The Long-Awaited Guests: The Visit

We were lucky to have some long-awaited guests last week. I wrote before about our plans and thought I'll share with you some of the things we ended up doing.

When you see good friends after a long time, you don't want to fill their visit with millions things to do. But even though we spent a lot of time just enjoying each others company, there was still many things on our agenda.

1. shopping, shopping, shopping - you can find some lovely picture from my friend's blog *here* and *here*

+20°C and sunshine - not bad for late October!

2. sightseeing with Thermine

3. feeding animals in Fasanerie

and my favorite part:
4. drinks and dinner 'ohne Kinder' - see a picture *here*

It was sad, when we had to wave them goodbye, but we have plenty of guests arriving from Finland during the following weeks, so they will keep us busy!

*****
Kauanodotetut vieraamme ovat jo palanneet kotiinsa, mutta tässä vielä pieni tiivistelmä, mitä kaikkea teimme heidän reissunsa aikana:
1. paljon shoppailua - piipahda kurkistamassa kuvia ystäväni blogista *täältä*
2. nähtävyyksien katselua kaupunkijunasta käsin
3. eläinten ruokkimista Fasanerie-eläinpuistossa
4. äitien vapaailta sushin ja drinkkien parissa!

Silent Sunday

Easter Lamb (And Other Animals)

On Easter, you should eat lamb, right?

Well, this year we didn't eat any, instead we fed them. In a couple of occasions, actually.

First we visited Fasanerie here in Wiesabaden.

The map of Fasanerie

Fräulein really looked forward to seeing the wolf.
Fortunately we were able to spot one, but she was a bit disappointed, when it didn't howl.

And later, we visited Tierpark Mainz-Kastel for the first time. It was a lot smaller place than Fasanerie, more like a domestic animal farm. But what was important was that we got to feed the animals again*!

It was actually a bit difficult to feed the sheep here.
The animals had a clear pecking order: the pony was the king,
 then came the big goat, then black goats, goats with other colours,
and the sheep were the last to be access the goodies.

Not willing to leave :)

*) In both of these places they sell 'Futter', which you can feed to the animals

*****
Emme tänä pääsiäisenä syöneet lammasta vaan syötimme niitä. Ensin vierailimme Fasaneriessa ja toisena päivänä Tierpark Maiz-Kastelissa. 

Enjoying the Sun With Four-Footed Friends

Hey, what's that bright thing in the sky? Haven't seen that for a while! And blue sky as well!

Fräulein's naps are getting shorter. Even though it means that I don't have that much time to do anything on my own, like write the blog, it does mean that she is waking up earlier. That combined with the longer days and sunny weather leads to the possibility that we can go out when the sun is still up!

As Fräulein's favorite activity on the playground is sitting on a bench, I thought we could do something else. So, yesterday we drove to Fasanerie. As the drive takes only 10 minutes and there is no entrance fee, visit to Fasanerie is a nice way to spend time outdoors and it gives welcome change to our everyday routines.

Compared to our last visit, this time Fräulein was able to walk and explore things on her own. Thus we stayed only on the entrance area with the domestic animals.

Peeking into the area of rabbits and guinea pigs was Fräulein's favorite part of the visit.

There is also a playground in the Fasanerie, but it is more suitable for older children.

Today we will head to Königstein, where a new Finnish play/music group will be starting. That too will be a nice change to our routines!

Attractions in Wiesbaden No. 2 - Fasanerie

We don't have a conventional zoo with all kinds of exotic animals here in Wiesbaden. But we do have Fasanerie, where you can find some 'normal' animals living in the woods instead of being displayed in small boxes.

Yesterday it was Father's Day in Finland, so let's pretend that we spent the day as a family in Fasanerie. (To be honest we visited the place already the week before and yesterday my daughter's dad, Herr Welle, was on a business trip in Asia. )

There is no entrance fee and the park is quite large, so it is a great place for spending the day outdoors. As the pens are spacious, some of the animals can be quite far. But on the other hand, the fences are relatively light, so if the animals feel like coming to meet you, you can get very close to them.

The main attractions of the park are the bears and the wolves, but as we visited the park just before closing time, they had already called it a day. The most exciting animals we met were the wild boars. One of them struck a pose for us...

...whereas some of the farm animals were less interested in showing their best angle (or maybe they did?).

In winter time, the Fasanerie is open until 5 pm. But already now it is getting a bit dark before the closing time, so it is better to visit the park earlier. On the other hand, you might get a different kind of experience, if you walk among the wild animals without seeing what is around you...

Our daughter seemed to enjoy the Fasanerie more than the Frankfurt zoo, which we visited a month ago. What a great Father's Day! ;)