Seeing the Animals in the Rain
Trip Start
Jun 22, 2008
1
6
9
Trip End
Aug 13, 2008
Vienna,
Austria
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
For the Virtual Vienna project in German 3, I needed to get pictures at the Vienna Zoo in Schönbrunn. Since most museums are closed on Monday, I figured that would be a good day to go to the "Tiergarten" (animal garden). A visit to Schönbrunn palace was also a possibility, but I decided that since they don't let you take pictures inside, a walk through the gardens and pictures from the outside would be fine. That way I could spend the day at the zoo.
On the weekend it had been warm and sunny, and the temperature for Monday was forecast as in the high 70's. The morning was partially cloudy, but I figured it would clear up as the day went on. So I put on a short-sleeved shirt and a pair of shorts to go see the animals. After a ride on the U-Bahn (subway) I arrived at the stop for the Tiergarten. A short walk took me to the entrance, where I purchased a ticket and went inside. First stop was the Koala exhibit and then the Giant Panda exhibit. There is a young panda, born at the zoo, that has been getting a lot of attention, so I had to deal with a small crowd wanting to see the newcomer. When I got out of the panda house, it had turned dark and cooler. While I was looking at the giraffes it actually sprinkled a little bit.
The Vienna Tiergarten is set up basically in a circle with spokes radiating from a central plaza. My plan was to take each spoke and cover the whole zoo that way. However, as it began to rain in earnest - and yes, I got wet - I found myself moving into enclosed exhibit houses and dashing from one exhibit to another in a less organized manner until I discovered that I was back at the spoke where I originally entered the complex. Time to look at a map and get to the places I had missed.
Eventually I covered everything and avoided most of the worst of the rain. A couple of times I got pretty wet, though. The main priority was protecting my camera. Fortunately I had a water-resistant bag for it and kept it basically dry, just having to wipe off the lens a couple of times.
The cooler weather did bring out a few of the animals that might otherwise have been hiding in a cool spot, so I got to see the polar bears, seals, penguins and reindeer pretty well. Waiting for the male reindeer to come out, though, proved to be a matter of patience. He was under a covered area and so in the dark and came out only occasionally. Then he would look around and go back inside. Finally I got a couple of good pictures. The polar bears were much easier to get pictures of, and the two babies were very cute. There was also a baby seal, and I have some video with great sounds of the baby and another seal calling back and forth to each other.
One of the houses I went into was "Savannah Birds". At first it seemed there wasn't much to see, but again it was a matter of patience. When everyone else had moved on and I was alone, I simply stood quietly for a while. Gradually the birds began coming out and making noise so that the house turned into quite a busy place. Of course, that is true of a great many experiences. When we rush through we miss what is really there to enjoy.
During probably the hardest rain of the day I was in the Tropical Rain Forest house. Unfortunately, since it was raining there were a lot of people inside and there wasn't any place to allow sufficient quiet for the more timid animals to come out. I did see a lot though. The people were probably more interesting here. One family had a small child, and one of the sections is nearly pitch dark because it houses small bats. The poor child screamed the whole time she was in the dark, especially with small furry things flying past her. The mother tried to cram through the entrance with everyone else but got the stroller stuck and nearly allowed some of the bats to escape because she had both sets of partition open at the same time. Some large fruit bats were in the main hall, hanging from the rafters. When I was there, the water was streaming down the Plexiglas panels of the roof because of the rain.
Finally I was finished and decided to make a dash for the nearby souvenir shop. Because it was still raining pretty hard, there were a lot of people gathered at the door. That meant that both sets of doors were constantly open. Just as I had worked my way through the crowd and was ready to make the dash, an employee came and yelled at everyone for keeping the doors open. She asked them to either go outside or come inside. With both sets of doors open the birds could easily fly out. Most people cooperated and moved inside, outside or to the side where they wouldn't activate the doors, but a few people didn't budge, so the situation hardly improved. One couple in particular continued to let their daughter play at the outside door, so the door remained open most of the time. Never underestimate the stupidity of people in large groups! I also noticed on the trip how oblivious people are most of the time. Many times I saw someone trying to take a picture, but someone would walk in front of them without a clue that there was anything going on.
I had a late lunch at the central pavilion, then visited sections of the zoo I had missed earlier, as well as going back to a couple of places to see if some of the animals had come out because the rain had let up. The zoo also has a Tyrolean farmhouse complete with cows, sheep, etc. That was interesting. By the time I had finished and was leaving the zoo, some of the animals were starting to be up and about, so I got to see the panda walking around. The elephants were also out.
From the zoo I walked through Schönbrunn palace gardens to the Gloriette. This was built simply as a place for the imperial family to enjoy the gardens and a view. The view really is spectacular, looking over the palace and into the city of Vienna. Schönbrunn was the summer palace, and the Hofburg was the winter palace. Then I walked back down to the palace and took a few more pictures before taking the tram back to Praterstern and then the U-Bahn back to the apartment.
All in all it turned out to be a nice day in spite of the rain and being dressed wrong for it. The rest of my time in Vienna will have to wait until the next post, so until then wünsche ich Euch Gottes reichsten Segen.
