GERMANY - DAY 1

We decided that we would head into the city today and visit the Archaeological Museum. After a few wrong turns we found it tucked away behind an abbey. We paid our entrance fee and wandered around looking at all the various artifacts from Stone Age to the Middle Ages. Have to say we were a little disappointed. There was not really a lot in this museum.

We left and headed towards the river. We wandered down the bank of the river in the beautiful Spring sun. People were out and enjoying the weather. We liked how on each side of the river, they had grass, parks and playgrounds and you had to climb up a dozen stairs or more to reach the road and buildings.

We picked up lunch and travelled by tram to the Frankfurt Zoo, right in the heart of the city. When we first got there we were a little concerned thinking that the animals were going to be in cramped conditions and of the old school zoos with the animals surrounded by cement etc, but surprisingly the more we saw of the zoo the more impressed we were. It was compact and made the most of the space provided. We really liked how they allowed people to see both sides of the enclosures. The animals were free to wander from outside to inside and the Frankfurt Zoo had it set up that if the animals were not in their yard, people could go in and see them in their sleeping area.

You will be pleased to know that they had several species of Australian animals in the zoo. None of the big animals but quite a few desert animals and reptiles and the cute tiny gliders found all the way down the eastern coast of Australia. They looked like mice but they jumped from branch to branch and spread their limbs like sugar gliders. Dreadful but can't for the life of me remember their name.

By the end of the day, we all had sore feet but had seen every animal at the zoo and were more than ready to head back to the hotel.

Tomorrow we start our bus tour of Germany. Here's hoping that this tour is better than the first one. Fingers crossed.