Wander with Alpacas: Airbnb Experience near Frankfurt, Germany

Going with Curiosity

Llama-talk pervades my house. Thankfully there’s no llama-drama, but there’s plenty of llama saga for this mama. In fact, we even chose a particular volunteer project one summer in Roswell, New Mexico based on the availability of llamas! What’s the closest thing to llamas? Alpacas!

Airbnb Experiences is offering an increasingly wide variety of down-home, hands-on experiences to enjoy all over the world. When I looked for experiences near Frankfurt, Germany, an offer appeared to Wander with Alpacas. The trip included a leisurely welcome and introduction to alpacas, a walk through the picturesque German countryside, and plenty of time with the soft, sweet animals.

Bonus: our hosts sent us a link to photos from our tour. What a great way to remember our day and share our adventure! (I’ve noted the photos in this post that came from our hosts.)

Llamas and Alpacas–What’s the Difference?

Llamas have been bred by humans to use as pack animals, for herd protection, for fur, and for food. Llamas are taller than alpacas, more on eye level with adults. They have longer noses and taller, more pointed ears. Since they are often used as pack animals, they tend to have more relationship with humans, but they still love the company of their herd.

Alpacas are much smaller, with softer (more highly-prized) fur. They are more shy (too shy to offer protection from predators), and absolutely stick together. Super tight-knit bunch! Their faces are rounder, and their ears are smaller, more straight. Their short stature make them extra-approachable for kids.

The alpacas on this tour might kick a little, but generally they are very, very sweet. Even the preschooler in our group had a blast with the lead. I heard her giggling much of the walk.

Scheduling a Visit

Airbnb.com now has 3 tabs across its homepage: Stays, Experiences, and Adventures. This was booked through Experiences.

Using Chrome’s translate feature helps a great deal. If you don’t speak the native language, search in Chrome. In the URL bar, top right, click the “translate,” icon, or in the text you may click the button for “translate this page.” It’s a rough translation via Google Translate, but it’s a start!

For Wander with Alpacas, most dates fall on a Saturday, in German, for up to 8 people. However, a quick message to the hosts brought a new date on the calendar. Our hosts added a Monday tour just for us. They kindly reassured us they would speak English. And they let us know that after all 8 spaces had been purchased, we were welcome to bring more in our group, with the understanding we’d all share their 4 alpacas during our walk.

One advantage of expat living with kids going to an American school, is that our kids occasionally have days off, like federal holidays and teacher work days, while folks in our host nation go about normal routines. These are great days to schedule birthday parties or enriching outings, like this Wander with Alpacas Airbnb Experience.

This venue was about an hour from the main American compound in Frankfurt. We arrived a few minutes early to find the parking lot (across the street from a wine bar), and use the restroom before our tour. The tour ran from 3 till 4:30 p.m.

Add-Ons

The hosts run the wine bar, Poppenschenke, which opens at 5 p.m. They serve cold, homemade food (like sausages) and local wine. It would easily be nice add-on after this Experience. Another nice surprise at this venue was seeing the pigs and chickens the family farm raises, too.

The Meiser family has been operating in the area since 1696. They are proud of their legacy, and also look to the future, as a family business. Younger members of the family led our tour. The fact that they are early adopters of Airbnb Experiences shows innovation.

We saw construction in one of the buildings, and I bet that’s the guesthouse. Perhaps in the summer we’ll return as guests who stay.

Our hosts were very pleasant and kind people, and they answered all our questions. The landscape unfurled with ribbons of vineyards. The easygoing small town was pedestrian-friendly. Weddings take place in the old chapel, and a historic tower stands over the lush farmland. It was certainly nice to get into the Germany countryside and Wander with Alpacas!

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