If your child has a passion for animals and archaeology, especially the part that deals with ancient animals, then take him or her to the unusual Germendorf Park, located in the small town of Oranienburg, just 35 kilometres from Berlin. The area is truly impressive: you can walk around for hours without realising that you have seen everything there is to see. And there is a lot to see.
First and foremost, the park is home to some dinosaurs. The giant beasts are so realistic that they appear to be standing, walking, running, flying or crawling. Some will even growl if you get too close. Don't forget your camera, you'll get some great shots with the dinosaurs.
The statues of ancient giants are surrounded by manicured European lawns with soft emerald green grass where visitors can relax. It's even a good place to eat, so there's a reason why locals bring their families here for a picnic at weekends. There are comfortable benches and spacious gazebos at almost every turn in Germendorf Zoo and Dino Park, so visitors usually have no problem choosing where to rest.
Be sure to visit the local viewing platform, which is shaped like a volcano. It offers spectacular panoramic views of the park. From the top, you and your young trekker can see the area in great detail with fixed binoculars.
This vast open-air home of the dinosaurs not only houses giant models of the ancient beasts, but also live animals that live peacefully alongside them. There is also a zoo in the park. There are no African tigers or Indian elephants, of course, but there are plenty of geese, chickens, goats, deer and ostriches. You can pet and feed them all.
Spandau Citadel is another interesting place at 38 km, which is interesting to visit with the whole family.
The animals are there almost by chance. In fact, this was once not a beautifully landscaped area, but an ordinary piece of land with overgrown lakes and a rough landscape. The landowner who bought it landscaped it and gave it shelter to many animals that were regularly abandoned by neighbouring farmers. And so the foundlings became a zoo.
Today, Germendorf Park is a world of its own, featuring not only ancient and modern animals, but also merry-go-rounds and slides, a children's playground, a miniature railway, swimming in the water and a range of restaurants and cafés serving delicious local food.
