We ended up in a wheat field the day we left Nijmegan because Hubs had chosen the wrong town to input into the GPS. Garbage in, garbage out. Once we’d figured that out – with the help of a real map – we got to Bedburg in record time.
Bedburg is another very old town, existing as early as 893. It is notable for its werewolf. In the late 16th century, Bedburg was terrorized by a diabolical creature that slaughtered its cattle and snatched away its women and children, killing them with unspeakable cruelty. The shocked and horrified townspeople feared they were being victimized by a bloodthirsty werewolf who lived among them. A wealthy farmer known in the community as a pleasant enough widower and father of two adolescent children, turned out to be the deranged serial killer who wore a cloak of wolf’s skin. He even killed his own son, eating his brains. Yuck. He was caught and sentenced to a horrible death.
We stayed in a hotel in Bedburg built into the old city wall, very charming with nice grounds. Our reason for being there was so I could visit one of my former post-docs, who is a neuroscientist at the Institute of Brain Research in Dusseldorf.
The next day he took us to a center for birds of prey
, where we got to see an amazing array of eagles, buzzards, falcons and owls from around the world. 
We arrived in time for one of their twice daily shows, where certain birds fly free (but return), and I got to hold on a heavy leather glove, a black-backed South American buzzard eagle, who liked to have its chest stroked.
The birds were magnificent.
After the show, we drove on to Mainz, to visit another former colleague and stay overnight. By then a heat wave had invaded Europe, and we were grateful for the car’s A/C.
Sounds like you had an amazing tour!
The birds were really awesome, and we were less than a week into the trip.
Wonderful, Noelle! But …no red kites? 😉
Nope, no red kites and I looked!
I would say that is a shame…but they are best seen in the air and free 🙂
Wonderful post, Noelle. Thank you. Quite the story behind that town. Yikes, indeed. As for GPS, we got lost in Europe more than we thought possible, particularly in Italy. The rented car had a GPS, of course, but all instructions were given in Italian, and throw in the roundabouts and crazy driving, we ended up having to turn around quite a few times. 🙂 Oh, well, part of the adventure. Thank you for sharing your story. Love the pix.
We would have been lost completely without the GPS, but there were some places where we went around in circles. We had our instructions in German, so we just sat one morning and played with it for an hour! You’re right, an adventure!
Beautiful birds. Interesting town.
Thanks, Denis!
Sounds like the benevolent farmer might end up in someone’s novel one day!
I’ve already got a pumpkin grower!
Sounds like my kind of outing! The birds really are gorgeous, but that house history…. a regular old Jeckyll & Hyde!
Good thing I didn’t know about the were wolf before I got there!
Beautiful birds, and thank you for sharing some of your travel adventures with us! My husband & I would love to see some of Europe someday… 🙂
Knew you would like those birds! Do make a trip to Europe, but go in the early spring or fall!
Very brave stroking the bird. Great photos I love visiting Germany
I’m slowly moving Germany into my favorite European country, after England. That bird was so tame, Charlotte. It LOVED having its breast stroked!
Enjoyed your post about your travels and the photos of the beautiful birds. I was just in Ireland and was able to hold some amazing birds as well. Wonderful experience. https://brilliantviewpoint.com/2017/08/31/falconry-at-adare-manor-castle-hotel-in-ireland/
I’ll make a note of this! We plan to visit Ireland in 2019.
That’s great, then YOU will be able to see Adare Manor. If you look Google it, you’ll see it is a huge and beautiful castle.