(Now back to our regular programming...)
To celebrate the submission of hubby's first complete draft of his thesis, we traipsed over the Rotterdam Zoo (also known in Dutch as Diergaarde Blijdorp or 'Blijdorp' for short) on mid-morning Wednesday. Since the beginning of the new year, we had always wanted to make the zoo trip. However, the habitually cold weather dissuaded us from hopping outdoors.
As our sojourn is gradually coming to a close, time is of the essence to cover all places of interest. (Summertime is relegated for museum-hopping in Amsterdam!) And the forecast spelled out a sunny day, for a change. It was slightly nippy as we waited for the Rotterdam Centraal-bound train on the platform. I wished I brought along my outer jacket as well on top of the cotton cardigan.
After asking for directions to the zoo at the Rotterdam Tourist Information Center, which was located near to the Centraal station, we walked briskly to our destination. According to the website, the zoo is approximately 12 minutes by foot from the Centraal station. My foot! It was more like 20-25 minutes, at least for bipedal Asians.
Thankfully, temperatures rose by the time we arrived at the zoo's frontgate. Sadia had already fallen asleep when we got our tickets. Much to my initial surprise, the place was packed with screaming kids! Alas, my ears are hypersensitive to external stimuli now that a toddler is in the picture.
After a quick bite of kaas broodje (cheese-filled bread) and hot Chocomel, we proceeded to make our rounds. The timing was good as well since Sadia predictably and abruptly woke up from her kip when the squeal of children playing cranked up a notch.
Sadia enjoyed viewing, watching and gaping at the animals in their respective paddocks, pens and cages. Brief coffee and ice-cream breaks notwithstanding, a substantial part of our 3-hour in the zoo was strolling (more like pacing) through the entire zoo compound.
The highlights of this field trip, I must say, are the sprightly otters and cliquey penguins in the Oceanium and the palm-sized prarie dogs at the 'Zuid America' (North America) enclave.
At times, our excitement got the better of us and we wondered out loud whether the trip was primarily for us or Sadia. From the looks of it, it's a win-win situation.
Back home, I also solved the mystery as to why the glorious gorilla pen was left empty with the whole clan transplanted to a spacious area of indoor cage. Turned out, an attack by one male gorilla by the name of Bokito only three weeks ago - May 18th - prompted the zoo authorities to enforce more stringent measures of these imposing mammals.
On hindsight, my husband's words "Mighty Joe Young scary" alluding to the secluded jungle trekking of the Gorilla enclosure portends to this maiming incident. Save for the din from the large playground complex close at hand (imagine if the gorilla is to escape and run amok there!), the rickety wooden bridge, the thick shrubbery and the heart-pounding stillness mimicking the African wildlife experience all fed into our suspense.
Our virgin viewing of the gorillas was quite brief due to the massive crowd congregating in front of their cage. And no photography was allowed - at least, that's what I thought from the signages plastered all over the pillars.
Despite this ill-timed scuffle, a trip to Rotterdam zoo - this year is their 150th anniversary - is highly recommended for those who adore animals. Correction, those liking animals AND do not have any qualms about seeing animals in captivity. For those who take issue on captive animals, my only advice is to stop eating MEAT!
Photos are in chronological order:
3 comments:
love the photos, esp with you in the reflection. Looks like you will be going home soon. and what a pity as I am still bogged down with work. Cant see me doing Holland as I am planning Paris over the weekend. sigh!
Oh, looks here first. Kak Teh. Thanks for the visit, ma'am. You be sure to have a nice day now, y'hear? Yep, I agree with Kak Teh, nice pictures.
Dear Kak Teh,
I was gawking at my favourite sea otter frolicking in the water! Hehe...
Some 3 months to go....but we might be in Paris in the summer. Care to cross the English channel and meet me? ;)
Bergen Sir,
Thanks for reciprocating my visit. It's an honor. The weather has turned nicer so I'm definitely going to bask in the sun for as long as the temperatures hold up! =)
Post a Comment