OK, so we thought we'd get up early and try fit in both the zoo and Prague castle today. However by the time we get to the supermarket and back we realise it's not going to happen. 
Our choice - visit the largest castle in Europe or go to one of the top 5 zoos in the world. Of course we would choose the zoo and it didn't disappoint! Part of the reason for this decision was because we'd heard that the majority of the castle isn't particularly amazing and another part of the decision is because we totally love zoos! We get the tram out there and spend the whole afternoon exploring the impressively large zoo grounds. The layout is great because it's divided in half by a long stretch of cliffs, with a chair lift joining the two sections. You might think that this area is not usable, however they have done a brilliant job of utilising the space to hold the Himalayan goats and the monkeys that are used to that sort of terrain. The zoo was very extensively flooded in 2002 and resulted in the loss of a 
lot of animals and facilities. The only way you'd be able to tell this as a visitor are the display boards set up to record the event. Initially we'd taken some marks off for not supplying maps, however we found a kiosk where they could be purchased for next to nothing, so we reinstated the marks on the basis of environmentally. The information boards 
were generally in Czech (understandably), however the ones that also have English were good and sometimes even had audio buttons to hear the animal's noises. Highlights (and there were many of them) included the best polar bear enclosure we've seen, feeding time for all the big cats, the jumping squirrel monkeys and bush babies, the wooden viewing platform overlooking the city (flying ants unfortunately included) and the 
walk through the lemur enclosure. Yes that's right - a walk in enclosure where Mike touched the lemur! Pretty much all of the enclosures are generously sized -perhaps with the exception of the owls, who can only fly a few metres before having to U-turn back. Another plus is that the food there isn't overpriced and average quality, as can happen when you're stuck in a facility. We had an enchilada and a pasta, which only cost around 230 crown. All in all it's a wonderful zoo (although it's a little sad that there's only 3 elephants) and even tops Mike's list of favourite zoos. By the time the zoo closed and we reluctantly left, it was time to go to our new favourite restaurant for a dinner of salmon with garlic butter, olive and 
prosciutto pizza and of course a side of beans. We'd already checked and found out that most of the shops in town were open till 10pm, so we trammed into the tourist trap area and picked up so
me tacky mementos - as you do when you're a tourist!
Our choice - visit the largest castle in Europe or go to one of the top 5 zoos in the world. Of course we would choose the zoo and it didn't disappoint! Part of the reason for this decision was because we'd heard that the majority of the castle isn't particularly amazing and another part of the decision is because we totally love zoos! We get the tram out there and spend the whole afternoon exploring the impressively large zoo grounds. The layout is great because it's divided in half by a long stretch of cliffs, with a chair lift joining the two sections. You might think that this area is not usable, however they have done a brilliant job of utilising the space to hold the Himalayan goats and the monkeys that are used to that sort of terrain. The zoo was very extensively flooded in 2002 and resulted in the loss of a 
lot of animals and facilities. The only way you'd be able to tell this as a visitor are the display boards set up to record the event. Initially we'd taken some marks off for not supplying maps, however we found a kiosk where they could be purchased for next to nothing, so we reinstated the marks on the basis of environmentally. The information boards 
were generally in Czech (understandably), however the ones that also have English were good and sometimes even had audio buttons to hear the animal's noises. Highlights (and there were many of them) included the best polar bear enclosure we've seen, feeding time for all the big cats, the jumping squirrel monkeys and bush babies, the wooden viewing platform overlooking the city (flying ants unfortunately included) and the 
walk through the lemur enclosure. Yes that's right - a walk in enclosure where Mike touched the lemur! Pretty much all of the enclosures are generously sized -perhaps with the exception of the owls, who can only fly a few metres before having to U-turn back. Another plus is that the food there isn't overpriced and average quality, as can happen when you're stuck in a facility. We had an enchilada and a pasta, which only cost around 230 crown. All in all it's a wonderful zoo (although it's a little sad that there's only 3 elephants) and even tops Mike's list of favourite zoos. By the time the zoo closed and we reluctantly left, it was time to go to our new favourite restaurant for a dinner of salmon with garlic butter, olive and 
prosciutto pizza and of course a side of beans. We'd already checked and found out that most of the shops in town were open till 10pm, so we trammed into the tourist trap area and picked up so
me tacky mementos - as you do when you're a tourist! 
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More great zoo photos!
ReplyDeleteYou seem to be instinctively attracted to zoos along the way. Perhaps Mike that comes from a childhood growing up in a zoo-less city (except for the occasional rampaging wildlife at the north end of Castle street!)
ReplyDeleteHow many zoos is that so far?
ReplyDelete6 zoos :o) Bronx, Copenhagen, Zurich, Madrid, Prague, Salzburg. We missed Berlin and Vienna due to time constraints.
ReplyDeleteAny more on the schedule?
ReplyDelete