Time off work calls for Advenure Time, doesn't it? And by that I don't mean that weirdly funny tv show I sometimes catch myself watching, but actually getting your bum out of bed to go out and explore new territory. Being the France Lover that I am, I felt like taking a little trip to Strasbourg again, but also having my brother around, who unexpectedly didn't quite feel like shopping clothes and makeup, stopping here and there for coffee, croissants and macarons, we had to make a slight change to our plans.
Just around 50 km to the south from Strasbourg you'll find a cute, little village called Kitzenheim. Directly bordering the Regional Natural Park Ballons des Vosges, the area is just stunning. High mountains and wide fields of flowers, the drive up to the Monkey Mountain was quite scenic. Monkey Mountain, say whaaat? Yes, the stop my brother chose was a Monkey Mountain, situated just out of Kitzenheim, the village we just spoke about.
A Monkey Mountain? What the fudge is that? This may or may not be how I responded when he told me about his genius idea, and it's probably what's just going through your head reading this. But let me tell you, the experience was simply amazing.
The mountain compromises an area of 24 hectare where you can find more than 200 Barbary Apes running around freely. Yes, these 24 hectare are fenced, but at least they get 24 hectare of space to jump around. After paying 9 euros for an adult and 5,50 euros for kids, you'll get a little safety introduction telling you what and what not do, including the fact that you are not allowed to touch any of the apes. Which made me a little sad to be honest, I would have loved to cuddle a few of those apes. Anyway, at the entrance you'll also get a handful of popcorn which you are allowed to give to the monkeys, which made us all smile like idiots. Maybe it's the fact that they behave so much like humans, stretching their little arms to grab the piece of popcorn from your hand.
One thing you should totally do whilst you're there is to join one of the feeding sessions, where a guide feeds the monkeys with fruits and veg and cereals whilst also giving you a bit more information about the little creatures.
I can honestly recommend this visit to anyone. No matter what age or whatever. Even though most of the visitors were families with little children we still had a lot of fun. Maybe because we're big children. But whatever.
The next couple of photos are representing my deep love for these little creatures because they were just too adorable. I think what really struck me was how human the acted in most of the situations. Too cute.
Depending on your place of residence taking a little trip to France might not be that easy. So if you're making it all the over to the land of croissants, cheese, baguette and wine, you would maybe want to know other pretty spots just around the corner. Because yeah, a monkey mountain wouldn't be my #1 aim of destination.
1) Close to the monkey mountain you can find the Châuteau du Haut-Koenigsbourg, which you can already spot upon this hill. It's only a sweet and short drive of 15 minutes from the monkey mountain and it's said to be a gorgeous medieval castle. For again 9 and 5 euros you can explore the inside and outside of the castle.
2) If you're into wild birds you should check out "La Volerie des Aigles", a castle where you can see, well yeah, wild birds. The admission is 9 euros / 6, 50 euros. Again, it's only around 5 minutes from the monkey mountain, so definitely something to see when you're already around.
3) As I've already mentioned, the mountain is only about 45 minutes away from Strasbourg, which is a truly amazing city. I have a whole post about Strasbourg which you can check out here.
Whether you're stopping for lunch, a coffee and crêpe, or dinner, Strasbourg has a lot of culinary things to offer.
If you fancy a bit of shopping, Strasbourg is also the place to do so. Not only will you find high street shops like H&M or Zara, you'll also find more exquisite shops like Hermès.
Even if you're only there for a couple of hours: take a walk through the old town and you'll be happy without spending any money.
4) Another city that is quite near is Colmar. Around half an hour in the car and you're headed towards the south of Kintzheim. Even though I've never been to Colmar I do believe that it's a beautiful destination. Just google it and the photos will persuade you to take a trip down there. It's definitely on my bucket list!
Anyway, I hope you liked this little post appreciating monkeys and their preciousness. Being outside always helps me to clear my mind, so if you ever find yourself stuck in a situation and you don't know what to do or where to go, go outside first and try to appreciate what's surrounding you. I know, this sounds completely pretentious, but taking a bit of distance sometimes helps to see things more clear and might help you to make that decision you might be scared of.
I didn't mean to ramble on about this, but now that I've already written it, I'm just going to leave it there.
Lisa xx
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