Ape Mountain

So when I was in college, Dane Cook was really big in terms of comedians. One of my favorite skits of his was about his wanting to own a monkey:

I remember trying to tell this joke to my dad…turns out that he is one of those anti-monkey people that Dane Cook talks about. Turns out that my dad wasn’t uttering bullshit. When he was in Vietnam (Vietnam War, mind you), one of his tent mates had a monkey and apparently he was a terrible little asshole. The little creature took a severe disliking to one of the other tent mates and proceeded to shit in his mess tin and spend hours on top of the tent yelling monkey obscenities. He was, according to my dad, a terrible roommate.

I could literally write a book of the stories my dad told about his time over there. This particular day was about him living with a monkey.

Anyway, a few weekends ago, the in-laws descended upon us for T’s and my mother-in-law’s birthdays. One of the first things we did was head to Affenberg (or Ape Mountain, if you want a literal translation). It is home for a group of Barbary Macaques, originally found in Algeria/Morocco. The point of the park is bring awareness to this endangered species, but also allows for awesome photo opportunities. Why? Because you can feed them with popcorn provided by the park!

English Summary

Of course, I want to take my parents here, but I have a feeling my dad would point to one of the monkeys and mutter “yea, just like my old tent mate used to do.”

If any of you are ever interested, I highly recommend you go! The park sits just outside of Überlingen in Salem. It’s fun for all ages! Even our twin nephews (who are 2.5) also loved feeding the monkeys.

Bis nächste Woche!