RÜDESHEIM WITH CHILDREN 41 whole day is best. Kids can really let off steam here - and even for the youngest there are enough amusements to ride or steer themselves. Who didn't want to be a pirate or a clim-ber at some point? Or defeat their fat-her in a water battle? Who can stay lon-gest on the Devil's Wheel? And always: sliding, sliding, sliding... Driving without a driving-licence is re-warded: fun is the name of the game here! Contakt: Haus zur Schanze 65388 Schlangenbad, +49 (0)6124/4081, I 4861, www.taunuswunderland.de Open: 9.30 - 18 h April-October Adlerwarte (Bird of Prey Centre) Niederwald The centre that looks after and cares for injured raptors and owls. Injured young birds are reared. As soon as the birds are fit or have grown up, they are relea-sed back into the wild again. 25 different kinds of raptor, about 50-60 birds at the present time, can be admired here. Adults 3,50 €, children from 6-14 years 2,50 €, Family ticket: parents with child-ren from 6-14 years 7,50 €. Group pri-ces (at least 10 people): adults 3,- €, children 2,- € Personal guided tours through the centre for groups of 20 peo-ple or more. Closed if raining. +49 (0)6722/47339 I +49 (0)6775/960866 www.adlerwarte-niederwald.de Rüdesheim has collected a lot of cultu-re together for you in an entertaining website on the internet side www.kult-tour- ruedesheim.de including a lot of information on the cultural aspects of the Rheingau/Rhine-Main region and the World Heritage Upper Middle Rhine Valley: about romantic villages and castles, about churches and convents, poets and philosophers, festivals and parties, recuperation and relaxation for old and young. Browse through our internet site and discover the abundance of sightseeing targets that are accessible from Rüdesheim and its suburbs, as day trips, hiking routes or bicycle tours. www.kult-tour-ruedesheim.de SPORTS AND LEISURE Rüdesheim with children Rüdesheim for and with children Visitors to Rüdesheim can have lots of fun with their children. Well-known destinations such as the cable-cars, the Birds of Prey Centre, the Magician's Cave, and the small Wildlife Park are all marvellous for a half-day excursion. Up to the Nieder-wald mountain by cable-car, along an exciting to the hunting castle, path with a castle and Magician's Cave along the way. Then use the Ringticket to go down by chairlift to Assmannshausen and back with the ship to Rüdesheim: that's definitely one of the most entertaining programmes on offer for children. The Ponyhof (pony stables) in the Ebental valley, only a few kilometres away from the Niederwald, offers a farm atmosphe-re with a playground, children's riding or carriage rides in their “own” carriage.The museums in Rüdesheim also offer gui-ded tours for children. The Mechanical Musical Cabinet is unique in the world and many of the exhibits will spark an interest in the children. To play a barrel organ themselves or to see a chair that suddenly makes music. In the Brömser-burg there is an exciting tour of the wine museum. The guide is the Knight Brömser (a portable recording device) who tells many stories about, and a bit of the history of, knights. The new Spiel-zeug und Eisenbahnmuseum is in itself a magnet for children. When the trains tra-vel through the Rhine valley along a 17 m long model railway the fathers take pleasure in it, too. For older children a visit to the Foltermuseum (Torture Museum) in the heart of the Rüdesheim Old Town is certainly also worth a visit. Relaxation, picnics, fun and sport are offered in the leisure park Freizitgelände “auf der Lach”. Directly beside the Rhine and far away from the traffic, parents can relax here and children play in safety as long as they want. If the weather is fine you can also have a round of minigolf or make use of the heated swimming- pool. A journey with the vintners' express through the vineyards or a trip to Burg (Castle) Rheinstein are also super ideas to amuse the children. There are special guided tours on several Saturdays. For all those who are having a few days holi-day in Rüdesheim and Assmanns-hausen with their children we recom-mend the Taunus Wunderland (30 km), the castles in the Rhine valley, Kloster Eberbach (18 km), the Erlebnisbad (lei-sure pool) in Ingelheim (7 km), a cycle-trolley rail trip along the Glaan (40 km), © knipseline / PIXELIO the Nerobergbahn (mountain railway) in Wiesbaden (30 km), the Nürburgring racing circuit (80 km) or the Holiday Park in Hassloch (125 km). 40