Day #11: Welcome to Jurassic Park in Germany

This morning, students woke to the chirping of birds & the smell of small-town Germany after a night of rain. 

At around 9am, we met and walked to Schloss Hochhausen where the signers put on a private rehearsal/show for Count Dieter in the entry hall of the home. While the Count’s family hasn’t had governmental power since 1919, Germans still show respect for the old “noble” families. 

Fun fact: Hunters can ask for permission to hunt on Dieter’s land, but must also give up 50% of the animal as a payment. 

While the house itself goes back almost a thousand years, Count Dieter’s family acquired the home and lands in the 1700s. After a brief tour of the house and grounds, we hopped on the bus and drove to Guttenberg Castle.

“Guttenberg Castle is considered one of the last undamaged Staufer castles in Germany. It was founded around 1180, is today over 800 years old and has a correspondingly eventful history. It has always been inhabited and has been completely preserved to this day. It has been owned by the Barons of Gemmingen for over 560 years.”

Also on the grounds of Burg Guttenberg is a Raptor Center. Most of the birds are dauerpflegefälle, which means they are long-term care birds - some for heart conditions, wing injuries, etc. At 3:00pm, we got to see a Raptor Show! Key phrase from the show: “Trained, but not tamed”

We got to meet:

  • “Jackie” Striated Caracara 

  • “Wilma” Turkey Vulture 

  • “Muth” Griffon Vulture

  • “Maxi” Rüppell's Griffon Vulture from Africa 

  • “Alita” Eurasian Black Vulture

  • “Cassiopeia” Bearded Vulture

  • “Loot/Lotak” Bald Eagle

  • “Yari” White-Tailed Sea Eagle 

  • “Loki” Stellar Sea Eagle

(Check out the TikTok Video for some really awesome Raptor clips!)

After the Raptor show, we headed back to Hochhausen and the students walked to their home stays for dinner and evening festivities. Despite enduring an 80F sticky day, around dinner time the clouds finally split and we all got to enjoy a lovely German rainstorm. Some of our students even took advantage of the drizzle, put on their ponchos, and danced around Hochhausen.

All in all, it was a lovely day.

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