The day before I went to Hamburg, I was in Frankfurt for a different concert.  (Most of my trips start with a concert.  Music is what motivates me.)  On that trip, I got to meet up with fellow blogger Charlotte. Charlotte is a Brit who lives in Frankfurt, and it was fun hanging out with her for a little while before that night’s concert.

The next day, I had time to kill before my train to Hamburg, so I asked my friend Jenny, who used to live in the area.  She suggested the Palmengarten, so I took a look.   At 22 hectares, the Palmengarten is the largest botanical garden in Germany.

There are many, many types of plants.  There are indoor sections of the botanical gardens, with greenhouse sections where they grow plants that wouldn’t fare as well outside.

It has a small waterfall.  There’s a walkway that goes behind the waterfall, so you can look out from the other side of this.

There are pedal boats if you’re into that sort of thing.

There’s a very nice fountain there.   I sat by this for quite a while, just enjoying the day.  I like fountains.

The walkway over the water here was very Indiana Jones.  There are large fish and happy ducks sharing the waterways.

Ok, I was wrong earlier.  This path over the water is very Indiana Jones.  It’s more than a little disconcerting until you notice that the stones aren’t just on the surface, they go all the way to the bottom.  Very cool looking.

I went out of my way to find this when I learned it was in the Palmengarten-  an Easter Island head!  Apparently there are actually Moai all over Germany, and I’m only just now learning about this.   There’s another one in Stuttgart, another city I have yet to visit.

Have you ever been to the Palmengarten?  Do you have a favorite botanical garden?   Is there a Moai near you?