Day 10: Off to the zoo!

Germany is known for is its abundance of world-class zoos. We went one nearby called ZOOM Erlebniswelt Gelsenkirchen where they had a "real" African Safari. (We put "real" in quotations because they also had a section on the Pacific Northwest where some claims of authenticity were somewhat questionable...)

Nevertheless, we had a lot of fun touring the landscape and seeing animals not normally seen in North America. We saw hippopotamuses, giraffes, lions, tigers and even zebras. Erich especially liked the pink flamingos. :-) What fun it is to actually see animals we previously only identified in books!

Of the many stories that came out of this trip, one animal encounter was particularly memorable. Midway through our African safari tour, we were taken on a 'boat ride' through a man made canal. Just as we rounded the bend, a flock of birds decided they would use our (open) boat as a potty... you can guess the rest.