The German Adventures Of A Tea-Loving Dave - April 2014

lintworm said:
(...) take a "schoenes wochenende ticket" or a similar one for in the week (...) but you can use it on all non IC/ICE trains for a whole day (...)
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This aspect can't be stressed enough. DB conductors can be pretty stern about this, and make you either leave the ICE/IC immediately or pay an extra fee. If's there an "RE" in front of the train code on the display, you're good to go.

DB actually offers a free and pretty useful app to help you with your journey:
DB Bahn: DB Navigator
 
Buses may start from Ostbahnhof or from ZOB. Make sure, you get the right starting point for your ticket. For the ZOB it is about 7 minutes walk from the Tube (station: Kaiserdamm) or from the S-Bahn (station: Messe Nord/ICC).
If you should decide for the bus there are at least two companies, which stop close to the Leipzig Hauptbahnhof.
If you didn't print it out before, you can get a map of Leipzig for free at the information desk in the Hauptbahnhof. From there it may not even be 15 minutes walk to the zoo. If time is left, it is equally close to walk to the attractive center of the town, which again would not be far to walk back to the bus stop for the return journey.

As for the weekend ticket, the trains and Leipzig Zoo may be pretty crowded at the weekend. Berlin Tierpark, with a lack of visitors, might prove to be the better choice.

About the conductors - unfortunately they are always well disguised and you can only spot them when they leave the train with their victim and surround it on the platform.
I have seen tourists go by mistake one station in a direction that wasn't covered by their ticket: 40€, if they have got you.
 
lintworm said:
About wildlife, keep your eyes open for striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius), they are common in both zoos, as are red squirrels, a rarity in the UK ;)
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Now that's interesting - I saw an Apodemus scamper across one of the paddocks in the Zoo but had put it down as unidentifiable - would you say it was likely to be A. agrarius then?
 
Maguari said:
Now that's interesting - I saw an Apodemus scamper across one of the paddocks in the Zoo but had put it down as unidentifiable - would you say it was likely to be A. agrarius then?
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could be. A. flavicollis & sylvaticus tend to be more active at night. B A. agrarius has a really clearly visible black stripe along it's whole back, so that makes it readily identifiable even at a distance. So I would keep it as Apodemus spec.
 
chizlit said:
At the risk of being shouted down, why do you wish to visit both Berlin zoos twice?
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Missed this question up to now; basically I have received advice from many people to the effect that if it is one's first visit, justice can only really be done to both of the Berlin collections if you allow two days for each. I suspect Zoo could be done in a day if one is familiar with the place, but as I am not, it is worth taking my time over. I suspect anyone would struggle to see everything at Tierpark in a single day considering the scale of the place no matter how familiar they were with the place!

lintworm said:
as are red squirrels, a rarity in the UK ;)
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You say that, but I saw one about 20 minutes ago on my girlfriend's windowsill.
 
If you are like me you will see Zoo in one day and also possible to do Tierpark as well in a day although there's far more walking.
What if you find you do them both in a day and see no point in returning, will other zoos then come into play?

TeaLovingDave said:
Missed this question up to now; basically I have received advice from many people to the effect that if it is one's first visit, justice can only really be done to both of the Berlin collections if you allow two days for each. I suspect Zoo could be done in a day if one is familiar with the place, but as I am not, it is worth taking my time over. I suspect anyone would struggle to see everything at Tierpark in a single day considering the scale of the place no matter how familiar they were with the place!



You say that, but I saw one about 20 minutes ago on my girlfriend's windowsill.
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lintworm said:
could be. A. flavicollis & sylvaticus tend to be more active at night. B A. agrarius has a really clearly visible black stripe along it's whole back, so that makes it readily identifiable even at a distance. So I would keep it as Apodemus spec.
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Yep - agreed. Didn't see the stripe but due to the topography the mouse was more-or-less side on, so remains unknown. :)
 
On Tuesday the Alfred Brehm house at Tierpark will be reopened.
The first of April the new director Dr. Knieriem starts working.
 
chizlit said:
If you are like me you will see Zoo in one day and also possible to do Tierpark as well in a day although there's far more walking.
What if you find you do them both in a day and see no point in returning, will other zoos then come into play?
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The Zoo is definitely doable in a day, but you might not have much time for doubling back, and the big houses are liable to eat up the day without you realising. I have done the whole Tierpark in a day, but it is quite a stretch if you really want to see everything (even with the pleasingly flexible approach to closing time that the Tierpark has!) and I wouldn't recommend it for a first visit unless you're one person on your own (which always speeds things up).

When I was in Berlin at the start of the month, we did two Tierpark days and one-and-a-half Zoo days. It also takes the pressure off trying to get round everything on the first day (in both cases we pretty much deliberately left some areas (Tierpark's birds of prey, for one) for the second day).

Knowing TLD is the type to want to see Everything ( ;) ) , I think two days planned for each is wisest.
 
Maguari said:
The Zoo is definitely doable in a day, but you might not have much time for doubling back, and the big houses are liable to eat up the day without you realising. I have done the whole Tierpark in a day, but it is quite a stretch if you really want to see everything (even with the pleasingly flexible approach to closing time that the Tierpark has!) and I wouldn't recommend it for a first visit unless you're one person on your own (which always speeds things up).

When I was in Berlin at the start of the month, we did two Tierpark days and one-and-a-half Zoo days. It also takes the pressure off trying to get round everything on the first day (in both cases we pretty much deliberately left some areas (Tierpark's birds of prey, for one) for the second day).

Knowing TLD is the type to want to see Everything ( ;) ) , I think two days planned for each is wisest.
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Thats the advantage I have as I'm usually on my own so can do things quicker, plus I refuse to go into the big cat house at Tierpark.
 
chizlit said:
What if you find you do them both in a day and see no point in returning, will other zoos then come into play?
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In that unlikely event, I may do additional collections (the likeliest being Hamburg and Rostock) but as this *is* going to be my first trip outside of the UK and my girlfriend - having Aspergers - is easily stressed, I really do not want to press my luck too much :p

Taisha said:
On Tuesday the Alfred Brehm house at Tierpark will be reopened.
The first of April the new director Dr. Knieriem starts working.
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So I have heard, although as far as I can tell this will only be the central hall and not the "cat corridors" - I will, therefore, be very interested to hear just how open it is.
 
@TLD, I believe I read that one of the cat corridors is open again, but I am not sure....
 
One VERY important comment: like most continental Europeans, Germans do not really go in for tea. So take teabags and a flask!!

And the idea of a serious enthusiast doing Berlin Zoo in a day when you've never been there before is a bit like tipping Thylacines to turn up in the Sydney Opera House. Possible, but wildly improbable....
 
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In Berlin zoo there is a wonderful piece of history - the Pig House, see inside if you can. I was last in Berlin 3 years ago . I always stay at the Tierpark hotel and use the trains. I went by ice-train to Leipzig ,had a great day there.; unfortunately it was the first day of the school holidays and the zoo was teeming , went through Godwanaland first before the masses. Enjoy the trip.
 
Deutsche Bahn is the most expensive form of getting around. But if money is no issue then it is the most comfortable form too. Be aware that booking the tickets in advance for a certain train can reduce prices significantly (up to about 50%) but you will lose flexibility as those tickets are only valid on that specific train at the specified time.

There is also Interconnex linking Berlin and Leipzig:
Fahrplan - Interconnex

Since last year there are coach links between most of the larger cities. Those are much cheaper.

Concerning Zoo Leipzig: I know the zoo very well, but can easily spend a full day visiting. So I recommend getting there early. If you visit on Tuesday as planned I would not expect it to be overly crowded. I would recommend doing lunch depending on the weather either in Gondwana or at the Kiwara lodge. If you don't plan on a big lunch, you can always buy Bratwurst at different locations :)

Upon buying your ticket you will get a zoo map and also a list of the special feeding times/events taking place during the day. Feeding of the pangolins is around 11.45 am (but make sure it did not change if this is important for you!). Always very impressing is the bathing of the elephant(s) which can be watched through an underwater view at about 10.15 am (but check for exact time upon arrival and make sure to be there in time as it can be over pretty quick and also the water will become cloudy quickly.)

I highly recommend to see the Kiwara-Savanne not too late or it will be empty. This holds true for most of the animals with openair exhibits. Depending on the weather they will all be in house in the (later) afternoon.

Do you have any specific questions to the zoo or Leipzig?
 
I cannot give you any practical tips, but I would confirm the standard advice about keeping some type of record on a trip such as this. I still have the notes I made to complement the photos from my trip round European zoos in 1973. My itinerary was Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Stuttgart, Zurich, Basle, Frankfurt, Cologne, Amsterdam, Rotterdam & Antwerp - so I am glad to have the notes and photos to keep my memories clear after 40 years ;)

Alan
 
Setting off for Heathrow soon - with a little luck I will get online whilst in Germany, but if not I shall return in a bit over a week with quite a tale to tell.

Behave yourselves ;)
 
Have fun, TLD! I wish you safe journeys and visible animals! :)
 
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