is a wild lake referred to as the “blue eye” in the central Northern Black Forest.

The Glaswaldsee is a “Karsee“, meaning that it’s a remnant from the last ice age.  These lakes formed when ice water could flow down a mountain side and collect on a flat surface.  The water formed a lake that is fed only by melting snow and rain.  During periods of drought, the lakes can dry up and become overgrown.  After the ice age, there were as many as 35 Karseen in the Northern Black Forest.  Now, there are only a few left, many of which are near Freudenstadt.  As luck would have it, we live relatively close to Freudenstadt.

We put the top down on the Mini and took off for the tiny spa hamlet of Bad Rippoldsau, since that was close to where we’d seen the sign.  Alternatively, we could have reached the lake via another spa town, Bad Peterstal-Griesbach.  On the way there, we stopped at a hotel in a really tiny village called Zwieselberg and had lunch at Hotel Hirsch… one of many Hotel Hirsches in the area.  We stopped there because we saw a sign that read they had non-stop food from noon until 9:00pm.  Just before I got out of the car, the strap on my new purse broke… the one I bought two months ago to replace the last purse I had whose strap broke.  I guess I should stop carrying so much crap with me.

Hotel Hirsch in tiny Zwieselberg welcomes you…

Bill looks relaxed in the empty restaurant…

It was really dead in the restaurant and super quiet, but soon some hikers came in.  The bartender, who seemed to have a rather stoic personality, turned on the TV to music videos.  The menu was limited and simple… it was mostly stuff like schnitzel, goulash, wurst, and salad.  Everything was super cheap, though…

I had red wurst with fries and salad.  Props to the Hotel Hirsch for bringing out a big ramekin of ketchup.  I was surprised they didn’t supply mustard, which also would have been welcome.

Bill had white wurst.

 

While we were eating, a guy came in and asked to turn the channel to sports.  He asked us in English if we minded.  We didn’t, actually, because the video that had just played was by a woman named Noah Cyrus.  The song was called “We Are Fucked”.  It always amazes me how much freer Germans are with English swear words… not that I mind the f-word, but that particular song was kind of depressing.  It was followed up by a song from Justin Bieber.  So yeah, turn the channel to football, please!

After we paid our twenty euro bill, we headed toward our final destination.  We found the road I had spotted during our last trip to the area.  It was narrow and rather primitive.  There were a couple of times when Bill was sporting white knuckles as he gripped the steering wheel.  We made one wrong turn and ended up at someone’s private abode.  Then we finally spotted a sign for a parking area for the Glaswaldsee.  After several more scary minutes ascending the primitive road, we reached the edge of the nature park where the lake is located.  Bill parked, paid for the 1,50 euro Parkschein (which is good all day), and noted that there’s also a zip line at that location.

I listened to the peaceful creek…

We took a look at the map…

 

Then it was a one kilometer walk to the lake…  however, that one kilometer hike was entirely uphill.  I got a bit winded, and I’m sure my hips and legs will complain tomorrow morning.  I was still able to walk up the gravelly road without too much trouble.  And when we reached the lake, we were rewarded…

A sandstone wall borders the lake.

It should be mentioned that swimming is not allowed at this lake.  I did see a couple of people wading in the water, including a little girl whose mother was taking pictures.  Personally, I thought the water looked more brown than blue, but it was definitely quiet and serene and I didn’t regret the challenging climb.  Needless to say, it’s not exactly stroller friendly.  I did see people with dogs, though.  There was no one official there to make sure people followed the rules.  Below are some photos I got before we headed back down the mountain.

Ducks live there.

There is a path that surrounds the lake.  It takes about twenty minutes or so to stroll around it.  There are other trails you can take, including one that goes to Bad Peterstal-Griesach.  I was glad we didn’t start from there, since the sign said it was 7.8 kilometers away on hilly terrain.  Those of you who are more fit than I am may find it a good place for a challenging hike.  

A long walk…

The path around the lake is pleasant.

Here’s a little hut and cookout area.  We saw a few people enjoying it today.  I did not notice any public restrooms here, but there are plenty of bushes for ducking behind…

A nice view down…

I snapped a picture of Bill as he was telling me about some guy he met in Iraq on a “vomit comet”.  Apparently, the guy was a jerk and warned Bill not to throw up.  Bill responded by grabbing a barf bag and threatening to use it.  My mild mannered husband is endlessly patient, but he has a snarky side, too.

 

The journey home was excellent.  Below are a few more photos of the lovely drive…  Yes, this area is a long way from downtown Stuttgart, but we wouldn’t trade living out this way for being closer to Bill’s work.  There’s so much to do in and around the Black Forest.  Lots of bikers, on bicycles and motorcycles, were also enjoying the views and the weather.

I’m really glad I noticed the sign for Glaswaldsee…  I don’t think it’s one of those places tourists usually find.  Glaswaldsee, by the way, is very close to the Bear Park.  You could easily combine the activities.

Really… if you live near the Black Forest, you owe it to yourself to get out and explore it.  The last time we lived here, we didn’t do nearly as many local activities.  We’re making up for that now, but not everyone gets to come back to Germany.  So, I urge you to make the most of your time here, however long or short it might be.  And if you feel up to it, maybe you should visit the Glaswaldsee.

Standard
Sundays

Feeding frenzy at Wildpark Pforzheim…

Today, Bill and I discovered yet another kid friendly local attraction that we should have discovered years ago.  I am not sure how we missed it after being in this area for a total of five years.  Nevertheless, this afternoon we visited Wildpark Pforzheim for the very first time and we both had a blast.

The Wildpark Pforzheim is a really cool park full of wild animals, many of whom are no longer all that wild.  Quite a few animals at the park can be fed zoo feed, which you can purchase at the park.  A few animals can also be petted in the petting zoo.

Amazingly enough, there is no entrance fee for this park.  You just pay for parking– five euros for three hours (ETA: I’m told it’s only two euros on weekdays).  And, if you want to feed the animals, that’s another two euros.  Naturally, there’s also a biergarten.  I think we spent a grand total of 21 euros for parking, one little bucket of food, and a snack of wurst, fries, and beer.  We did pay six euros total as a pfand for the beer glasses, but that was refunded after we returned them.

Anyway… here are some photos I took today, along with some lightweight commentary.  I think this will go down as another great weekend activity, especially if you have kids who love animals.  Dogs are also allowed at the park, as long as they are on a leash (though I did see a couple who weren’t).

This is the entrance to the park.  It’s a surprisingly big place.  Several parking areas are available, but it was still a bit crowded today.

The first thing Bill did was buy some food.  You can buy it at a stand near the biergarten, or at one of the many machines scattered around the park.  The animals that get this food are quite ready for you to offer it to them.

 

The animals that can be fed will have green signs on their enclosures.

The ones that aren’t allowed to be fed will have red signs.  Be careful with this.  If you get caught feeding animals that aren’t supposed to be fed, you will be stuck with the vet bill and kicked out the park.

 

Bill being the good provider…

There are cool carvings all over the park.

These two alpacas were very keen to be fed.  They stuck their heads out in an attempt to vacuum some food from my outstretched palm.  

A honey exhibit.  We stopped in on the way out of the park.  They show you how they collect it and sell some products there.

A very friendly creature… followed me eagerly down the fence line begging for food.

This one was not quite as eager.

I love donkeys and they had several lovable ones at the park.

The Highland cow was a little bit tricky.  Basically, the mouth opens, the tongue sticks out, and you dump some food on it.  

In the honey bee exhibit…

There were also a couple of aquariums.

 

A fish otter… sleek and shiny slips out of the water.

This deer got the last of my food.  She was working it.

So was he!  

A cooperative owl.

Wild cats…

The Wildpark Pforzheim also has a small ropes course, complete with ziplining, rope bridges, and climbing walls.  

I wish I were more athletic.  Parts of this really looked like fun!  

Smaller kids also have lots of activities to occupy them.  I took notice of several play areas for kids under age twelve.  The equipment was very sturdy looking and was well attended by happy children.

Kissing geese.  The animals in this area had signs on their enclosures showing the people sponsoring their care.

Donkeys grooming each other.

These two started butting antlers after I gave them a snack.

I’m not certain, but I think these pacifiers are left by people looking to have kids.  Someone can correct me if I got the wrong idea.  They were over by the chickens.  ETA:  My German friend Susanne has corrected me about the pacifiers.  Here’s her explanation…

 

LOL – I have to correct you, because you got the wrong idea about the pacifiers.  You even have the answer written on one of your photos. It’s a so called Schnullerbaum. An idea born in Denmark (1920’s). It’s for the children to help them to say goodbye to their pacifier often combined with a nice ceremony. ‘Ich bin jetzt ja schon groß und lasse meinen Schnuller los. Dem Taubenhaus geb ich ihn her, jetzt hab ich keinen Schnuller mehr! Die Tauben haben ihren Spaß: und ich geb jetzt ohne Schnuller Gas! – oder so ähnlich, couldn’t read the whole text because of the pacifiers. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schnullerbaum

Schnullerbaum – Wikipedia
Ein Schnullerbaum dient der einfacheren Schnuller-Entwöhnung eines Kleinkinds. Es kann sich sowohl um…
DE.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

I loved the owls.  They were so majestic!

There was one mini horse…

A good snack for after our walk.  They also had ice cream, soft drinks, and wine.  The nearby bathrooms were clean and ample and there was no Klofrau looking for 50 cents.

Another play area for small kids.  

I do love animals very much, but even I was surprised by how much fun I had interacting with all of them at the Wildpark today.  Most of them were really tame and happy to take food gently.  A few were bonafide hams in front of my camera.

Bill and I were marveling at how many awesome things there are to do in Germany… and how little they cost to do.  I was telling him that in America, it would probably cost $40 a person to attend a place like this, plus parking, overpriced food, and constant encouragement to buy souvenirs.  Also, there would be a lot less animal feeding going on and constant supervision by bored minders.  I love that here in Germany, there are places like the Wildpark where people are trusted not to be stupid… and you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to have a good time.

So… I highly recommend the Wildpark Pforzheim, especially if you have youngsters who love animals.  It’s a really good time!  I think I liked it even more than Monkey Hill.

Standard