Tiergarten, a large public park in Berlin, is translated as ’animal garden’ because it
was originally designed as a hunting area for the king in the 1500s. At present, it is a lovely urban park for the
citizens of Berlin, and about the only (visible) animals that frequent the park
are rabbits. In fact, there are so many rabbits (and apparently they are so
destructive to the flower gardens in the park) that several of the park’s small
gardens are closed off with barriers to both the public and the rabbits. When we were walking
around in Tiergarten recently, I noticed mounds of earth here and there, and
wondered what they were. Now I know. Rabbits are energetic little creatures,
God love them, but their activities are destructive to flower and vegetable gardens.
I wonder if the barriers do manage to keep the rabbits out. The flower gardens
appeared to be in good shape, so perhaps the barriers are working. But for how long?
Tiergarten
is well-described on Wikipedia at this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gro%C3%9Fer_Tiergarten, so I won’t include much more in
the way of descriptions in this post. I am posting some photos I took in the
garden. The day we were there was a hot sweltering summer day, and the sunlight
was very strong. The photos have an unusual, almost shimmering look to them—you
know it’s summertime when you take a close look at them. But the heat wasn’t unbearable,
and it was in fact nice to walk in the shadows of the many trees in the garden.
