Alpakahof Carpe Diem, Giesensdorf

Deceleration with alpacas. I had already given my partner a voucher for "Alpaca-Gassi" a year ago. Because of Corona and other things, we came up with the idea on a Friday to finally redeem the voucher the next day. Checked the homepage, selected an appointment, entered the code and drove there the next day. We were able to park the car and were greeted first by a very cute cat and then by the operators. I'll make it short: very likeable, open and very nice people who have brought the subject of "alpaca" closer to us laypeople. First we had to drive the alpacas out of the pasture. Then the animals were "leashed" and off we went. At least the first few steps. Because, as we quickly learned, you have to do relationship work for an alpaca. "Get in, drive off" does not apply here. The first 500 meters are good for recommending yourself to the alpaca. If at some point the animal thinks you're okay, it will follow you without "stop-and-go". We were on the road with these animals for almost three hours and it couldn't have been nicer! Precisely because one is very focused on the bond with the alpaca, as a city dweller or a stressed worker, one easily forgets why one is constantly upset about everything and everyone. In any case, I would like to walk for hours through the forest with an alpaca again - but next time I would buy the gloves made of alpaca wool beforehand and not at the end 😂😂😂

Behind the alpaca breeding farm Carpe Diem are two absolutely open, warm and hospitable people! Getting to know the alpacas was a great experience - curiosity paired with restraint. Even if our son liked the farm dogs more :) The "one star rating" on the grounds that the hosts would refuse to see the animals is incomprehensible to us. The alpacas are on a pasture, surrounded by fields and the owner's private property, so there is no direct access - which is certainly more of an advantage than a disadvantage for the animals, as not every stranger can get to the pasture. At the same time, it is clear to us that the two operators do not have time outside of the bookable offers (the animals and guests in the holiday apartment also have to be taken care of) to let "unannounced customers" wander through their garden and provide information. We wish Carpe Diem lots of fun with the animals and on the walks!