In the middle of… Munich
Illustration: Marc Herold
The petting zoo in Munich’s Hellabrunn Zoo is an experience for young and old. Even uninvolved onlookers who walk along the Isarweg and just take a look inside are always offered something. On a sunny winter’s day, a small family roams through the enclosure, looking as if they have just returned from shopping on Maximilianstrasse. The parents try to get their six-year-old daughter in the most instagrammable positions possible to the four-legged friends, without the dressed-up child coming into too close contact with them and without stepping into their legacies with their noble sneakers. When the girl sees a pot-bellied goat casually strutting down a long boardwalk, she goes berserk and crows, “Look, daddy, just like mommy!” Evelyn Vogel
In the middle of… Yokohama
Illustration: Marc Herold
Walk in Yamashita Park at the port. ships bobbing. circling seagulls. People are picnicking on the benches or just looking. There is peace. Security. Idyll. Suddenly, a creature dives towards a bench on which two women with a child are sitting and eating. Something grabs, turns at lightning speed and disappears again in the air. What was that? No seagull, of course. An eagle maybe? Ornithological knowledge is not enough to determine the species of predator. At least one can say that the bird is a precise flier. And: that he doesn’t keep anything that he doesn’t need. Because after a few moments he drops his prey again. And precisely in front of the bank on which he had accessed. The women pick up the colorful plastic spoon and are amazed. A predator with decency – that such a thing still exists. Thomas Hahn
In the middle of … Fischhausen
Illustration: Marc Herold
Winter vacation on the farm in Fischhausen am Schliersee. On the first evening the children are allowed to bring the hay to the cows, feed the stubborn goats, pet fat cats, hold lambs and lure the horses from the pasture into the stable with rolls. On the second evening, it stormed and snowed a bit, and the horses were already in their boxes. It’s a shame, but maybe the farmer wanted to protect his animals from the cold? He waves it off. Actually, he just wanted to avoid the phone ringing all day again, he explains guiltily. The horses with their thick skin are far less affected by the cold than the many tourists. Recently, however, the worried calls have increased. As an alternative program for the children there is a trip with the snow clearing tractor. The phone stays silent. Anna Fischhaber