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Exploring the Eifel's hidden gems

  • Published
  • By Matthew S. Bright
  • 52 Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany --  Thirty-four miles, that's about what it took... My wife and I drove up the B-257, from the Badem exit of the A-60, to the Adler und Wolfspark (Eagle and Wolf Park) in Pelm bei Gerolstein. The road, a winding country lane through most of the land, passed through ancient forests on its trek to the Vulkaneifel as a gentle mist fell about the trees. Forty-four miles from home in Heilenbach, up the winding hill from Pelm, we found the Kasselburg.

Construction on the Kasselburg began in the 12th century. Four hundred years later, the hunting lodge we see today was completed. As we wandered through the ruins of the castle, the efforts at the preservation of the buildings was apparent, though not at all inappropriate; there were no real updates to the structures...the walls decaying from years of environmental abuse and erosion, the buttresses leading nowhere, doorways, whose gates had long-since fallen absent, all hinged on the steadfast wall guarding them from tumbling to the valley below.

In the valley, outside the main gate of the burg, was a habitat built for numerous goats and geese. For 50 Euro cents you can buy a handful of dried corn for the goats, and for 1 Euro you can buy a small box (approximately 250g) of feed pellets for the boar that inhabit the park's Schwartzwald, or Black Forest. In addition to the goats and geese, there are also rabbits, guinea pigs and sheep for children to play with. Down the gravel path to the right of the burg, as you exit its gate, is a small aviary in which the newest additions to the bird park are housed and hand-fed.

While waiting for the 3 p.m. show, we strolled down the path into the woods. As we neared the park's boar enclosure, I commented that we were entering Jurassic Park. Having bought a box of feed from a dispenser adjacent to the overlook of the boar enclosure, we climbed the stairs and watched the baby boar below us. Off in the woods you could hear the cries of their mother and off they ran to find her. We followed the fence line to a large family of boar clamoring for the pittance of food being thrown to them by nearby children.

Under normal circumstances, the average person could follow the path along the tree line, from the boar enclosure to the wolf enclosure, in about twenty minutes. At 2 p.m., my wife, almost eight months pregnant, and I stood beneath a tree, huddled under an umbrella in a torrential downpour; soaking wet and laughing, we waited for the rain to break. Almost thirty minutes later, we decided to hoof-it up the hill to the shelter of the burg. Again I said that we had entered Jurassic Park. As we climbed the hill, against the flow of the newly formed river rushing around us, I had the sneaking feeling that we were being watched. I told Sheila that the wolves were watching the two of us. I couldn't have been more correct. In the trees to our left, the outlines of seven Timber Wolves and Canadian Wolves tracked us from the shadows. I could hear the pack growl as the path curved to the left, closer and closer to the very comforting fence that stood between us.

The rain broke a few minutes before the 3 p.m. bird show. There was just enough time to catch a quick interview with Margarete Kluthausen, one of the Falconers, and co-manager (with her husband, Ludger) of the park. When asked about why they had opened the Adler und Wolfspark, she explained, "I like nature and I like to work with birds; they are the oldest way to hunt, and I wanted to show people how things were [done] in the past." Continuing, she explained that she grew up in the Vulkaneifel and though she and Ludger had worked as Falconers in France and southeastern Germany, they wanted to open a park back home. Herr and Frau Kluthausen rent the burg and the park from the state of Rhineland-Pfalz and the buildings from county of Daun. All of the animals belong to them.

Ludger, with the help of the other Falconers at the park, ran several birds through a demonstration of their visual acuity and hunting skills during the show. The show, lasting about 30 minutes, featured the Steinadler (Golden Eagle), the Bartkauz (Great Gray Owl), the Gansegeier (Eurasian Griffon/Eurasian Vulture) and the Schleiereule (Barn Owl/Screech Owl). Herr Kluthausen explained the extensive training that the birds have to endure to be included in the demonstration, but he also went on to describe that the show is designed to highlight each bird's instinctive abilities. No bird is trained to do any feat they could not, or would not, perform in the wild.

Though most of the signs around the park are written in both German and English, the shows are given only in German. That said, for larger groups, who have made arrangements prior to their arrival, you can have an English-speaking park guide. Frau Kluthausen explained that there are often school trips from Spangdahlem and Bitburg to the park and that for the past two years she and her husband have been bringing a few of their birds to base for small shows for kids.

At 8 p.m. on Friday July 18, the Adler und Wolfspark will be holding a (German language) Wolves' Night for kids. These monthly bonfires (the next two will be 16 August and 14 September) include campfire stories and a barbecue, as well as a demonstration of the feeding of the park's wolves. The Wolves' Night lasts two hours and costs 10 Euro for kids and 20 Euro for adults (including food). If a group from base wants to join the fun, you can arrange to have one of the park's English-speaking personnel translate the lessons and stories for you; all they ask is for you to call ahead to make arrangements.

For more information on the Adler und Wolfspark in Pelm bei Gerolstein, visit their website: http://www.adler-wolfspark.de/index.htm (and click on the blue Kasselburg button on the right), or give them a call at 06591-4213. The park is open daily, March though October, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Directions, along with the fall, winter and holiday schedules, are posted on the park's site in the Oeffnungszeiten section.

When the bird show was finished, the Kluthausens, and other guests of the park, moved on to the 3:45 p.m. wolf feeding. Seeing as Sheila and I had already met the pack, we headed home.
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