I love Monkey’s, I have no idea why, but to me they are the cutest little cuddle bear ever. Well, yes… they are monkey’s and yes they have fleas and yes they have ants crawling all over them, BUT … they are still too cute. On our last Germany trip over the summer we had the opportunity to check out a Monkey Zoo you wanna call it I guess and you could actually feed the monkeys and see them in their natural habitat. They all were free range and were able to do whatever they wanted.
This was a highlight of my trip, when my friend asked if we wanted to visit the Monkey Mountain in Salem, Germany while we traveled the Bodensee for a few days. Of course I said yes! My family wasn’t asked nor was allowed to have any input, there were monkeys and I had to go see it… so we went for a few hours to check them out and it was so worth it.
We were fortuned to see a Monkey Family with a newborn “baby”. It was only a few weeks old but so cute, of course the new parents protected their offspring and watched very closely, the Monkey keepers did ask everyone not to get close to the parents nor the baby and to not feed them the popcorn that was given to us to feed all the monkeys, yes… popcorn!! It was hilarious to see the Monkey’s looking for the Popcorn and expecting you to feed them, I bet they got tons and tons of Popcorn during the day, but the fun thing was, since the monkeys were free range they just took off into the woods when they were done eating and new ones that decided it was lunch time or snack time would show up.
They also had hosted feeding, the animal keepers did feedings like they do in a Zoo a few times a day that you could watch and they would get their nutritional food and not just popcorn all day. It was fun and such a fun environment. We loved hanging out there for a few hours during our trip to the Bodensee.
The Monkey Mountains also had Storks. It was amazing, they had HUGE stork nests and a lot of storks on top of the rooftops. It was a sight to see and I had never seen THAT many storks in one place, ever! My Family actually had never seen storks, they don’t have them in Florida, but I’,m sure they are somewhere in the US?
In Germany there is a saying that when you see Storks there will be a new baby soon in the future, well unfortunately for us our Family Planning is done, BUT it was fun seeing them and they were HUGE, especially when they flew around, so pretty and a sight to see.
At Affenberg Salem nearly 200 Barbary macaques roam freely in a 20 ha forest. As you enter the park you can observe the monkeys living as they would in the Atlas mountains of Algeria and Morocco. A path guides you through the monkeys’ home range in the middle of a beautiful forest. You can even feed the monkeys with gratis available popcorn. Be prepared to enter a different world of animal magic!
If you love monkeys and are in the area, be sure to make a stop at the Affenberg in Salem, you will love it and it really is a sight to see. If possible I would recommend going first thing in the morning and if possible not on a Holiday or weekend, it is very crowded. We got there early and waited about 10 minutes in line to get in, once you are in the crowed disappears and you are fine, we left about 2 hrs. later and the lines to get in were a good 45 minutes or longer. For more information, be sure to check out their website and have a Monkey Day!
I was not compensated nor asked to write this post; just merely our Family vacation that I’m sharing with you, hope you are enjoying our trip and don’t forget to check out all our other Germany Travels.
Janet W. says
I just love how they cuddle their baby! Adorable! And so neat your kids got to touch hands with them!
Scott says
I’ve been there! Well, I’m sure it has changed a lot in 35 years, but I remember it well!
Scott recently posted..Thrift Treasure: Tangle
Terry says
I like to look at monkeys but would rather they not be able to touch me. I know, I know…. I am such a sissy.
You are all so brave to be in there with them. Even your Daughter… What a cutie!!
Terry recently posted..Lemon Mint Vinaigrette Salad Dressing Recipe
shelly peterson says
monkeys are super cute but I have never seen one in person. This looks like a fun place to go, the family would love it for sure.