Krakow Zoo

It was a beautiful Sunday. After visiting Anna’s late parents and placing some flowers and candles on the grave we went to Krakow Zoo. This place is amazing. The work they are doing on the enclosures is very well considered and the animals are in excellent condition.

Our first stop was the birds. They have some budgies and a white cocky from Australia. Unfortunately the cages are made from heavy back mesh and it was not possible to get a decent photo. Still, I think they appreciated it when I put on a thick Aussie accent and said “G’day mate”. Nearby they had some fabulous blue and yellow maccaws and a military macaw. He was holding onto the roof of the cage with his talon above his head

so that he was in a normal attitude as if standing on a perch and he was telling the world what he thought about things. Nearby was a garden full of flamingos. They have two types and they are in wonderful condition. Beside them is a common stork. I don’t know what it is about this bird but I have been fascinated by them since I first saw them in a huge nest on top of an electricity pole near Gdansk. They look so stately.

Moving along we visited the nocturnal display. Would you believe they had sugar gliders? Of course there was no flash photography and I did not have a tripod so a photo was out of the question. Oh yes. It was very hot inside so we did not spend a lot of time.

We passed some deer and antelope, again all looking healthy and comfortable as we approached the giraffe. Here was a shock; a giraffe sitting down. I figured it would not stay that way for long so I rushed to take some photos and sure enough, it stood up. Try to imagine it. All legs and neck arising from the ground. I wished I was quick enough to engage movie mode on the camera but alas it was all over in the blink of an eye.

The zoo is not only for animals. The gardens are immaculate and many of the specimens are labelled. In Polish of course but also with

the scientific name underneath so it was mostly easy to figure them out. The hydrangeas were especially lovely. Unfortunately the heat was taking its toll and they were becoming a bit wilted by the end of the day.

The zoo has a new elephant enclosure with two lovely young Asian animals. We were at the back of the enclosure and had the good fortune to see the keeper giving them a drink from a hose. They inverted their trunks and held them under the stream for what seemed an eternity and then blew the water into their mouths.

Among the other exciting exhibits the zoo has three condors and a vulture. The vulture was standing on the ground flapping its wings which was an incredible sight. In an adjacent cage there was a whole bunch of owls. I guess that would be a parliament? They looked sharper than ours.

As a side note, there was a big storm in Krakow last weekend and it severely damaged the zoo. The newspaper said they lost one eagle and one owl and dozens of trees so we were lucky with our timing.

Whilst the zoo is not huge we still racked up a good number of steps and we adjourned for lunch. My favourite Polish takeaway is zapiekanka, a long roll with mushroom, melted cheese and ketchup. It tastes much better than it sounds. In 6 years the price has risen 800% from 1 zl to 8 zl. It is still a great buy though and was a beaut way to end our visit.