August 2005

If you like fossils, then call the folks at Messel (06159-717535) to schedule a tour of the fossil pits in German or English. The tour takes about one hour. The paleontologists speak excellent English. The tours are available on weekends from Easter until the end of October.

DON'T go unless you set up a tour, as there really is nothing to see without a guide. All you can do is walk about 200 meters to a viewing platform and look out over the large pit, but because it is an active mining area, and the shale is very unstable, people are not permitted to walk into the pit without a guide. After the tour, visit the Messel Museum in the village to see information about the industrial activities which occurred there, or the Landisches Museum in Darmstadt to see a terrific display about the fossils. (Of course, you can always skip the pit itself and head right for the museums; my husband said that was the way to go, but I thought the pit itself was worth a visit WITH a tour.)

Also, don't expect to see dinosaurs. These fossils are too recent for that. Instead, you will see whole crocodiles, turtles, fish, manatee bones, insects, and other things from the rain forest that was here 49 million years ago. I thought it was pretty cool! But, hey, I like that kind of stuff.

One final thing: in spite of what they say on their website about how easy it is to find, we had a very difficult time. Best thing is to take Dieberger Strasse out from Darmstadt Zentrum. The pit is about 10-12 km from the Zentrum. And don't depend on the brown signs; they are almost non-existent until you get right up to the turnoff for the pit.