Zoo Eberswalde, A Summer Adventure to Remember

I have visited Eberswalde many times before,  once just trying to see places besides the famous Zoo. This summer though, I am back for a short zoo visit, one afternoon in August. 

As usual, we are taking a regional train from Berlin, and in less than one hour we are there. No delays, no surprises, and thanks to the Google Maps, from the main train station I am able to make my way to the next bus station leading to the Zoo. Although I´ve been there more than five years ago I can easily remember the way and some of the places that haven´t changed. For instance, this mural reminding the commuist times. 

The same goes for the lace curtains, who are also witnesses from other times, although they have a hint of cuteness that alters for good the seriousness of the old buildings.

But before meeting the wild animals, we noticed that we are too hungry to hurry up. Thus, I finally have the chance to try the menu offered by Alte Brauerei, a former hunting lodge turned into a beer local. The service is very friendly and although the interior looks very welcoming,we rather prefer to take a seat outdoors, protected by the shadows of the trees, while watching the locals busy with their lives.

The place is also children-friendly, offering not only children menu, but also colouring pencils and sheets, keeping the little ones entertained, at least for a while.

Until our orders are brought - the delay is actually a good sign, meaning that we are offered an elaborated meal, instead of a defrosted products - I am trying something new: a dark Pupen-Schultzes-Schwarzes beer,Made in the Eastern part of Germany, it tastes more sweet than sour, with a caramelized note that completely neutralized the original beer taste that I hate. An unique treat that come on time for the International Beer Day, as I would find out later on from social media. 

Meanwhile, my food is already here, and I am delving into my delicious Hähnchen Spätzle Pfanne - a mixture of German noodles that I love, with chicken covered in a white sauce. Was worth waiting for it, and I am getting exactly the right amount of energy to survive the rest of the trip.

With a full stomach, we are able to reach the Zoo exactly in time for witnessing the feeding of the penguins. There are many people watching them, particularly children, some visiting from Poland, but they little penguins pay only attention to the fish they are generously shared, loudly expressing their satisfaction with loud screams.

A particularity of this zoo, that celebrates this year 90 years, is that the animals do usually have a bigger space to move, therefore you can observe many of them in an almost natural habitat. For instance, the flamingos who are enjoying their time at the lake.

Also, the nature is feeling completely at home, therefore, no matter how hot is the weather during the summer, in the Zoo area it feels mostly moist and cool.

No matter how high or low the temperature is, the tortues will always do their slow walks, Given their long lifespan, they have no reason to hurry up, of course.

It is really soothing to watch them so we are trying, at least for a few minutes to replicate their carefree life.

In addition to the usual exotic choice of lions, tiger, zebras and monekys, there is also a petting zoo, where children can interact with different animals. A good opportunity, especially for children growing up in urban areas, to connect with animal life. 

Those ponnies, for instance, looked adorable.

The Zoo has also a huge area where you can take a break, watch from afar different animals, or just improvise a kind of picnic. In any case, if you want a full travel experience here, be sure to reserve the whole day for it. The fresh forest air is an additional incentive to take a pause from the busy urban life.

As I have been here several times already, I don´t have any to-do-list, enjoying instead just the observation of different animals playing, like those otters who were full of energy coming in and out of the waters.

Or observing the quiet dynamic between those camels, feeding my mind with plots for children books stories.

Why is this leopard alerted, by the way?

Maybe the children runnning across the playground were too loud, but the slide is quite spectacular and it´s a pitty to do not play there at least for half an hour.

This visit at Zoo Eberswalde was pleasant, relaxing and rewarding for both adults and children. Although not sure when I will be back, at least I am happy to have returned after so many years. Some places are just a reminder that you can also enjoy life without a to-do-list.

If you want to watch more travel stories, feel free to check my dedicated YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ilanatravels/videos

Here you can check a funny turtle video I just posted online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOnLtjvfdms

How to Spend a Full Day of Adventures at IRRLANDIA Park

Trips are (almost) perfect when all its participants, especially when children are involved, are happy. Happiness is subjective, I know, but when it comes to a group of small and big people, it's important that the highest coverage is offered. Like, for instance, giving some photographic corners for the adults and a lot of outdoors active fun for the rest.

It worked very well when we visited the Elstal Strawberry Village and also in the Jurassic Park of Germendorf. This time, we tried the IRRLANDIA Adventure park, just an adventure park one hour away from Berlin.

With this good will and armed camera on our shoulders, we stopped to Storkow, via Konigs Wusterhausen. It is a very simple train ride, and as it was weekend, we get ready for the low-age ambiance, while socializing with the many kids in the train with ages between 2 and 5. Good start, at least for some.

Stork means stork in German and I suppose the name Storkow means that we might expect many of such birds which we only encountered in the wooden format. Good news for the camera owners though.

With or without storks - we not even spotted any huge nests - Storkow looks like a lovely little village, with wild bushes of roses bordering the streets and 1-2 storey small houses silent under the summer heat. We carefully watched the directions to the adventures park, while trying to get the best of the urban landscape.

Surprisingly,  the doors are beautiful to look at, with various colourful painted motifs which bring a different mood to any house.

Where the colours are absent, there are small little iron wrought shop signs, or just reminder of businesses from the old times. 

Storkow seemed to be a middle-class hard working town, at least according to the signs on the facades.

The old city area, is even more full of life, with half-timbered houses hosting at the ground level small stores and café houses that we purposefully avoid because, you know, we are on a mission to make some wild children happy.

Years of training the attention taught to find the interesting details, regardless how high is our walking feet speed. Click on the camera to keep a memory of this massive wooden door!

The mobile wooden bridge which is still operational nowadays is an interesting technical achievement but also offers a good platform to catch some relaxing view just a couple of meters away.

After 30 minutes of walking we are about to reach the desired destination of the other half of the travelling team: the IRRLANDIA adventure park. First, as a lone view of a purple-reddish castle under a heavy curtain of maze.

Similarly with Babelsberg Film Studios in Potsdam, IRRLANDIA is open only for a limited amout of time: this year,  between 18.05 and 06.10, with a daily schedule between 10 and 6pm. By purchasing the ticket, the children are able to use it for a short tour in a carrousel.

Inside, there are so many attractions for all the possible tastes and age interests that you can easily spend a full day only testing various attractions, again and again. You need to be dressed casual and eventually take your swimming suit too, as you can play a lot with water. And which kid doesn't love to play with water? (Although maybe a more environmentally-oriented education would be necessary to avoid too much waste)

You can organise here birthday parties and any kind of parties, or to take part to regular events organised by the adventure park itself.

As an adult, you can take a seat on the chair and leave the small ones to use their energy. Refuel options are gallore, with a small fast-food outdoors area and a waffles corners too. Just be ready, especially during the weekend, for some extra waiting time. If you are more careful with your diet, you can bring your own food and have a picnic, either directly on the grass or on one of the big wooden tables.

With 12 different labyrinths and thematic areas, IRRLANDIA is a big source of entertainment. And everything looks so safe and done according to the highest German standards in terms of security that half of your worries are away. At least for now.

The biggest newest attraction in July was the maize maze. Not so spectacular like the ones in Cornish, rather at a very low level, but complex enough to get lost. Upon starting the journey you got a map with numbered places and you need to follow carefully the directions. When you are wild - like us - and go without a map, you risk to get claustrophobically lost. And no, what I've read long ago in J.L.Borges writings that in a labyrinth you should always keep left doesn't apply at all in this case. 

Time passed very fast in this adventure park, and we left only with the regrets that at least half of it was not accessible on age reasons. Which means that most probably will be keen to give it a try to another visit the next year too. And the year after. Maybe one day will spot those storks, who knows?

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