Hofgeismar, Tierpark Sababurg, Germany - 20th April 2011
By: SarahF
Today was my very first day of ever travelling somewhere! My host visited the Animal Park Sababurg together with her boyfriend who just has some of his well-earned days off work at the moment.
We drove off at about 11am, here you can see me in the car while still standing on a crossroad in Göttingen. In the background you might spot a bank...the famous new town hall with it's skaters and fountains in front just happens to be on the right side of the viewer...just outside the picture. Of course. Maybe we will go there one day to take some photos, too - there are lots of skaters whose activities are welcomed by the town council; there are even some
obstacles provided for them.
It was a très agreable drive to there - the surroundings are very beautiful and driving on a sunny day while heading to an Animal Park always make things fun.
When we arrived there, we saw that there was nearly no one on the parking lot - perhaps it is a good idea to visit attractions during work days. And look how blue the sky was! It's said that green and blue don't go well, but I think I look good on this photo, anyway. Just forgot my sunglasses (and likewise did my host).
Short after entering the park, I had to shout "wheeee" and climb up one of those statues that greet the entering guests. Can you guess what it is..?
Can you?
Here is the solution: It is a statue of an enormous buffalo! The Animal Park is known to breed races that are endangered or part of local history and buffalos are one of them. I don't know it that's the reason why this statue is placed there, but it definitely inspires a lot of people to climb it (my host at her first visit included).
At short walking distance from the entrance, you can find the new penguin world. They really did a great job building a facility for the penguins where they can retreat and breed. There are two places you can watch them; here is one of them:
It's a window built half under the water bassin they got! It's such an improvement to the bassin they had before and I'm glad to see they seem to like it there. The other possibilities to see them are from outside the shelter and from inside the exhibit. That's right - every exhibit in the Animal Park has a so called "contact area" where you can, well, get in contact with the animals, if you, and of course THEY like to do so. Dangerous animals not included, of course. I think that's a great idea - the animals often are kept in really, really huge areas and only come there when they search the contact. This is what distinguishes those parks from zoos - in the latter ones animals are kept for viewing pleasure of the humans, in parks, humans are guests who might or might not see animals since they live in almost natural habitats where they can retreat or run around places you can't see, too.
Next, we visited some pot-bellied pigs who were sleeping. In fact, they were even snoring. My host couldn't stop laughing after she heared the snores, but she could at least keep the camera steady long enough to take a photo with one of them:
They are really peaceful animals and enjoy being petted behind their ears. Well, it isn't entirely certain if they are just being peaceful since they seem to sleep 20hours a day and aren't really capable of running due to their weight, but they always happily munched the feeding pellets you can obtain in the park for a small fee.
We spent some time at one of the small lakes there afterwards. You can't see them there, but there are a lot of koi carps in this area. They were enormous! So my hosts couldn't stop watching them for some time.
Did you know that kois have become a common motive for tattoos? It's because they are associated with Asia in general, I guess, but I would like to know the symbolism behind that. I guess green haired little Urmels wouldn't make for a bad tattoo-trend either!
Here you can see me in front of some Mangalitsa!
They are a sort of wooly pigs that have admirably cute piglets. My hosts always are calmed watching those and thus they stood there for over half an hour, observing the Mangalitsa.
I observed them, too.
In german, it's called "Wollschwein" which means "wooly pig".
Afterwards, we walked on. You have a really nice view on the Castle Saba, which gives the Animal Park its Name. Well, you right now not so much, but I promise it looks really nice! Like out of a story book! It's also called "Dornröschenschloss" which translates to "Castle of the Sleeping Beauty", after the known fairytale of the Grimm brothers. It really lives up to this name since the whole Castle garden is covered in Roses during Summer! You can have cake and tea there, too.
After admiring that view, I noticed something tickling the fur on my right arm..
I got a bit scared and tried to cover my eyes, but this brought the beetle only nearer to them..making it appear even bigger!
But it was good to do so, since I then noticed that it sported some really cute antennae! It also shone quite adorable. I started to like him and helped him to move on with his travels by providing a good place for a take off and he soon flew away to discover the park or probably some flowers or whatever is of interest to small bugs.
I then rested under one of the great trees that are everywhere in this huge and beautiful park. We already spent about 2 hours there! Time really flies when you are with animals.
I also smelled some flowers. This is a "Löwenzahn". It translates to "Lion's Teeth", so the word Löwenzahn has dual meaning - one for the flower, one for the fierce teeth of a dangerous animal. I have no clue why they called this soft and friendly coloured little flower like that.
It is also called "Kuhblume" which means "Cow's flower" and "Butterblume" which means "Butter flower" in some regions. In English it's Buttercup, if I'm right..the affection shown by cows for this plant might explain why so many cows in certain video games are called "Buttercup", ponders my host.
Well, I have to take a break from writing now - my journey through the Animal Park isn't finished yet! I write more, soon, there are so many things to tell, but my host has to take her shower now and I think I should brush my teeth with this adorable green toothpaste, too.
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Posted May 2, 2011, 9:48 pm Last edited May 2, 2011, 9:55 pm by SarahF
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