I am going to do a little throwback post of a day trip we made in July, but I didn’t get a chance to get written up and posted before our vacation. During the July 4thHoliday weekend we took a little day trip over to a nearby Castle (Schloss in German- it actually references a stately or manor home) that has a falconry and falcon show. This post is mainly geared towards those in Germany or visiting the area, but anyone can get enjoyment out of our little daytrip.
Falkenhof Schloss Rosenburg is a castle in the Bavaria region that contains a falconry and has trainers on hand that work with the various birds that are housed on location. I want to note that all the trainers very much doted on these birds and they were very well treated from the little bit that we could see. They do bird shows twice a day (11AM and 3PM) and you can walk through the museum, the grounds, stop for Eis (Ice Cream), and then take a little hike if you’re really feeling adventurous.
There is an entrance fee of 8 Euro per Adult (prices vary for other ages and breakdowns) and I found this to be semi reasonable. They are not a government funded place, so they use the admission prices and sales for their funds. For this reasoning I don’t mind the price point, although you will definitely want to follow my tips to make the most out of your admission cost.
You’ll want to get to the castle and grounds about 15 minutes before the show. This will allow you some time to go wander through the different bird’s area’s and see each bird before the show begins. About 15 minutes after the show they will close down and block off the bird’s area so you cannot get up close to them, which is why I say do it before it begins. They have a variety from hawks to eagles, owls, and many others. It was really neat to just see the variety and the boys definitely loved looking at all the birds.
The show itself is in German so be prepared for that and they talk about each bird individually as they are flying around above you. I’ll come back to the flying over you in a minute. They cover diet, hunting and sleep patterns, and I believe how they are housed at the castle (don’t quote me on that though). They do various flights for each bird, enough to give you a good glimpse into the bird, what the bird is capable of, and what they enjoy. Once the hawks are done with the “official” part (I hate to even call it that because a good amount just felt natural and looked natural for the bird), they just free flew all over the grounds for the rest of the demonstration.
Now, when I say the birds fly above you, I mean they fly right above you. Swooping right in front of the crowd to get the trainer who is right behind the crowd. If you’re not prepared for that it can take you a bit by surprise to have two very large talons or a wing almost clip you. To me, it was so cool to have the bird be that close by, and our older son got a real good experience from that. He loved watching the birds fly right over his head.
The bird show lasts about 45 minutes to an Hour total and afterwards we wandered through the museum. There isn’t a lot to the museum, mostly about the birds that are in care there, the different species, and the various animals that have been known to be in the area. There are some pretty…intense animal fight scenes, but I guess it’s just nature in action. The views out of the museum windows are incredible, a good overlook of the little town of Rosenburg.
Finally, we decided to take a little hike over to the ruins that were a short distance away. I don’t even think they were a mile away, but that short distance really made me regret wearing Sperry’s for the day. It’s not an intense intense hike, but you will definitely need some solid footwear. It’s all worth it because the view at the end is just so beautiful!
And that was our little day trip for the Holiday! Have you been to a falconry or bird show/demonstration?
A Cuppa Cosy 