Nuremberg Zoo and Dolphin Show

This is one of the most memorable vacations we had, not just because of seeing a lovely place but because our daughter was left behind. 🙁 More like traumatic than memorable.

Nuremberg is one of the cities we often visit. This time, we visited the Nuremberg Zoo and Dolphin Show / Lagoon (Nuremberg, Germany) and stayed there for half a day before going out to eat and play at a park. That was one of those “doki doki” (Japanese heartbeat) moments that I felt real fear. It was also one of those times that my imagination was running much faster and beyond the years I normally would. If she’d been gone, I thought, how could my life be – would I be able to sleep thinking that she’s out there somewhere yet we’ve been robbed of the chance to take care of her and see her grow.

I sometimes hate myself for having that kind of imagination. Hubby went back to the dolphin show we watched with the whole fam (with mom-in-law and her husband too- who both joined the hunt as I stayed behind to wait). He found dawty sitting where she was earlier, still waiting if there are more shows. It’s a good thing that no one came to take her or ask her to come with them…there was not even a sign of fear to be seen in her…she was so calm.

Before the fear, here she was happily smiling while sitting by the Ehekarussell fountain at a nearby plaza.

Zoo

Nuremberg Zoo is located at the imperial forest, that although a forest is in the middle of the city. The Nuremberg Zoo will be 100 years old in May of 2012 and it is one of Europe’s biggest zoo (at 170 acres)!

We took a cart where the kids could sit in so they won’t get tired easily. They love being pulled around so we were able to see a lot of animals, despite the area being really huge.

Being a large zoo, there are close to 300 species of animals living in it. The enclosures seem to be embedded in the forest, so they look more like their habitat but has restrictions separating them from humans. Some of the animals we saw were giraffes, elephants, gorillas, monkeys, lions, tigers, cheetahs, even rhinoceros. There were a lot of birds too, even vultures but we weren’t able to take photos of them.

Dolphin Show

I don’t know how big the Dolphinarium in Nuremberg Zoo is or if there is such, and I’m probably not in the position to comment on this practice. I’m sure though that the dolphins are well taken care of. We watched the dolphins perform and I think it shows if trainers are good to them, otherwise, having such intelligence, they will not comply to what they’re supposed to do? 😀

The Nuremberg zoo is located in the east of the city between the districts of Mögeldorf and Zerzabelshof. It can be reached from the main train station by tram (line 5). Another bus line (No. 45) connects the Tiergarten to important transfer points for the U-Bahn (local underground trains) and S-Bahn (regional trains). A number of motorways surrounds the area if you are going by car.

Visiting Nuremberg

Nuremberg is Bavaria’s second largest city, known for the Nuremberg trials. This was between 1945 and 1946, when German officials involved in war crimes and crimes against humanity were brought before an international tribunal for trials. It is also home to one of Europe’s largest castles, the Nuremberg castle – which, with its city walls, is considered to be one of Europe’s most formidable medieval fortifications. Curiously, there’s a vast garden atop the castle.

The city is a joy to explore, with the many sculptures and history it holds. More later!