......and the Blühendes Barock

There's a separate entrance fee for the gardens, which they call the Blooming Baroque. I could have spent two full days just in the gardens alone.

One of the small gardens at the side of the front section

These tulips have been flattened by the rain and are at the end of their flowering period, but they are still really striking

Mostly rhododendrons and azaleas

Rapunzel's tower. The flowers are magnificent

Love this orange azalea

Yep - cold enough that I needed my hat

There's a section of the gardens called the Märchengarten - the fairytale gardens. Reminiscent of Fairy Park in Anakie, there were interactive exhibits of lots of fairy tales, a lot of them unfamiliar to me. It was great watching the littlies, many of whom stood enthralled, listening to the commentary and watching the moving statues.

Rapunzel, Rapunzel - oh, you already have

The lake at the foot of Rapunzel's tower

The azaleas and rhodos from the tower

The gingerbread cottage, with the witch and Hansel and Gretel on the right

This parrot recorded what you said to it, then played it back to you

1001 Nights. This is Sinbad. There was also Aladdin and Ali Baba

In the centre of the maze was the Frog Prince. Watch what happens to the unwary!

There was a little train that did a couple of laps for €1.50. Unfortunately, the steam engine died just before my turn, so I had to ride the diesel engine. Then the heavens opened, so I stayed as skinny as possible to avoid getting drenched. (My burgundy raincoat makes a great wind jacket.)

Lights are flashing

There was also a mill wheel which kept the water in this little canal flowing, and hence the boats moving. This ride was free, and the boats went past a few exhibits, then into the whale's maw with Pinocchio.

Back out in the other part of the gardens. I'm sure there was quite a lot that I missed.

A 19th century carousel on the left

This cost €1.30

With life-sized horses!

There was a walk-through aviary which had some nice birds in it. Ducks, pigeons...

...a very friendly pheasant...

...a not-so-friendly stork, who didn't want me to get too close...

...and some gorgeous flamingoes. Count their legs!

There were some other caged birds scattered around the gardens. These next two were in two of them. The first is a Diamond Pheasant, and the video is of Laughing Doves. The footage is poor, but listen to their calls!